Semi documentary movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant semi documentary movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out semi documentary, serious, realistic, captivating, psychological and disturbing films and TV shows about / with society, lifestyle, murder, life is a bitch, war, terrorism, archive footage, criminal, danger and biopic plots mostly in Drama, Biography and Adventure genres shot in USA, France, Germany and other countries.
80
TOP 10 movies tagged as semi documentary: Language of Love 2000 (2004), Porto of My Childhood (2001), In Vanda's Room (2000), First on the Moon (2005), A Polar Year (2018), Lost and Beautiful (2015), Smolensk (2016), Franz Fuchs – A Patriot (2007), Black Crows (2017), Surviving Escobar - Alias JJ (2017).
Best films
New films
List of semi documentary movies
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Kärlekens språk is a 2004 Swedish sex educational film directed by Anders Lennberg. “Language of Love” is a show for night owls, which gives details of sex, problems with impotence, venereal diseases, etc, with detailed demonstrations. ...
Style:
semi documentary, erotic, educational, modern day adaptation
Plot:
sex education, sex, lesbian sex, gay, female pubic hair, nudity, ejaculation, unsimulated sex, explicit sex, female nudity, sex scene, making love ...
Place:
eastern europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Portugal, France
Duration: 61 min.
Story:
Manoel de Oliveira's autobiographical documentary about returning to his hometown.
Style:
semi documentary, serious, touching, atmospheric, realistic ...
Plot:
lifestyle, society, introspection, social relations, city life, filmmaking, first love, biopic, artists and showbiz, urban, bittersweet, childhood home ...
Time:
year 2001, 1920s, 1930s, 20th century, 21st century
Place:
portugal, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Portugal, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 171 min.
Story:
With the intimate feel of a documentary and the texture of a Vermeer painting, In Vanda’s Room takes an unflinching, fragmentary look at a handful of self-destructive, marginalized people, but is centered around the heroin-addicted Vanda Duarte.
Style:
realistic, touching, emotional, semi documentary, contemplative ...
Plot:
addiction, drug abuse, social misfits, misfit, heroin addict, society, down on your luck, urban ghetto life, city life, decolonization, poverty, painter ...
Time:
90s
Place:
portugal, lisbon portugal
Is relevant?
Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Russia
Duration: 75 min.
Story:
In spring 1938 in the mountains in the north of Chile a fiery UFO, later named "Chilean Sphere ", fell down. The investigation of this episode, made by a film crew, has led to a sensational discovery. It appeared that before the Second ...
Style:
semi documentary, realistic, serious, clever, mockumentary ...
Plot:
found footage, space mission, communism, training, moon, alternate history, female nudity, satire, cosmos, male nudity, test pilot, space ...
Time:
1930s, year 1938
Place:
soviet union, chile, ussr
Is relevant?
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Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Iceland, Philippines, France, Thailand
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
Raquela, a transsexual from the Philippines, dreams of escaping the streets of Cebu City for a fairy tale life in Paris.
Style:
semi serious, realistic, emotional, semi documentary, witty ...
Plot:
prostitute, on the road, lifestyle, self discovery, follow your dream, hopes, love and romance, looking for love, gender bending, gays and lesbians, gender, lgbt ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
iceland, the philippines, paris france, europe, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
A Danish teacher takes a job in Greenland and tries to overcome the animosity of the tight-knit locals through a series of errors that help him embrace the snow-covered life.
Style:
semi documentary, light, sincere, visually appealing, entertaining ...
Plot:
blizzard, polar bear, grandmother grandson relationship, isolation, language barrier, elementary school, language learning, fishing, seal the animal, remote village, death of grandfather, hunting ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
denmark, greenland
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
Pulcinella, a foolish servant, is sent to present-day Campania to grant the last wish of Tommaso, a simple shepherd.
Style:
road movie, semi documentary, surreal, experimental
Plot:
nature, art, death, countryside, mythology, unhappy ending, interview, realism, experiment, surrealism, villa, buffalo ...
Place:
italy, southern italy
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
Every night, in danger of being beheaded, Scheherazade tells King Shahryar unfinished tales to continue them the following night, hence defying his promise of murdering his new wives after their wedding night. Scheherazade tells king Shahryar her ...
Style:
semi documentary, psychedelic, surreal, mind bending, art house ...
Plot:
unemployment, economic crisis, financial crisis, sorcerer, virgin, poverty, erection, debt, banker, prime minister, wasp, demonstration ...
Time:
year 2013, 90s, 2010s
Place:
portugal, persia
Is relevant?
40K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Poland
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
Inspired by true events of 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash in Smolensk, the film tells the partially fictional story of crash and various people affected by the tragedy. The protagonist is a journalist Nina, who refuses to accept the official ...
Style:
mockumentary, semi documentary, factual, political, serious ...
Plot:
conspiracy theory, propaganda, paranoia, plane crash, crash, ghost, female journalist, air disaster, nationalism, airplane crash, investigation, journalism ...
