Who Are the Most Important Documentary Directors?

Over at the Doculink listserv, there's been an ongoing discussion the past couple weeks about "the top 20 documentary filmmakers".  Part of the discussion has been - define top 20.  Is it top 20 of all time?  Top 20 currently active?  Most influential? 

But what began as pondering a list for 20, instead became a free-for-all, with folks there throwing out names of esteemed filmmakers until the total list numbered more than 150.  Now some of these were more than a bit nonsensical (what to make of someone proposing a filmmaker whose debut film is just now, unremarkably, hitting film festivals), and a few others were makers of single great films.  Others were documentary stalwarts as series producers, editors or cinematographers.

What follows, after the jump, is a curation of Doculink's original list.  For our standards, we're choosing the terminology "most important" - which could mean influential, indicative of a movement or an era, or that they created masterpieces of the form.  We've removed the one hit wonders and we've created an addendum list for noteworthy filmmakers who are in the early stages of their nonfiction careers.  And we've added a few folks who seemed particularly conspicuous in their absence.

Despite what feels like an exhaustive process, we're certain that we've yet to include some essential filmmakers.  So, let's take this list as a starting point.  Who do you think are the most important documentary filmmakers?  Who should be on the list?  Who is an emerging voice that should be included?  Is there anyone who shouldn't be here?

Marc Achbar (1960 - )
MANUFACTURING CONSENT* (1992)
THE CORPORATION* (2003)

Santiago Alvarez (1919-1998)
NOW (1965)
LBJ (1968)
79 PRIMAVERAS (79 SPRINGS) (1969)

Michael Apted (1941 - )
The UP Series (1970, 1977, 1985, 1991, 1998, 2005)
INCIDENT AT OGLALA (1992)

Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE (2000)
INSIDE DEEP THROAT (2005)

James Benning (1942 - )
11 x 14 (1976)
LANDSCAPE SUICIDE (1986)
DESERET (1995)

Alan Berliner (1956 - )
WIDE AWAKE (2006)
THE SWEETEST SOUND (2001)

Joe Berlinger (1961 - ) and Bruce Sinofsky (1956 - )
BROTHER'S KEEPER (1992)
PARADISE LOST (1996)
METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER (2004)

Les Blank (1935 - )
GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS TEN MOTHERS (1980)
WERNER HERZOG EATS HIS SHOE (1980)
BURDEN OF DREAMS (1982)

St. Clair Bourne (1943 - 2007)
MAKING "DO THE RIGHT THING" (1989)
PAUL ROBESON: HERE I STAND (1999)

Stan Brakhage (1933 - 2003)
The DOG STAR MAN Series (1963-1964)
The SONG Series (1964-1969)

Donald Brittain (1928 - 1989)
TIGER CHILD (1970)
VOLCANO: AN INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MALCOLM LOWRY (1976)
PAPERLAND: THE BUREAUCRAT OBSERVED (1979)

Nick Broomfield (1948 - )
AILEEN WOURNOS: THE SELLING OF A SERIAL KILLER (1992)
KURT & COURTNEY (1998)

Luis Bunuel (1900 - 1983)
LAS HURDES: TIERRA SIN PAN (1932)
ESPANA LEAL EN ARMAS (1937)

Ken Burns (1953 - )
THE CIVIL WAR (1990)
BASEBALL (1994)
JAZZ (2001)

Ric Burns (1995 - )
NEW YORK (1999)
ANDY WARHOL: A DOCUMENTARY FILM (2006)

Nanette Burstein (1970 - )
ON THE ROPES* (1999)
THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE* (2002)
AMERICAN TEEN (2008)

Frank Capra (1897 - 1991)
The WHY WE FIGHT Series* (1943-1944)
TUNISIAN VICTORY* (1944)

Christine Choy (1954 - )
WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN?* (1988)
IN THE NAME OF THE EMPORER* (1995)

Jem Cohen (1962 - )
INSTRUMENT (1998)
BENJAMIN SMOKE* (2000)

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910 - 1997)
LE MONDE DU SILENCE (1956)
LE MONDE SANS SOLEIL (1964)

Eduardo Coutinho (1933 - )
CABRA MARCADO PARA MORRER (TWENTY YEARS LATER) (1984)
JOGO DE CENA (PLAYING) (2007)

