Documentaries can be many things. They can be diaries, profiles, calls to action, exposés, investigations, and everything in between. While many of us fall in love with film — either as viewers or filmmakers — through fictional stories, sometimes the most powerful ones, the ones that stretch beyond imagination, are real. If you’re looking for some of the best documentaries, Tubi is the place to find them. No, really, they have everything. Here are just a few of the best documentaries on Tubi.
What are the best documentaries on Tubi?
If you’re looking for a streaming platform stacked with some of the most award-winning, critically acclaimed documentaries, you’ll find them there. Just a note: some of these documentaries address highly sensitive material. If you’d like to learn more about the themes, you may want to review their ratings and content disclosures before viewing.
Cartel Land (2015)
From documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman (City of Ghosts, American Symphony, The First Wave) comes Cartel Land, an urgent look at militias fighting cartels in the ongoing war on drugs. The film follows two resistance groups taking a stand against cartel control and violence: one led by an Arizona rancher patrolling the U.S.–Mexico border, and the other by Mexican vigilantes confronting the cartels from within their own communities. Cartel Land was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards.
Gaza (2019)
Directed by Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell, Gaza is a documentary that deliberately eschews political commentary, instead placing its subjects at the center and allowing them to speak for themselves. The result is a deeply human portrait of a place most often defined by conflict, shaped through the everyday lives of its people.
Seen through today’s lens, the film carries an added weight. Much of what is shown — the streets, homes, and routines captured on screen — no longer exists. By following children, students, fishermen, artists, and families as they navigate daily life with astounding resilience, Gaza isn’t just a snapshot in time but a record of lives and spaces that have since been permanently altered.
Deliver Us From Evil (2006)
Winner of Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Deliver Us From Evil is a harrowing investigation into decades of sexual abuse committed by Catholic priest Oliver O’Grady from the late 1970s through the 1990s, and the institutional efforts to conceal his crimes. Amy Berg takes viewers into the investigation through interviews with survivors, lawyers, theologians, and O’Grady himself. Beyond a retelling of the painful details, Berg’s film also exposes the power structures that allowed the abuse to continue. Deliver Us From Evil also earned major critics’ awards from the Boston and New York film critics’ circles.
Blackfish (2013)
You probably remember this documentary making waves (no pun intended) when it was released in 2013. The film by Gabriela Cowperthwaite shattered public perception of SeaWorld. Blackfish puts a critical lens on the controversy surrounding the practice of capturing sealife for human entertainment. Specifically, Blackfish looks at Tilikum, an orca captured off the coast of Norway and kept in captivity at SeaWorld. In 2010, Tilikum pulled whale trainer Dawn Brancheau into the water during a show. She later died due to drowning and blunt force trauma.
Blackfish argues that the captivity of whales leads to extreme stress, which in turn contributes to unpredictable and violent behavior. Upon its release, the documentary fundamentally shifted public perception of SeaWorld and the ethics of confining animals for entertainment. Blackfish won Best Documentary at the 2013 Golden Satellite Awards and received a Sundance Grand Jury Prize Documentary nomination.
West of Memphis (2012)
The second documentary on our list from Amy Berg is West of Memphis, produced by Peter Jackson. The feature examines the case of the West Memphis Three — three teenagers convicted of the brutal murders of three eight-year-old boys in Arkansas in 1993. Revisiting the case years later, the film follows new investigative leads and legal efforts that resulted in the exoneration of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley.
How to Die in Oregon (2011)
Directed by Peter Richardson, How to Die in Oregon takes us into an intimate and deeply personal look at terminally ill patients deciding to avail themselves of physician-assisted death with Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. Through interviews with patients, doctors, and families, How to Die in Oregon examines the emotional, ethical, and legal realities surrounding this complicated choice. The film is respectful in its handling of this sensitive material and doesn’t argue for or against it. Rather, it centers the lived experiences of those facing death. How to Die in Oregon won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.
Inside Job (2010)
Inside Job won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2011. Directed by Charles Ferguson, the film offers a comprehensive investigation into the policies, deregulation, and conflicts of interest that led to the 2008 global financial collapse. Structured in five parts, Inside Job traces the history of the American financial industry from early deregulation to the housing bubble, the ensuing crisis, and the aftermath in its immediate wake.
The Act of Killing (2012)
This experimental documentary is as controversial as it is unsettling. The film focuses on those directly involved in the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966, when alleged communists and others opposed to General Suharto’s autocratic regime were tortured and executed.
The Act of Killing centers on Anwar Congo, a grandfather, national hero, and former executioner in the genocide of one million people. Joshua Oppenheimer invites Anwar and his associates to reenact their killings in the style of their favorite American film genres, from gangster movies to musicals. The result is deeply strange, often surreal, and ultimately gut-wrenching.
Citizenfour (2014)
Citizenfour is a real-time political thriller that documents one of the most consequential whistleblower revelations of the 21st century. Directed by Laura Poitras, the film follows her secret meetings with Edward Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel room as he reveals classified information about the U.S. government’s global surveillance programs. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine (2013)
When Matthew Shepard was brutally tortured and murdered in Wyoming in 1998, his death became a defining symbol for the LGBTQ+ movement. The murder drew national attention to acts of violence perpetrated against the community. In the years since, Shepard has often been remembered as a symbol, though who he was as a person sometimes falls into the background. This documentary is a moving eulogy that offers an intimate portrait of Matt Shepard as a friend, brother, and son. Centering love, community, and the healing process after unimaginable loss, the film resists sensationalism and reframes Shepard’s legacy beyond headlines.
How we picked the best documentaries on Tubi
We were pleasantly surprised by the sheer volume of documentaries available on Tubi. Not that we didn’t expect it, per se, but we just weren’t ready for the HBO-level number of options. Not to mention just the number of documentaries, but also the award-winning films. There are plenty to choose from, so we narrowed down our picks to films that have had a measurable impact, as well as those that are the most critically acclaimed or especially resonant in the current moment.