Time:
year 2010
Place:
poland
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Austria
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
The letter bomber Franz Fuchs (1949-2000) saw his crimes as a service to the community. He wanted to be one thing above all else: a patriot.
Style:
semi documentary, serious, disturbing, crime drama, tense ...
Plot:
terrorism, serial killer, true crime, political violence, biopic, tragedy, obsession, violence, investigation, nationalism, extremism, patriotism ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy
Country: Canada
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
A faux documentary about the rise and fall of fictional country singer Guy Terrifico, featuring some legendary real-life performers.
Style:
humorous, mockumentary, semi documentary, captivating, entertaining ...
Plot:
rise and fall, ambition, musician's life, showbiz, music band, rising to stardom, music, relationship vs career, friends, addiction, celebrity culture, singer ...
Time:
20th century, 70s
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait
TV show
Story:
This drama portrays women and kids living under the Islamic State group: a Yazidi slave, an undercover reporter, a recruited mom and child snipers.
Style:
realistic, sad, suspense, semi documentary, disturbing ...
Plot:
isis, terrorist attack, terrorism, terrorist, brutality, terrorist plot, islam, life & death, innocent person killed, murder of an innocent person, cruelty, killing ...
Place:
syria, iraq
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama
Country: Colombia
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
As the Medellín Cartel crumbles, Pablo Escobar's No. 1 hit man struggles to stay alive and gain respect in the prison hierarchy.
Style:
semi documentary, serious, psychological, disturbing, tense ...
Plot:
drug cartel, cartel, pablo escobar, prison, mercenary, bandit, drug dealer, hitman, crime boss, friendship between men, brutality, faithfulness ...
Place:
colombia, south america
Is relevant?
1K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
Life in the trenches of that most honorable and frustrating profession...teaching. It's the start of a memorable new year at Harrison High. The self-conscious Mr. Stroope is convinced that his time has come - this year he will be furnished with ...
Style:
mockumentary, humorous, semi documentary, psychological, captivating ...
Audience:
date night, teens
Plot:
teacher, high school, teachers and students, hardcase students, power relations, lifestyle, ambition, youth, education, rivalry, teaching, high school teacher ...
Time:
year 2006
Place:
usa, texas
Is relevant?
19K
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
The story of acerbic 1960s comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the Establisment as too obscene for the public.
Style:
black and white, psychological, atmospheric, clever, realistic ...
Plot:
stand up comedian, drug abuse, judaism, showbiz, addiction, biopic, rise and fall, adult humor, courtroom, drug addiction, civil rights, drug ...
Time:
20th century, 1950s, year 1974, 50s, 70s
Place:
usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Animation, Biography
Country: Spain, Poland, Belgium, Germany, France, Hungary
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
In 1975, Ryszard Kapuściński, a veteran Polish journalist, embarked on a seemingly suicidal road trip into the heart of the Angola's civil war. There, he witnessed once again the dirty reality of war and discovered a sense of helplessness ...
Style:
adult animation, thought provoking, psychological, suspenseful, rough ...
Plot:
life risking, conflict, civil war, investigation, independence movement, african, war, frontline, wartime, military life, road trip, travel ...
Time:
20th century, 2010s, year 1975
Place:
angola, africa, portugal, cuba, poland ...
Is relevant?
13K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
A college student, who sees a UFO, uses his exceptional math skills to investigate the sighting with his friends while the FBI follows closely behind.
Style:
semi documentary, thought provoking, exciting, captivating, psychological ...
Plot:
ufo, ufo sighting, conspiracy theory, fbi, alien contact, alien encounter, airport, mathematics, code, uncover truth, agent, theory ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, History, Western
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min.
TV show
Story:
Saichi Sugimoto is a tough soldier who participates in the Russo-Japanese War and who earned the nickname "Sugimoto the Immortal." Honors in combat are of little use to him when he is expelled from the army for a certain incident, but he ...
Style:
anime, exciting, entertaining, semi serious, semi documentary ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
hunting, violence, gold, escapades, criminal, ex soldier, gunfight, survival, partisan, military, war, post war ...
Time:
1910s, 20th century, 1900s
Place:
japan, hokkaido
Is relevant?
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Genre: Biography, Drama, Mystery
Country: Russia
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
1943 year. Alma-Ata. The hero of the film is a young Michurin fruit grower who revives a medicinal apple variety and investigates a strange crime. The script was written based on the book by Mikhail Zoshchenko "Before the Sunrise".
Style:
psychological, philosophical, surreal, tricky, thought provoking ...
Plot:
evacuation, director, childhood trauma, mysterious disappearance, uncover truth, society, scientist, young girl, flashback, russian history, literary, murder mystery ...
Time:
year 1943
Place:
ussr, soviet union, kazakhstan
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography
Country: UK
Duration: 62 min.
Story:
Gil Scott-Heron was one of the most influential musicians and poets of the last 50 years. In Don Letts's documentary, Gil tells his own story for the first time-from being one of the first black children to integrate an all white Southern state ...