Paul Cowan
THE KID WHO COULDN'T MISS (1983)
WESTRAY* (2001)

R.J. Cutler
A PERFECT CANDIDATE* (1996)
THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE (2009)

Emile De Antonio (1920 - 1989)
POINT OF ORDER (1964)
MILLHOUSE (1971)

Jonathan Demme (1944 - )
STOP MAKING SENSE (1984)
THE AGRONOMIST (2004)
JIMMY CARTER MAN FROM PLAINS (2007)

Raymond Depardon (1942 - )
LA CAPTIVE DU DESERT (1990)
DELITS FLAGRANTS (CAUGHT IN THE ACTS) (1994)

Kirby Dick (1952 - )
SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST (1997)
TWIST OF FAITH (2004)
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED (2006)

Robert Drew (1924 - )
PRIMARY (1960)
CRISIS (1963)

Sergei Dvortsevoy (1962 - )
CHLEBNYY DEN (BREAD DAY) (1998)
V TEMNOTE (IN THE DARK) (2004)

Rob Epstein (1955 - )
THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK (1984)
THE CELLULOID CLOSET* (1995)
PARAGRAPH 175* (2000)

Harun Farocki (1944 - )
EIN BILD (AN IMAGE) (1983)
WIE MAN SIEHT (AS YOU SEE) (1986)
BILDER DER WELT UND INSCHRIFT DES KRIEGES (IMAGES OF THE WORLD AND THE INSCRIPTION OF WAR) (1989)

Connie Field
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ROSIE THE RIVETER (1980)
FREEDOM ON MY MIND* (1994)

Robert Flaherty (1884 - 1951)
NANOOK OF THE NORTH (1922)
MOANA (1926)
LOUISIANA STORY (1948)

Peter Forgacs (1950 - )
THE MAELSTROM: A FAMILY CHRONICLE (1997)
THE DANUBE EXODUS (1998)

Jeffrey Friedman
COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT* (1989)
PARAGRAPH 175* (2000)

Ron Fricke
CHRONOS (1985)
BARAKA (1992)

Su Friedrich
SINK OR SWIM (1990)
HIDE AND SEEK (1996)

Liz Garbus
THE FARM: ANGOLA, USA* (1998)
COMA (2007)

Alex Gibney
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM (2005)
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (2007)

Vlatko Gilic (1935 -
IL CONTINUO (1971)
ONE DAY MORE ONE DAY LESS (1973)

Jill Godmilow (1943 - )
HER ANTONIA: A PORTRAIT OF THE WOMAN* (1974)
FAR FROM POLAND (1984)

Marina Goldovskaya (1941 - )
VLAST' SOLOVETSKAYA (1988)
A TASTE OF FREEDOM (1991)

William Greaves (1926 - )
SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE ONE (1968)
THE FIGHTERS (1974)

John Grierson (1898-1972)
DRIFTERS (1929)
GRANTON TRAWLER (1934)

Charles Guggenheim (1924 - 2002)
MONUMENT TO THE DREAM (1968)
THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD (1989)
D-DAY REMEMBERED (1994)

Patricio Guzman (1941 - )
THE BATTLE OF CHILE (1976)
THE PINOCHET CASE (2001)

Barbara Hammer (1939 - )
NITRATE KISSES (1992)
TENDER FICTIONS (1995)

Kazuo Hara (1945 - )
GOKUSHITEKI EROSU: RENKA 1974 (EXTREME PRIVATE EROS: LOVE SONG 1974) (1974)
YUKI YUKITE SHINGUN (THE EMPEROR'S NAKED ARMY MARCHES ON) (1987)

Chris Hegedus (1952 - )
THE WAR ROOM* (1993)
STARTUP.COM* (2001)

Judith Helfand
A HEALTHY BABY GIRL (1997)
BLUE VINYL (2002)

Werner Herzog (1942 - )
LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY (1997)
THE WHITE DIAMOND (2004)
GRIZZLY MAN (2005)

George Hickenlooper (1963 - )
HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE (1991)
MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP (2003)

Heddy Honigmann (1951 - )
O AMOR NATURAL (1996)
FOREVER (2006)

Pijo Honkasalo (1947 - )
ATMAN (1997)
MELANCHOLIAN 3 HUONETTA (THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA) (2004)

