I have always enjoyed a good documentary. Whether it be a feature length film or a limited series, a good doc can be fascinating and engaging. Over the years, there have been some great ones, such as Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Beyond the Mat, Tiger King, The Imposter, Jinx, and so on.

2022 has its share of really good documentaries as well.

Best Documentary

Previous Winners:  Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, My Scientology Movie, Tickled, Finding Neverland, Tiger King, The Beatles: Get Back

Honorable Mentions: Disney + released a doc on Mickey Mouse’s 94th birthday called Mickey: The Story of a Mouse which was more in-depth than I ever would have believed it would be. Following up on the movie Being the Ricardos from last year, we got the doc Lucy & Desi, with more details on the life of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The Tindler Swindler was a fascinating look at a guy who scammed women through the online dating and geosocial networking application. Fire of Love dealt with a loving relationship between two volcanologists who would die in a volcanic eruption. Netflix has several of these docs on their streaming platform, and they also have the newer film, The Volcano: Rescue for Whakaari dealing with the escape from another volcanic island. Pennywise: The Story of It was a fun doc looking at the creation of the original It mini series starring Tim Curry. The search for truth was underway in Girl in the Picture, and it is a tale that is quite warped. The most recent Disney + documentary was by the daughter of Paul McCartney, Mary McCartney, all about Abbey Road Studios in If These Walls Could Sing.

Best Documentary of 2022 is…

Light & Magic

The Disney + doc series about the special effects company Industrial Lights & Magic looked at the early days of the company led by George Lucas, their work on Star Wars and the corresponding sequels, as well as the advancement of the technical ability in making the special effects. Six episodes directed by Lawrence Kasdan explored the world of ILM. It was an amazing look behind the scenes and at the magic they were able to make.