The end of term approaches, along with the long-awaited Christmas break. What better way to rest after a long period of homework and handing in projects than to lose yourself in an interesting documentary? I have picked out four different films, so everyone should be able to find something to their liking.

Stories We Tell - Sarah Polley (2012)

“I’m interested in the way we tell stories about our lives. About the fact that the truth about the past is often ephemeral and difficult to pin down.”

Stories We Tell is a documentary directed by Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley. In an attempt to understand her mother’s past, who died of cancer, Polley investigates her own family history and conducts personal interviews with her siblings, father and other relatives. The interviews take Polley down unexpected trails and lead her to ask fundamental questions about her own origins and identity. Overall, it could be said that this film is really about how we tell stories about ourselves and the people around us. Different people have different versions of the past, while the truth often shifts around and perhaps does not even exist.

Stories We Tell is available on Amazon Prime and the website documentarymania.com, among other sites.

Finding Vivian Maier - John Maloof og Charlie Siskel (2014)

Finding Vivian Maier recounts the unexpected discovery made by John Maloof, a young man who buys a box of negatives at an auction. By sheer chance, he discovers captivating photographs taken by Vivian Maier, an unknown woman who would shortly become one of the world’s most famous street photographers. The film, which captures Maloof’s search for the story of this mysterious photographer, was nominated for an Oscar in 2015. It turns out that Vivian was not a photographer or a journalist, but a nanny. Few knew about her interest in photography, even though she took over 150,000 photographs, which mostly capture city life on the streets of Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Many of the pictures were not even seen by Vivian herself, because she left behind boxes full of undeveloped rolls of film. Who was Vivian Maier? Why did she never come forward? And what became of her? The narrative rhythm in this film draws you in and constantly surprises.

Finding Vivian Maier is available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV, among other platforms.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Werner Herzog (2010)

In Cave of Forgotten Dreams, critically acclaimed German director Werner Herzog gets exclusive access to the Chauvet cave in Southern France. The cave contains some of the oldest cave-paintings in human history and is closed to the public, leading Herzog to receive special permission from the French Ministry of Culture to film inside of it. The film reveals a fascinating world to the viewer, which raises multiple questions about the reality of the people who created these works of art. Millennia-old palm prints on the cave’s walls are a surreal sight, at once familiar and exotic. Herzog approaches his subject from different perspectives and speaks to both scientists and historians, while maintaining an emotional standpoint. A fantastic film about the very core of humanity and its need to create.

Cave of Forgotten dreams is available on the website watchdocumentaries.com, among others.

The Moon Inside You - Diana Fabiánová (2009)

The Moon Inside You is a Slovakian documentary from 2009, which centres around female menstruation. The film’s director, Diana Fabianova, personally experienced physical pain and difficulties surrounding her period, but could not find any films on the subject so she decided to make her own. Why do we avoid openly discussing menstruation? How does it appear to us in society and how do women experience it? What do experts say? The Moon Inside You mixes different theoretical approaches from anthropologists, psychologists, journalists, gynecologists and belly-dance teachers alike, alongside old-fashioned informational videos and animated shorts. Are women simply irritable and eager to complain when they are on their period, or do the hormonal changes give them the courage to say what they truly think? An interesting and brave film, which touches on a variety of subjects, everything from the gender politics surrounding contraception to personal experience.

The Moon Inside You is available on the website dafilms.com, for the low price of 2.5 Euros.

Documentaries to watch during the Christmas break