Nicolas Humbert (1958 - ) and Werner Penzel (1950 - )
STEP ACROSS THE BORDER (1990)
THREE WINDOWS (1999)

Peter Hutton
NEW YORK PORTRAIT, CHAPTERS 1 & 2 (1978-1982)
TIME AND TIDE (2000)

Joris Ivens (1898 - 1989)
INDONESIA CALLING (1946)
17e PARALLELE: LA GUERRE DU PEUPLE (17th PARALLEL: VIETNAM IN WAR) (1968)
COMMENT YUKONG DEPLACA LES MONTAGNES (HOW YUKONG MOVED THE MOUNTAINS) (1976)

Steve James
HOOP DREAMS (1994)
STEVIE (2002)

Eugene Jarecki
THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER (2002)
WHY WE FIGHT (2005)

Humphrey Jennings (1907 - 1950)
FIRES WERE STARTED (1943)
THE SILENT VILLAGE (1943)

Allan King (1930 - )
WARRENDALE (1967)
A MARRIED COUPLE (1969)

Wolf Koenig (1927 -
CITY OF GOLD (1957)
LONELY BOY (1962)

Barbara Kopple (1946 - )
HARLAN COUNTY, U.S.A. (1976)
AMERICAN DREAM (1990)
SHUT UP & SING* (2006)

Claude Lanzmann (1925 - )
PORQUOI ISREAL (1972)
SHOAH (1985)

Richard Leacock (1921 - )
TOBY AND THE TALL CORN (1953)
A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY (1963)

Spike Lee (1957 - )
4 LITTLE GIRLS (1997)
WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS (2006)

Kim Longinotto (1952 - )
DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE (1998)
THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET (2002)
SISTERS-IN-LAW (2005)

Pare Lorentz (1905 - 1992)
THE RIVER (1938)
NUREMBERG (1946)

Kevin Macdonald (1967 - )
ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER (1999)
TOUCHING THE VOID (2003)

Greg MacGillivray (1945 - )
TO FLY! (1976)
THE LIVING SEA (1995)
EVEREST (1998)

Ron Mann (1959 - )
GRASS (1999)
GO FURTHER (2003)

Chris Marker (1921 - )
DESCRIPTION D'UN COMBAT (DESCRIPTION OF A STRUGGLE) (1960)
LE FOND DE L'AIR EST ROUGE (1977)
SANS SOLEIL (1983)

James Marsh (1963 - )
WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP (1999)
MAN ON WIRE (2008)

John Marshall (1932 - 2005)
THE HUNTERS (1957)
N!AI, THE STORY OF A K!UNG WOMAN (1980)

Albert Maysles (1926 - ) and David Maysles (1931 - 1987)
SALESMAN* (1968)
GIMME SHELTER* (1970)
GREY GARDENS* (1975)

Ross McElwee (1947 - )
SHERMAN'S MARCH (1986)
TIME INDEFINITE (1993)
BRIGHT LEAVES (2003)

Freida Lee Mock
MAYA LIN: A CLEAR, STRONG VISION (1994)
SING! (2001)

Michael Moore (1954 - )
ROGER & ME (1989)
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (2002)
FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (2004)

Brett Morgan
ON THE ROPES* (1999)
THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE* (2002)
CHICAGO 10 (2007)

Errol Morris (1948 - )
VERNON, FLORIDA (1982)
THE THIN BLUE LINE (1988)
THE FOG OF WAR (2003)

Stanley Nelson (1951 - )
THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL (2003)
JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLES TEMPLE (2006)

Steven Okazaki (1952 - )
THE MUSHROOM CLUB (2005)
WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN (2007)

Marcel Ophuls (1927 - )
LE CHAGRIN ET LA PITIE (THE SORROW AND THE PITY) (1969)
HOTEL TERMINUS (1988)

Jean Painleve (1902 - 1989)
L'HIPPOCAMPE (THE SEAHORSE) (1934)
THE VAMPIRE (1945)
ASSASSINS D'EAU DOUCE (FRESHWATER ASSASSINS) (1947)

Raoul Peck (1953 - )
LUMUMBA (2000)
PROFIT AND NOTHING BUT! (2001)

DA Pennebaker (1925 - )
DON'T LOOK BACK (1967)
MONTEREY POP (1968)
THE WAR ROOM* (1993)

