Best French documentary movies
A curated collection of popular documentary movies from France.
D-Day: Normandy 1944 (2014)
D-Day: Normandy 1944 (2014)
June 6, 1944: The largest Allied operation of World War II began in Normandy, France. Yet, few know in detail exactly why and how, from the end of 1943 through August 1944, this region became the most important location in the world. Blending multiple cinematographic techniques, including animation, CGI and stunning live-action images, “D-Day: Normandy 1944” brings this monumental event to the world’s largest screens for the first time ever. Audiences of all ages, including new generations, will discover from a new perspective how this landing changed the world. Exploring history, military strategy, science, technology and human values, the film will educate and appeal to all. Narrated by Tom Brokaw, “D-Day: Normandy 1944” pays tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedom… A duty of memory, a duty of gratitude.
The Revelation of the Pyramids (2010)
The Revelation of the Pyramids (2010)
For centuries, the Great Pyramids have fascinated Mankind. Patrice Pooyard's The Revelation Of The Pyramids reveals what lies behind the greatest of archaeological mysteries: a message of paramount importance for humanity. From China to Peru, from Egypt to Mexico, through the world's most enigmatic and most beautiful sites, the director has spent 6 years meeting eminent scientific specialists and verifying his discoveries. The result will shake the teaching of history to its very core, and revolutionize Egyptology entirely. A great odyssey along a breathtaking route climaxes in a revelation as unexpected as it is staggering.
Wandering Stars (2019)
Wandering Stars (2019)
This film follows the making of Nekfeu's 3rd album, between Paris, Japan, Greece and the United States.
U2: iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Live in Paris (2015)
U2: iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Live in Paris (2015)
1. The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone) 2. Vertigo 3. I Will Follow 4. Iris (Hold Me Close) 5. Cedarwood Road 6. Song For Someone 7. Sunday Bloody Sunday 8. Raised By Wolves 9. Until The End Of The World 10. The Fly 11. Invisible 12. Even Better Than The Real Thing 13. Mysterious Ways 14. Elevation 15. Every Breaking Wave 16. October 17. Bullet The Blue Sky 18. Zooropa 19. Where The Streets Have No Name 20. Pride (In The Name Of Love) 21. With Or Without You 22. Stephen Hawking 'Global Citizen' 23. City Of Blinding Lights 24. Beautiful Day 25. Mother And Child Reunion 26. Bad 27. One 28. People Have The Power 29. I Love You All The Time This special shows U2 playing the Bercy Arena in Paris, showcasing the inventive set that allows the band to explore the concepts of iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE via a performance that literally moves throughout the venue via multiple stages, a one-of-a-kind interactive floor-to-ceiling arena-length LED screen, and a radical new approach to surround sound.
Sisters with Transistors (2021)
Sisters with Transistors (2021)
Think of early electronic music and you’ll likely see men pushing buttons, knobs, and boundaries. While electronic music is often perceived as a boys' club, the truth is that from the very beginning women have been integral in inventing the devices, techniques and tropes that would define the shape of sound for years to come.
F*ckin' Fred : Comme un Léopard (2025)
F*ckin' Fred : Comme un Léopard (2025)
One of the most iconic characters of Jonathan Cohen, F*ckin' Fred, makes his return after being created in the 2020 Orelsan's Epilogue Tour where Jonathan was a surprise guest. This epic documentary will tell how F*ckin' Fred was created but also his journey through the first official Fuckin' Fred concert.
Safe Journey (1993)
Safe Journey (1993)
Latcho Drom is a vista of the music, culture, and journey of the Romani people—from their homeland of India, to Europe and Southwest Asia.
Cirque du Soleil: Corteo (2006)
Cirque du Soleil: Corteo (2006)
Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.
AC/DC : Forever Young (2023)
AC/DC : Forever Young (2023)
AC/DC, or three brothers in the service of music. The story of a unique sound that spanned fifty years of rock'n'roll: sharp, electric, boosted.
Bigflo & Oli: Hip Hop Frenzy (2020)
Shoah (1985)
Shoah (1985)
Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three categories – survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators – Lanzmann presents testimonies from survivors of the Chelmno concentration camp, an Auschwitz escapee, and witnesses of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as well as a chilling report of gas chambers from an SS officer at Treblinka.
The Battle of Chernobyl (2007)
The Battle of Chernobyl (2007)
On April 26, 1986, a 1,000 feet high flame rises into the sky of the Ukraine. The fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant just exploded. A battle begins in which 500,000 men are engaged throughout the Soviet Union to "liquidate" the radioactivity, build the "sarcophagus" of the damaged reactor and save the world from a second explosion that would have destroyed half of Europe. Become a reference film, this documentary combines testimonials and unseen footage, tells for the first time the Battle of Chernobyl.
