The Top 100 Activist Documentaries That You Can Watch Free Online

1

5 Broken Cameras (2011)

86 min · An extraordinary work of both cinematic and political activism, 5 Broken Cameras is a deeply personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil'in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements.

2

Medicinal Cannabis and its Impact on Human Health (2011)

47 min · In this myth shattering, information packed documentary, learn from physicians and leading researchers about medicinal cannabis and its demonstrated affects on human health.

3

The Bloom Episode 3: New Ways of the Sacred

70 min · Part III of The Bloom New Ways of The Sacred looks at how Transformational Festivals are venues for an active engagement with ancient, universal themes of MYTHOS, RITUAL and THE SACRED, exploring ways which both honor the traditional...

4

Brain Matters: Putting The First Years First (2020)

60 min · Why is it that some children thrive while others do not? Is it a matter of genetics, IQ, socioeconomic background or education? Every child deserves to reach their full potential and the early years are the best possible start in life...

5

The Money Masters: How International Bankers Gained Control of America (1996)

215 min · "The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching plan, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a...

6

The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend with John Taylor Gatto

300 min · The Ultimate History Lesson is a 5-hour course, illustrating the cause and effect relationship of how Americans became incoherent, and thus how the American dream has was usurped by an international agenda.

7

Ola - Health Is Everything (2013)

69 min · A timely and emotional debut documentary that celebrates Hawaii's most cherished social values, Ola challenges us to rethink what it means to be healthy. Ola (Hawaiian for "life" or "well being") explores the widespread social factors...

8

Natural Farming With Masanobu Fukuoka: Minimal Effort And Abundant Yields

61 min · Masanobu Fukuoka is a farmer/philosopher who lives on the Island of Shikoku, in southern Japan. His farming technique requires no machines, no chemicals and very little weeding. He does not plow the soil or use prepared compost and yet...

9

Slavery: A 21st Century Evil (2011)

223 min · Today, 27 million men, women and children are held, sold and trafficked as slaves throughout the world. In Slavery: A 21st Century Evil, Rageh Omaar embarks on a worldwide journey to uncover the truth about the flourishing 21st century...

10

9/11: Blueprint for Truth (2010)

114 min · In 2 hours Richard Gage, AIA of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth takes you through most of the scientific forensic evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the destruction of WTC was accomplished with explosive controlled...

11

In Our Hands: A Documentary Series about People Regenerating Their Lives & The Earth (2020)

30 min · In Our Hands /En Nuestras Manos is a documentary series about a movement to restore ecological farming around the world. Filmmaker Matt Anderson (Fall and Winter, 2013) traveled to over 40 farms and gardens in 7 countries to document...

12

Laissez-faire (2015)

80 min · A historical perspective to understand Neoliberalism and to understand why this ideology today so profoundly influences the choices of our governments and our lives.

13

Laboratory Greece (2019)

165 min · A journey through Greece's past and recent history. The everyday life in the epicentre of the neoliberalist policies implemented. If Democracy can be destroyed in Greece, it can be destroyed throughout Europe Paul Craig Roberts

14

In Our Hands: Seeding Change (2017)

68 min · Food and farming is in crisis. In just over a decade weve lost more than 33,000 farms from our countryside, and alongside this, bad diet is now causing more health problems than smoking! The fundamental link between people, food and the...

15

War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State (2015)

69 min · War on Whistleblowers highlights recent cases where American government employees and contractors took to the media to expose fraud and abuse. In all cases, the whistle-blowing was to the detriment of their professional and personal lives.

16

Out Of Balance: ExxonMobil's Impact on Climate Change (2007)

66 min · Out of Balanceshows the influence that the largest company in the world has on governments, the media and citizens and what can be done about global warming. While the Earths climate is pushed further out of balance by increasing use of...

17

The Untold History of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party

113 min · I wish my teachers had shown me documentaries like this when I was in school.

18

Afghanistan War Exposed: An Imperial Conspiracy (2020)

37 min · Abby Martin covers the whole truth about the Afghanistan War, from the CIA construct of the 80's through 2020's senseless stalemate. Two decades, three administrations, tens of thousands of lives; it's time to #EndTheForeverWar.

19

Lucent (2014)

106 min · Commonly referred to as "the AustralianEarthlings", Lucent is a feature-length documentary which explores the darker side of Australia's pig farming industry through a combination of hand-held and hidden camera footage, highlighting the...

