Every year, the Academy Awards honor the best in documentary filmmaking — a category that feels increasingly vital in the divided times we live in. Legendary documentarian Albert Maysles captured the emotional and civic power of documentaries when he said:

“People will come to find the documentary a more compelling and more important kind of film than fiction… When you see somebody on the screen in a documentary, you're really engaged with a person going through real life experiences.”

Documentaries matter because they humanize what sometimes is abstract and distant. They remind us that behind every headline is a person impacted by the news headlines of the day.

In 2021, I wrote a column for The Fulcrum titled Artists Reflect the Times They Live In, drawing on the words of Nina Simone, the incomparable singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Simone believed that artists have a responsibility to bear witness. As she put it:

“An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times… How can you be an artist and NOT reflect the times? That to me is the definition of an artist.”

At The Fulcrum, we share that conviction. Music, theater, film, and the arts more illuminate the emotional undercurrents of the news we report on. They can deepen understanding, spark empathy, and inspire people to engage in the work of building a stronger, more vibrant democracy.

Today, we turn our attention to this year’s Academy Award documentary shortlists, a collection of films that grapple with division, disinformation, authoritarianism, and the fragile work of coexistence. These filmmakers are not merely chronicling events; they are helping us understand the civic moment we inhabit.

Our hope is that by highlighting these films, readers will feel the human impact behind the issues we cover every day, and perhaps be moved to take part in the ongoing project of democratic renewal.

The Fulcrum’s List of Films That Speak Most Directly to Democracy Today

The Alabama Solution

“The film exposes abuses and neglect in Alabama's prison system, including beatings and deaths in custody, rampant drug use, lack of adequate resources, and reprisals, all of which were documented in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation and lawsuit. It also catalogues incarcerated people's efforts to improve their conditions through collective action. Along with traditional documentary filmmaking, the film also relies on footage shot with contraband cell phones by Robert Earl Council, Melvin Ray, and Raoul Poole.”

Mr. Nobody against Putin

“The film, which Talankin co-directed with Borenstein, provides a vivid, front-line account of the ethical challenges Russian teachers faced as the government began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and schools transformed into recruitment stages for the war. As the school’s videographer, the teachers and students were accustomed to seeing Talankin behind the camera, but when the Russian government made filming propaganda efforts a daily part of his job, Talankin turned his profession into his protest.”

My Undesirable Friends: Last Air in Moscow

“In October 2021, the New York-based filmmaker Julia Loktev flew to Moscow, amid nationwide protests in support of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Vladimir Putin's government had begun cracking down on independent journalists covering the protests, branding them as "foreign agents" — a designation that effectively stigmatized them and forced them to include disclaimers with their work.This new movie about Russia's independent journalists is harrowing, but not hopeless”

Seeds

“Premiering at Sundance in the U.S. Documentary competition, Seeds observes two Black farmers in the contemporary American South. Shyne, who also serves as cinematographer, constructs an empathetic portrait of agrarian life while also revealing threats to its survival. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a long history of discriminatory practices against Black farmers, including refusing to process loans or approving smaller loan amounts compared to those dispersed to white farmers.”

All the Walls Came Down

“A 38-minute documentary which captures the resilience and solidarity of a community determined to rise again. The director uses her personal loss as a way into a larger story about a community rallying together in the wake of the fires. The doc also chronicles how the Black community of West Altadena is being pushed out despite still making mortgage payments on houses that are no longer standing.”

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud

“Sacrificing one’s life for a higher cause is not a lone pursuit. Heroes are shaped and buoyed by supportive families who share the risks—emotionally if not always physically—alongside their loved ones. It’s a painful truth that resonates throughout Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud, a brutal and beautiful 37-minute tribute from Craig Renaud to his elder sibling and lifelong filmmaking partner, who was gunned down by Russian soldiers at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”

Coexistence, My Ass!

“Comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi's one‑woman show tackles the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict and the struggle for equality, challenging audiences with uncomfortable truths when her pursuit of coexistence starts sounding absurd.”

Classroom 4

“CLASSROOM 4 is the story of an award-winning professor teaching "The History of Crime and Punishment" inside a prison to a class of both free students and incarcerated students. It explores the true cost of mass incarceration and the power of human connection to transform society.”

Taken together, these films sketch a portrait of a nation and a world struggling to hold itself together. They reveal the erosion of trust in institutions, the difficulty of coexistence, and the rising threat of anti‑democratic forces. Yet woven through this backdrop is a message of hope: journalists, teachers, and ordinary citizens continue to show up for one another.

Democracy is not sustained by laws alone. It is sustained by the stories we tell about who we are and who we aspire to be. When filmmakers turn their cameras toward division, repression, or civic decay, they are not merely documenting problems. They are inviting us to confront them.

And when filmmakers tell stories of courage, renewal, or unexpected solidarity, they remind us that the democratic experiment, while fragile, is still alive and still worth fighting for.

Fulcrum's mission has always been to illuminate the forces pulling us apart and the people working to pull us back together. This year’s documentary shortlists show that storytellers around the world are wrestling with the same questions.

David Nevins is the publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.