Nanook of the North, released in 1922, is widely regarded as the first feature-length documentary film.

Robert Flaherty is often considered the father of documentary filmmaking, primarily due to his pioneering work on Nanook of the North.

The Vertov Group, Kino-Pravda, and Dziga Vertov Group were all names used to refer to the influential Soviet documentary film movement of the 1920s and 1930s.

Man with a Movie Camera, directed by Dziga Vertov in 1929, is widely recognized for its innovative use of observational cinema, capturing everyday life in the Soviet Union.

The Farm Security Administration (FSA) created a documentary film unit during the Great Depression to document the lives of rural Americans.

Ken Burns is known for his trilogy of films about the American South: The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), and Jazz (2001).

The Vietnam War, produced by PBS and released in 2017, is a groundbreaking documentary series that provides a comprehensive look at the Vietnam War.

Michael Moore is known for his controversial documentaries, including Roger & Me (1989), Bowling for Columbine (2002), and Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004).

Food, Inc., released in 2008, is a documentary film that examines the corporate control of the food industry and its impact on public health and the environment.

Alex Gibney is known for his documentaries about the intersection of technology and society, including We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (2013) and The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019).

The Great Hack, released in 2018, is a documentary film that examines the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the role of social media in the 2016 US presidential election.

Ava DuVernay is known for her documentaries about the American criminal justice system, including 13th (2016) and When They See Us (2019).

Arctic, released in 2018, is a documentary film that follows the journey of a polar bear and her cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic landscape.

Werner Herzog is known for his documentaries about the human condition and the search for meaning, including Grizzly Man (2005) and Into the Abyss (2011).

Respect, released in 2021, is a documentary film that chronicles the life and career of the American singer Aretha Franklin.