Art
The Nostalgic Melancholy of YouTube Urban Exploration Videos
Many channels have made popular videos about "scary" things like abandoned asylums or amusement parks. But there is a different trend which reveals the mundane decay of the suburbs.
Documentary
Art
How Social Media Profiles Act as Bizarre Digital Gravestones
As more people die but their internet presences linger, we have to find ways to grapple with these documents of who they were.
Film
Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Dream to Walk on Water
A new documentary reveals the passion and labor that went into creating artworks that look too fantastical to be true.
Film
How the First Smartphone Came Out in 1994, But Flopped
A new documentary examines the downfall of the software company General Magic, and raises questions about Silicon Valley's philosophy on failure.
Film
Unearthly Views of the World's Oldest Spaceport
Baikonur, Earth, a documentary premiering at the Panorama Europe Film Festival, surveys the facility that launched Sputnik.
Film
The Refugee Crisis Seen Through a Heat-Detecting Camera
Richard Mosse's video installation Incoming gives migrants anonymity while emphasizing their humanity.
Art
A Roundup of Web Documentaries on Joan Miró, Stunt Work, and More
Some of the most intriguing nonfiction film work being done today isn’t coming out in any theater or on a dedicated VOD platform, but on video sharing websites.
Film
A Choreographer's Struggle to Restage Merce Cunningham
The documentary If the Dancer Dances follows the Stephen Petronio Company as they put their own spin on one of Cunningham's most celebrated works.
Art
Feeling Down? Here Are the Best Bob Ross Pep Talks
All 403 episodes of The Joy of Painting are on YouTube. Here are five of the most inspiring installments.
Film
A Documentary on the Birth and Growth of the Satanic Temple
Hail Satan? marks the first time that director Penny Lane filmed contemporary events as they developed, though her deftness with archival material is crucial to the story's appeal.
Film
The Story Behind America's Most Famous Sex Therapist
The documentary Ask Dr. Ruth connects Ruth Westheimer's life both to her philosophy toward sex and how she cultivated her media image.
Performance
In an Interactive Performance, a Filmmaker Dissects Her Abandoned Debut Feature
In My First Film, Zia Anger explores the humor, anger, and heartbreak she feels about her lost work, all live onstage.