20

13TH (2016)

101 min · The title of Ava DuVernays extraordinary and galvanizing documentary 13TH refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall...

21

Palestinian Home Demolitions for Illegal Settlements Surging

24 min · The demolition of Palestinian homes for Israeli settlements reached a ten-year high in 2016. While this activity led by the fanatical settler movement is illegal under international law, it is completely aided and abetted by the Israeli...

22

The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis (1987)

86 min · In this documentary Bill Moyers exposes the inner workings of the secret government. Though originally broadcast in 1987, it is even more relevant today. Interviews with respected, top military, intelligence, and government insiders...

23

Esteem: The Power of Vulnerability (2016)

56 min · Australian filmmaker Peter Charles Downey takes us on a personal and cathartic journey of empowerment, redemption, and healing.

24

The New American Century (2009)

94 min · This film goes in detail through the untold history of The Project for the New American Century with tons of archival footage and connects it right into the present. This film exposes how every major war in US history was based on a...

25

The Basic Income (2008)

100 min · Grundeinkommen - ein Kulturimpuls (The Basic Income - A Cultural Impulse) is a German film with subtitles in 10 languages that makes the case for a basic income for all citizens. Subtitles Note: To make the subtitles easier to read...

26

Inner Climate Change: The Change Starts Within You (2020)

66 min · How do we navigate the intensity of emotions and reactions stirred up by climate change, or COVID-19 for that matter? How do we come to a place of peace, compassion, forgiveness and life-affirming action?

27

Hearts and Minds (1974)

112 min · Peter Davis' landmark documentary Hearts and Minds confronts with stark frankness the United States' involvement in Vietnam and the development of its foreign policy in the 1970s. Using a carefully constructed range of meticulously...

28

TAWAI: A Voice From the Forest (2017)

100 min · Tawai is a word the nomadic hunter-gatherers of Borneo use to describe the connection they feel to their forest home. In this dreamy, philosophical and sociological look at life, Bruce Parry (of the BBC's Tribe, Amazon & Arctic) embarks...

29

The War at Home: The Untold History of Class War in the United States (2021)

104 min · "In a time when many are questioning institutional integrity across society, seeking accurate and relevant information to help make sense of our supposedly post-truth era, Noble shines a spotlight into our dark past while providing a...

30

Invasion: In an Era of Reconciliation, Indigenous Land is Being Taken at Gunpoint (2019)

18 min · INVASION is a new film about the Unistoten Camp, Gidimten checkpoint and the larger Wet'suwet'en Nation standing up to the Canadian government and corporations who continue colonial violence against Indigenous people.

31

Big Sugar (2005)

90 min · From its early days with ties to slavery, to modern times with its political ties, "Big Sugar" explores the dark history and modern power of the worlds reigning sugar cartels.

32

Unseen Tears (2009)

29 min · Native American families in Western New York continue to feel the impact of the Thomas Indian School and the Mohawk Institute. Survivors speak of traumatic separation from their families, abuse, and a systematic assault on their...

33

Beyond Elections: Redefining Democracy in the Americas (2008)

95 min · From Venezuela's Communal Councils, to Brazil's Participatory Budgeting; from Constitutional Assemblies to grassroots movements, recuperated factories to cooperatives across the hemisphere -- this documentary is a journey, which takes...

34

Our Generation (2010)

73 min · Our Generationis an independent documentary film, made over 3 years, that looks at the current state of Indigenous relations in Australia, home to the oldest living culture in the world. Driven by the remote Yolngu peoples of Northeast...

35

Plastic Planet (2009)

99 min · Werner Boote presents an up-close and personal view of the controversial and fascinating material that has found its way into every facet of our daily lives: plastic. He takes us on a journey around the globe, showing that plastics have...

36

Freedom Ahead: Democracy Does Not Offer Freedom, Nature Does (2012)

60 min · Never before inhistory have so many people relied on so few for the basic essentials of life.

37

Establishing a Food Forest the Permaculture Way (2008)

82 min · Join Geoff Lawton on a Permaculture adventure as he demonstrates how to grow a food forest from start to finish. Over 90 minutes of quality information to get you on the right track in creating your own garden of Eden.