Style:
semi documentary, psychological, captivating, thrilling, reflective ...
Plot:
black history, poetry, social commentary, social problems, music, black american, society, musician, lifestyle, black man, life, historical figure ...
Time:
70s, 60s
Place:
harlem, new york
Is relevant?
Genre: Horror
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
At the start of the pandemic, an indulgent and self-deluded livestreaming improv musician abandons L.A. for London, steals her ex-bandmate's car, and makes the fateful decision to give a ride to an elderly woman who is not what she seems.
Style:
suspense, disturbing, semi documentary, bleak, suspenseful ...
Plot:
found footage, videotaping, murder, realism, life, investigative reporter, news report, murder case, tv reporter, police officer, television reporter, occult ...
Place:
usa, england
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, History
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Based on a true story, "Harley and the Davidsons" charts the birth of this iconic bike during a time of great social and technological change beginning at the turn of the 20th century. Walter, Arthur and Bill risked their entire fortune ...
Style:
factual, colorful, semi documentary, educational
Plot:
inventions and discoveries, motorcycle, american history, fame, inventor, engineer, historical event, historical character, desire for fame, civil engineer, biker, best friend ...
Time:
20th century, 1930s, 1900s, 1910s
Place:
usa
Is relevant?
18K
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
American fashion designer Halston skyrockets to fame before his life starts to spin out of control.
Style:
homoerotic, factual, semi documentary, semi autobiographical, feel good ...
Plot:
fashion, gay interest, homosexual, drug use, gay hustler, sex scene, older man younger man relationship, gay lead character, gay relationship, gay man straight woman relationship, male nudity, rise and fall ...
Time:
70s, 80s, 60s
Place:
new york, america, usa
Is relevant?
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Genre: Documentary, War
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
With unprecedented access, this documentary follows the extraordinary journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”—a group of anonymous citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was overtaken by ISIS—as they risk their ...
Style:
exciting, rough, disturbing, semi documentary, tense ...
Audience:
chick flick, boys' night
Plot:
isis, terrorist, terrorism, refugee, islam, life risking, runaway, escape, youth, rivalry, society, exile ...
Time:
year 2017, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
syria, middle east, turkey, germany
Is relevant?
Genre: Documentary, Crime, History
Country: USA
Duration: 343 min.
TV show
Story:
A docudrama series chronicling some of America's most notorious mobsters, each season dealing with a different city/region.
Style:
realistic, captivating, serious, semi documentary, suspenseful ...
Plot:
mafia, gangster, mob boss, mobster, crime boss, dishonesty, money, danger, crime family, showdown, police investigation, rivalry ...
Time:
1920s
Place:
usa, italy, las vegas, new york
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
An anthology series centered around people who believe themselves to be the modern-day descendants of the Romanov family.
Style:
anthology, captivating, thought provoking, factual, semi documentary ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
russian history, royal family, luxury, ancestor, identity, descendant, multiple storylines, interview, introspection, inheritance, royalty, intimate ...
Is relevant?
16K
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
The maiden crew of the Daedalus spacecraft must push itself to the brink of human capability in order to successfully establish the first sustainable colony on Mars. Set both in the future and in the present day, this series blends scripted elements ...
Style:
exciting, serious, clever, captivating, semi documentary ...
Plot:
mars, space colony, problem solving, space, friendship, catastrophe, journey, space exploration, adaptation, storytelling, twists and turns, life philosophy ...
Time:
near future, year 2016, future, 21st century
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Italy, Algeria
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
Tracing the struggle of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale to gain freedom from French colonial rule as seen through the eyes of Ali from his start as a petty thief to his rise to prominence in the organisation and capture by the French in ...
Style:
black and white, political, philosophical, art house, cerebral ...
Plot:
revolution, colonialism, protest, torture, military, muslim, french algerian war, politics, terrorism, insurrection, independence, revolutionary ...
Time:
year 1957, 20th century, 50s, year 1954, year 1966 ...
Place:
africa, algeria, middle east, france, north africa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Documentary, Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Germany in Autumn does not have a plot per se; it mixes documentary footage, along with standard movie scenes, to give the audience the mood of Germany during the late 1970s. The movie covers the two month time period during 1977 when a businessman ...
Style:
semi documentary, postmodern, political, anthology, art house ...
Plot:
terrorism, raf, funeral, politics, society, german history, autumn, dispute, police, television, cemetery, years of lead ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
germany, west germany
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
Dr Gerald Bull was a genius at designing and building superguns (very large long range guns capable of shooting at ranges more than 100 miles). When an operational plan by the CIA to export sanctioned arms to apartheid-South Africa through him was ...
Style:
semi documentary, realistic, serious, suspenseful, rough ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
mossad, assassination, engineer, secretary, cia agent, undercover agent, cia, weapon of mass destruction, artillery, iraq war, intrigue, war ...
Time:
year 1988, 90s
Place:
middle east, baghdad iraq, london, iraq, brussels ...
Is relevant?
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