Robert Flaherty is considered the father of documentary filmmaking for his pioneering work on the 1922 film Nanook of the North.

Frederick Wiseman is known for his observational style and use of cinéma vérité, a filmmaking technique that emphasizes direct observation of reality without narration or interviews.

Errol Morris directed the influential documentary film The Thin Blue Line (1988), which helped to exonerate a man wrongly convicted of murder.

Ken Burns is known for his epic historical documentaries, such as The Civil War (1990) and Baseball (1994).

James Marsh directed the Academy Award-winning documentary film Man on Wire (2008), which tells the story of Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the Twin Towers in 1974.

Michael Moore is known for his films about the American Dream, such as Bowling for Columbine (2002) and Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004).

Asif Kapadia directed the documentary film Amy (2015), about the life and death of singer Amy Winehouse.

Malik Bendjelloul is known for his films about the music industry, such as Searching for Sugar Man (2012) and Amy (2015).

David Gelb directed the documentary film Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011), about the life of sushi master Jiro Ono.

David Attenborough is known for his films about the natural world, such as Planet Earth (2006) and Blue Planet II (2017).

Louie Psihoyos directed the documentary film The Cove (2009), which exposed the dolphin hunting industry in Taiji, Japan.

Davis Guggenheim is known for his films about social justice issues, such as An Inconvenient Truth (2006) and Waiting for Superman (2010).

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin directed the documentary film Free Solo (2018), about rock climber Alex Honnold's free solo ascent of El Capitan.

Joshua Oppenheimer is known for his films about the human condition, such as The Act of Killing (2012) and The Look of Silence (2014).

Betsy West and Julie Cohen directed the documentary film RBG (2018), about the life and career of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.