38

United Natures: a United Nations of all Species (2013)

104 min · United Natures explores the rights of Mother Earth, environmental philosophy, wisdom, spirituality, and the potential for a neo-indigenous future for humanity.

39

Tashi And The Monk (2014)

40 min · On a remote mountaintop of the Himalayas sits Jhamtse Gatsal (Tibetan for The Garden of Love and Compassion), a special school and home for 85 abandoned and neglected children. Founded by former Buddhist monk Lobsang Phunstok, who...

40

A Crude Awakening (2007)

82 min · Produced and directed by award-winning European journalists and filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, A Crude Awakening tells the story of how our civilizations addiction to oil puts it on a collision course with geology...

41

Breaking The Silence: Truth And Lies In The War On Terror (2003)

51 min · "BREAKING THE SILENCEis a film with enormous emotional power, bringing us the human consequences of our military attacks on Middle East countries. It also provides us with important insights into the reasons for these cruelties...

42

Tomorrow: All Over the Globe, Solutions Already Exist (2015)

120 min · Without question, this is absolutely the best and most creative film on the future of humanity and the environment. Paul HawkenWhat if telling a story that gives hope by pointing out solutions was the best way to solve the ecological...

43

Carnage (2017)

65 min · It's 2067, the UK is vegan, but older generations are suffering the guilt of their carnivorous past. Writer and Director Simon Amstellasks us to forgive them for the horrors of what they swallowed.

44

Louis Theroux: The Settlers (2025)

62 min · Fourteen years after his first visit and 2011 film The Ultra Zionists, Louis Theroux meets some of the growing community of religious-nationalist Israelis who have settled in the West Bank.

45

The Island of All Together

23 min · Every summer many European tourists travel to the Greek island Lesbos for a sunny holiday. This year thousands of refugees crossed the sea from Turkey and arrived on the island as well, looking for a safe haven in the European Union...

46

Dominion (2018)

120 min · Dominion uses drones, hidden and handheld cameras to expose the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture, questioning the morality and validity of humankinds dominion over the animal kingdom. While mainly focusing on animals used...

47

Cointelpro 101 (2010)

56 min · COINTELPROmay not be a well-understood acronym but its meaning and continuing impact are absolutely central to understanding the governments wars and repression against progressive movements.

48

Fools & Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest (2019)

30 min · Fools & Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest is a 30-minute documentary about Hinewai Nature Reserve, on New Zealands Banks Peninsula, and its kaitiaki/manager of 30 years, botanist Hugh Wilson. When, in 1987, Hugh let the local...

49

WikiRebels (2010)

57 min · Exclusive rough-cut of the first in-depth documentary on WikiLeaks and the people behind it! From summer 2010 until now, Swedish Television has been following the secretive media network WikiLeaks and its enigmatic Editor-in-Chief...

50

Mountains That Take Wing: Angela Davis & Yuri Kochiyama (2009)

97 min · MOUNTAINS THAT TAKE WING features conversations that span 13 years between two formidable women whose lives and political work remain at the epicenter of the most important civil rights struggles in the US. Through the intimacy and...

51

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (2011)

174 min · Adam Curtis directs this 3-part series about how humans have been colonised by the machines we have built.

52

Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980)

780 min · Astronomer Carl Sagan's landmark 13-part science series takes you on an awe-inspiring cosmic journey to the edge of the Universe and back aboard the spaceship of the imagination.

53

RiP! A Remix Manifesto (2009)

80 min · In RiP: A Remix Manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers.

54

Humano (2013)

88 min · Humano is a documentary that narrates a young man's journey to the Andes mountains, accompanied only by a camera, two hundred questions and the yearning to discover the origin of man. In Q'eros, he meets a shaman who will explain that...

55

The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (2006)

52 min · When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half and food by 80 percent people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the...

56

Human (2015)

382 min · What is it that makes us human? Is it that we love, that we fight? That we laugh? Cry? Our curiosity? The quest for discovery?

57

Oliver Stone: The Untold History Of The United States (2012)

570 min · There is a classified America we were never meant to see. From Academy Award-winning writer/director Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick, this twelve-part documentary series looks back at human events that at the time went under...

58

What Would It Look Like? (2009)

25 min · What if the world embodied our highest potential? What would it look like? As the structures of modern society crumble, is it enough to respond with the same tired solutions? Or are we being called to question a set of unexamined...