Lumière! (2016)
Lumière! (2016)
A collection of restored prints from the Lumière Brothers.
The Lovers and the Despot (2016)
Kim Jong-un: The Unauthorized Biography (2015)
Kim Jong-un: The Unauthorized Biography (2015)
A journey through several countries to find those who really know Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, in an attempt to profile a contradictory dictator who seems to rule his nation with both disturbing benevolence and cold cruelty while being worshipped as a living god by his subjects in exalted displays of ridiculous fanaticism.
Here We Drown Algerians (2011)
Here We Drown Algerians (2011)
In response to the call of the Front de libération nationale (F.L.N., the National Liberation Front), thousands of Algerians from Paris and its surroundings march on October 17, 1961, to protest against the curfew imposed on them. This peaceful demonstration will be violently put down by the police. 50 years on, the filmmaker sheds light on this still taboo subject. Blending testimony and unseen archive footage, history and memory, past and present, the film relates the different stages in these events and reveals the strategy and methods applied at the highest level of the French state: manipulation of public opinion, the systematic challenge of every accusation, the censoring of information in order to prevent investigation.
Ballet Mécanique (1924)
Ballet Mécanique (1924)
A pulsing, kaleidoscope of images set to an energetic soundtrack. This is a world in motion, dominated by mechanical and repetitive images, with a few moments of solitude in a garden.
March of the Penguins (2005)
March of the Penguins (2005)
Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They walk, marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. This amazing, true-life tale is touched with humour and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader... to adventure!!
Baby's Meal (1895)
Baby's Meal (1895)
A father, a mother and a baby are sitting at a table, on a patio outside. Dad is feeding Baby her lunch, while Mum is serving tea.
Kina & Yuk (2023)
Kina & Yuk (2023)
Kina & Yuk are two Arctic foxes, ready to start a family. But the climate is warmer, and the food is more and more rare. Kina & Yuk are obliged to venture far and far away.
A Reindeer's Journey (2018)
A Reindeer's Journey (2018)
Narrated by Golden Globe winner, Donald Sutherland, this is the incredible story of Ailo, the little reindeer. This uplifting tale follows the journey of baby Ailo as he navigates his first year of life in the snowy landscapes of a picturesque Lapland. Frail and vulnerable, Ailo must learn to walk, run, leap and hide to ensure he survives the long, treacherous journey with the herd. Ailo’s Journey is an inspirational story, in which a bleak wilderness is warmed by a mother’s endless love as she watches over Ailo in his incredible adventures with other creatures of the Arctic.
Steak (R)evolution (2014)
Steak (R)evolution (2014)
Far from intensive farming and industrial output, a revolution is already under way; good red meat has become a rare, indeed, luxury product. But where is the world's best steak found? Franck Ribière and his favorite butcher, Yves-Marie Le Bourdonnec, generous, charming, and ecological, set out to meet the new players in the field to try to understand what makes a cut of meat good.
Home (2009)
Home (2009)
In 200,000 years of existence, man has upset the balance on which the Earth had lived for 4 billion years. Global warming, resource depletion, species extinction: man has endangered his own home. But it is too late to be pessimistic: humanity has barely ten years left to reverse the trend, become aware of its excessive exploitation of the Earth's riches, and change its consumption pattern.
F for Fake (1973)
F for Fake (1973)
Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his name by selling forged works of art by painters like Picasso and Matisse. Irving was infamous for writing a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. Welles moves between documentary and fiction as he examines the fundamental elements of fraud and the people who commit fraud at the expense of others.
Microcosmos (1996)
Microcosmos (1996)
A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.
Human (2015)
Human (2015)
A collection of stories about and images of our world, offering an immersion to the core of what it means to be human. Through these stories full of love and happiness, as well as hatred and violence, it brings us face to face with the Other, making us reflect on our lives. From stories of everyday experiences to accounts of the most unbelievable lives, these poignant encounters share a rare sincerity and underline who we are – our darker side, but also what is most noble in us, and what is universal. Our Earth is shown at its most sublime through never-before-seen aerial images accompanied by soaring music, resulting in an ode to the beauty of the world, providing a moment to draw breath and for introspection. This film is a politically engaged work which allows us to embrace the human condition and to reflect on the meaning of our existence.
The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)
The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)
A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.