Society Documentaries
Learn from the rich diaspora of communities around the world as they face pressing social issues like immigration, extremism & human rights.
100 Kilo Kids: Obesity SOS
America's Army: Inside The World's Most Powerful Military Force
An Island Calling
Asia's Underworld
Aswang
Back In The Soviet Bloc
Barbecue
Beyond The Grace Note
Bhutan: The Dictatorship of Happiness
Boot Camp
Bush To Belly
Cat Ladies
Cat People
Chasing Asylum
Chubby Chaser
Clean Hands
Code: Debugging The Gender Gap
Commander Arian
Coronavirus & Me
Cyborgs Among Us
Dina
Documented
Dying To Divorce
Exiled: The Rohingyas
Faith Hope Love
Fat Camps
FAT: A Documentary
Grizzly Man
Guns In The USA: Child's Play?
Help Is On The Way
Homebound
Hotel for Refugees
How To Prepare For Prison
In the Shadow of the Sun
Is Love Racist: The Dating Game
iwonderWho - The Pickup Game
iwonderWho - Ursula Macfarlane (Untouchable)
Kidnapped For Christ
Lost & Found
Love Me
Loved To Death: Destinations Under Threat
Man Up
Man's First Friend
Masked Monkey
Megalodemocrat: The Public Art Of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
Miss Amazing
Motherland
Motley's Law
Mumbai: The Infernal Megapolis
My Mate Manchester United
My Millennial Life
On The Line
Playground Murder Plot
Post Truth Times
Ready To Fly
Rescuing Rex
Riders of Destiny
Rocking Cambodia: The Rise of a Pop Diva
Rohingyas: Workings Of A Crime
Scattering CJ
Searching For Bill
Sepideh
Shadow Game
Sugar Sisters
Super Cool Wins In The End
The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe
The Bikes Of Wrath
The Cheating Class
The Daughter Tree
The Departure
The Marriage Project
The New Gurus Of The USA
The Pact
The Pickup Game
The Rivals
The Song Catcher
The Waiting Room
The Weekly
The Weekly: El Chapo’s Son - The Siege Of Culiacán
The Weekly: Guilty By Machine
The Weekly: Hands On
The Weekly: Open Arms
The Weekly: Segregated City
The Weekly: The Hot List
The Weekly: The Promise
The Weekly: The Sicario
The Work
The World Beyond Silence
This is Congo
To Kid Or Not To Kid
Trial Of A Teenage Dominatrix
Under The Influence
USA: Being Poor In The World's Richest Country
USA: Locking Up Children
USA: On The Brink
Waiting For John
Wantok Meri: Papua New Guinea At A Crossroads
You See Monsters
Yusuf Hawkins: Storm over Brooklyn
Zero Tolerance
Meet various communities around the world in society and social issue documentaries
Through documentaries, we can meet people all over the world and gain glimpses into their lives and struggles as they face crucial social issues or fight to improve their environment and life circumstances. More and more often, documentary filmmakers are partnering with campaigners and activists, who create rich, illustrative documentaries that raise global awareness and affect change on some of the most important issues of our time.

These documentaries take deep dives into social issues across countries and continents, from struggling with gun crime in America, to the battle between an all-female fighting unit and ISIS militants who kidnapped, raped and enslaved them, to the evangelical campaign sweeping through Uganda, turning towards biblical law and at one point proposing the death penalty for homosexuality.

Social documentaries help give a voice to those who are silenced
Documentary filmmakers often seek out marginalised societies who may not have the means to find an audience by themselves, or face persecution or prosecution if they were to speak out. One country known to silence its citizens is North Korea, where citizens are not allowed to travel abroad and the internet is strictly restricted. In North Korea: Voice From the Secret State, we meet army officers, a senior member of the security service, and an ordinary family who are contemplating escape, risking their lives and freedom to speak to North Koreans who have escaped to the South.

Refugees are another social group who are often spoken about, but rarely given a place to share their own voice and stories. Hotel For Refugees tells the story of how two world meet when a small Catholic town in Ireland becomes the new home for hundreds of Muslim Syrian asylum seekers brought over from refugee camps in Greece, to be housed in a former luxury hotel until their asylum status is approved. The documentary film follows the refugees as they assimilate into the local community, faced with friendly locals who feel that it is their duty to welcome them, while some others are anxious about the impact of so many strangers in their small town.

Documentaries about society and social issues are inspirational
Social issues documentaries often observe people who are rising up to make a difference in challenging situations, trying to stand up for themselves and their community. The courage of these people can be inspirational to all of us, even if we might not be facing the same issues ourselves. However, this can encourage viewers to stand up for social issues in their own communities and try to make a difference.

In fact, many of these documentaries are so remarkable that they end up winning awards at various film festivals. The Invisible War, which investigates the rape epidemic buried in the armed forces and exposes institutions that try to cover up its existence, marking profound social consequences, was nominated for 14 awards and won 11 of them, including awards from the Emmy Awards, Sundance Film Festival, and Peabody Awards.

Check out the full range of impactful social documentaries on iwonder today.