59

The Twelve: A Tale of Wisdom & Unity (2019)

75 min · The Twelve tells the story of twelve spiritual Elders from around the globe who gather at the United Nations in New York to create a unique ritual for Humankind and planet Earth. By interviewing each one of them in their home...

60

Do the Math (2013)

40 min · Like most people, Bill (environmentalist and co-founder of350.org), is not an activist by nature. Theres really not that many people whose greatest desire it to go out and fight the system. His theory of change was that hell write his...

61

Communities Of Hope: Discovering the Ecovillages of Europe (2020)

29 min · COMMUNITIES OF HOPE is a film born from a quest to discover a regenerative culture.

62

Counter-Intelligence: Shining a Light on Black Operations (2013)

360 min · "Scott Noble may have outdone himself with Counter Intelligence. The Psywar filmmaker amassed a tour de force of power elite and deep state scholars weighing in and synthesizing decades of research. From the rise of the national...

63

Real Estate 4 Ransom: Why Does Land Cost the Earth? (2012)

39 min · REAL ESTATE 4 RAN$OM outlines a genuine alternative to the global property speculation that forced so many into debt. Doubling the pressure, the tax game has become just that, with tax havens a favoured option for the wealthy. The...

64

Inside Job (2010)

108 min · 2010 Oscar Winner for Best Documentary, 'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst...

65

The Lottery of Birth (2013)

76 min · Do you shape the world or does it shape you? Drawing on leading thinkers from around the world, and with a torrent of mind-expanding ideas and information, THE LOTTERY OF BIRTH will make you think again about what it means to be free.

66

The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007)

104 min · BC's illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a business giant, dubbed by some involved as 'The Union', Commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually. With up to 85% of 'BC Bud' being exported to the United States, the...

67

For The Next 7 Generations (2009)

84 min · In 2004, thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers from all four corners, moved by their concern for our planet, came together at a historic gathering, where they decided to form an alliance: The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous...

68

The End of Poverty (2009)

105 min · Global poverty did not just happen. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, the problem persists because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies...

69

THE SKY IS PINK (2012)

18 min · 18 minutes could save New York. PINK LINKS: Selected Compiled Research The Sky Is Pink- Annotated industry documents featured in the film: .rollingstone.com/extras/theskyispink_annotdoc-gasl4final.p

70

Ecological Learning Through Direct Experience (2015)

45 min · This is a documentary about getting out into the natural world and learning from the wisdom of land and people - focusing on how rewilding our perception might be the catalyst for the changes we wish to see in the world.

71

Stare Into The Lights My Pretties (2017)

129 min · We live in a world of screens. The average adult spends the majority of their waking hours in front of some sort of screen or device. We're enthralled, we're addicted to these machines. How did we get here? Who benefits? What are the...

72

A Farm For The Future (2008)

48 min · More than 96 per cent of all the food grown in Britain is reliant on synthetic fertiliser. Without it there would be serious trouble. But without artificial fertiliser there's not enough nutrients for the crops to grow, and without...

73

Meat The Truth (2008)

70 min · Although many films have convincingly succeeded in drawing public attention to the issue of global warming, they have repeatedly ignored one of the most important causes of climate change, namely: intensive livestock production. Meat...

74

Israelism (2023)

84 min · When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the brutal way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp left turns. They join a movement of young American Jews battling the old guard to redefine...

75

What I've Learned About U.S. Foreign Policy (2000)

118 min · This is a powerful 10-part compilation that (in important ways) pulls aside the veil of Official myths and Lies about "freedom", "democracy", and human rights being the basis of U.S. foreign policy.

76

Park Avenue: Money, Power And The American Dream (2012)

59 min · Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) presents his take on the gap between rich and poor Americans in Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream. Gibney contends...

77

Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists (2011)

59 min · Louis Theroux spends time with a small and very committed subculture of ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers. He discovers a group of people who consider it their religious and political obligation to populate some of the most sensitive...

78

The Power of Nightmares (2004)

180 min · The Power of Nightmares is a BBC documentary 3-part film series. The films compare the rise of the Neo-Conservative movement in the United States and the radical Islamist movement, making comparisons on their origins and claiming...

79

This Is Neoliberalism | 5 Part Series (2020)

146 min · If you've ever wanted to understand whatneoliberalismis, this is the video series for you.

