19 Years of the Burns: Documentary Watchlist

by JBFC Marketing Associate Paige Grand Pré

In celebration of the JBFC’s 19th birthday on Sunday, June 21, we’ve put together a few curated watchlists that encapsulate the quintessential JBFC experience so you can party virtually with us from home. Get started with this sampling of documentaries we’ve screened, discussed, and enjoyed over the past 19 years! If you’re a Letterboxd user, you can also check out the list on the JBFC’s Letterboxd account to save for later.

1. Spellbound (Blitz, 2003) – Screened as part of Best of Current Documentaries in 2003.
2. Neil Young: Heart of Gold (Demme, 2006) – Opened as a New Release at the JBFC, and later provided the theme for a JBFC Gala honoring Neil Young.
3. Taxi to the Darkside (Gibney, 2007) – Screened as part of Global Watch in 2007; we’ve welcomed filmmaker Alex Gibney to the Burns multiple times since.
4. Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened (Price, 2016) – Screened as part of Life on the Stage: Conversation and Film in 2016, followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Lonny Price, actress Liz Callaway, and JBFC Board Member/series moderator Dori Berinstein.
5. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Dean, 2017) – Opened as a new release in 2018, and also screened as part of the 2018 Westchester Jewish Film Festival, during which filmmaker Alexandra Dean joined us for JBFC Live Q&A.
6. The Black Power Mixtape, 1967-1975 (Olsson, 2011) – Screened as part of Global Watch in 2011 and as part of REMIX: The Black Experience in Film, Media, and Art in 2019.
7. 20 Feet from Stardom (Neville, 2013) – Opened as a new release in 2013 and later screened as part of Sounds of Summer.
8. The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer, 2013) – Screened as part of Global Watch in 2013.
9. Meru (Chin/Chai Vasarhelyi, 2005) – Screened as part of Programmers’ Picks in 2015, followed by a JBFC Live Q&A with the filmmakers.
10. I Am Not Your Negro (Peck, 2017) – Opened as a new release in 2016-2017; now streaming as part of the JBFC’s “Three Essential Documentaries” spotlight.

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