80

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006)

51 min · This groundbreaking 2006 documentary based on Jack Shaheen's acclaimed book of the same title critically examines a long line of degrading images of Arabs in Hollywood and U.S. popular culture -- from Bedouin bandits and submissive...

81

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn: What Was Done (2017)

33 min · This fantastic and entertaining documentary (full of biting satirical commentary) imagines what would happen if decades of neoliberal austerity in the UK was reversed by the democratic socialist programs of Jeremy Corbyn, who in the...

82

There's No Tomorrow (2012)

34 min · A 34 minute animated documentary about resource depletion and the impossibility of infinite growth on a finite planet.

83

Crossroads: Labor Pains of a New Worldview (2013)

65 min · Crossroads: Labor Pains of a New Worldview is a documentary exploring the depths of the current human condition and the emergence of a worldview that is recreating our world from the inside out. Weaving together insights and findings...

84

The Great Everything & the Nothing (2016)

111 min · 'This is the very definition of a film you MUST see before you die.' We all know that there's something odd about life. But we never really discuss it. 'The Great Everything & The Nothing' explores the world of social engineering...

85

Palestine Is Still The Issue (2002)

53 min · In a series of extraordinary interviews with both Palestinians and Israelis, John Pilger weaves together the issue of Palestine. He speaks to the families of suicide bombers and their victims; he sees the humiliation of Palestinians...

86

Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019)

84 min · This debut feature film by journalist Abby Martin is a documentary about the historic nonviolent Great March Of Return protests, which occurred every week from March 2018 until December 2019, but covers so much more.

87

The Century of the Self (2002)

230 min · The Century of the Self tells the untold and sometimes controversial story of the growth of the mass-consumer society. How was the all-consuming self created, by whom, and in whose interests? (Includes all parts of this multi-part series.)

88

The Corporation (2003)

145 min · The Corporation is today's dominant institution, creating great wealth but also great harm. This 26 award-winning documentary examines the nature, evolution, impacts and future of the modern business corporation and the increasing role...

89

Escape! From the Cult of Materialism (2016)

50 min · Does the philosophy of materialism work to destroy our identities, experience, and environment? Join narrator Daphne Ellis on a radical romp through the evidence and decide for yourself if you're in the cult and need to escape!

90

Waste = Food (2007)

49 min · Man is the only creature that produces landfills. Natural resources are being depleted on a rapid scale while production and consumption are rising in nations like China and India. The waste production world wide is enormous and if we...

91

Europe Or Die (2015)

100 min · Since 2000, more than 27,000 migrants and refugees have died attempting the perilous journey to Europe. With an unprecedented number of people breaking through its heavily barricaded borders in 2014, the EU continues to fortify its...

92

Planet Ocean (2014)

88 min · Can we imagine a film that would change the way people look at the ocean? Can we explain simply, to everyone, the greatest natural mystery of our planet? And lastly, can we help our children believe in a better and more sustainable...

93

Plutocracy: The History of Class War In The USA (2019)

560 min · Plutocracy,by filmmaker Scott Noble,is the first documentary series to comprehensively examine early American history through the lens of class.

94

The Super-Rich and Us (2015)

113 min · BBC documentary in which Jacques Peretti investigates how the super-rich are transforming Britain.

95

South of The Border (2010)

77 min · Theres a revolution underway in South America, but most of the world doesnt know it. Oliver Stone sets out on a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream medias misperception...

96

Earthlings (2005)

95 min · EARTHLINGS is a feature-length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human...

97

Origins (2014)

101 min · This is a movie about how we have left the natural connection to the planet. The movie investigates how this has happened, the incredible amounts of pollutants that we are exposed to, even as a fetus, and the technology that can help...

98

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992)

157 min · Funny, provocative and surprisingly accessible, MANUFACTURING CONSENT explores the political life and ideas of Noam Chomsky, world-renowned linguist, intellectual and political activist. In a dynamic collage of new and original footage...

99

Schooling the World (2010)

66 min · If you wanted to change an ancient culture in a generation, how would you do it? You would change the way it educates its children.

100

Recipe For Change | Building an Earthship in Ushuaia (2014)

62 min · Recipe For Change follows the story of Earthship Biotecturein Ushuaia, Argentina as they and a group of academy students build a two-room simple survival Earthship. Earthships are fully off the grid buildings which catch t

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