Stacy Peralta (1957 - )
DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS (2001)
RIDING GIANTS (2004)

Nicholas Philibert (1951 - )
LA VILLE LOUVRE (LOUVRE CITY) (1990)
ETRE ET AVOIR (TO BE AND TO HAVE) (2002)

Lourdes Portillo (1944 - )
LAS MADRAS DE LA PLAZA DE MAYO (THE MOTHERS OF THE PLAZA DE MAYO) (1985)
SENORITA EXTRAVIADA (MISSING YOUNG WOMAN) (2003)

Doug Pray
HYPE! (1996)
SURFWISE (2007)

Peter Raymont (1950 - )
SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL (2004)
A PROMISE TO THE DEAD: THE EXILE JOURNEY OF ARIEL DORFMAN (2007)

Godfrey Reggio (1940 - )
KOYAANISQATSI (1982)
POWAQQATSI (1988)

Alain Resnais (1922 - )
NUIT ET BROUILLARD (NIGHT AND FOG) (1955)
TOUTE LA MEMOIRE DU MONDE (1956)

Thomas Riedelsheimer (1963 - )
RIVERS AND TIDES (2001)
TOUCH THE SOUND (2004)

Leni Riefenstahl (1902 - 2003)
TRIUMPH DES WILLENS (TRIUMPH OF THE WILL) (1935)
OLYMPIA (1938)

Marlon Riggs (1957 - 1994)
TONGUES UNTIED (1990)
COLOR ADJUSTMENT (1992)

Jean Rouch (1917 - )
LES MAITRES FOUS (THE MAD MASTERS) (1955)
CHRONIQUE D'UN ETE* (CHRONICLE OF A SUMMER) (1961)

Walter Ruttman (1887 - 1941)
BERLIN: DIE SINFONIE DER GROSSTADT (BERLIN, SYMPHONY OF A BIG CITY) (1927)
MELODIE DER WELT (1929)

Martin Scorsese (1942 - )
THE LAST WALTZ (1978)
NO DIRECTION HOME: BOB DYLAN (2005)

Esfir Shub (1894 - 1959)
PADENIE DINASTII ROMANOVYKH (THE FALL OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY) (1927)
ROSSIYA NIKOLAYA IL I LEV TOLSTOY (LEO TOLSTOY AND THE RUSSIA OF NICOLAI II) (1928)

Chris Smith (1970 - )
AMERICAN MOVIE (1999)
THE YES MEN* (2003)

Fernando E. Solanas (1936 - )
LA HORA DE LOS HORNOS (THE HOUR OF THE FURNACES) (1968)
ARGENTINA LATENTE (2007)

Penelope Spheeris (1945 - )
THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION (1981)
THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION PART II: THE METAL YEARS (1988)

Johan van Der Keuken (1938 - 2001)
FACE VALUE (1991)
AMSTERDAM GLOBAL VILLAGE (1996)

Anges Varda (1928 - )
SANS TOIT NI LOI (VAGABOND) (1985)
LES GLANEURS ET LA GLANEUSE (THE GLEANERS AND I) (2002)

Dziga Vertov (1896 - 1954)
The KINO-PRAVDA Series (1922-1925)
CHELOVEK S KINO-APPARATOM (THE MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA) (1929)

Peter Watkins (1935 - )
CULLODEN (1964)
THE WAR GAME (1965)

Peter Wintonick (1953 - )
MANUFACTURING CONSENT: NOAM CHOMSKY AND THE MEDIA* (1992)
CINEMA VERITE: DEFINING THE MOMENT (1999)

Frederick Wiseman (1930 - )
TITICUT FOLLIES (1967)
HIGH SCHOOL (1968)
MISSILE (1987)

Basil Wright (1907 - 1987)
SONG OF CEYLON (1934)
THE FACE OF SCOTLAND (1938)

Jessica Yu (1966 - )
IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL (2004)
PROTAGONIST (2007)

Noteworthy Filmmakers in the Earlier Stages of their Careers

Thom Andersen
LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF (2003)

Jennifer Baichwal
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES (2006)

Amir Bar-Lev
FIGHTER (2000)
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT (2007)

Bradley Beesley
OKIE NOODLING (2001)
SWEETHEARTS OF THE PRISON RODEO (2009)

Margaret Brown
BE HERE TO LOVE ME: A FILM ABOUT TOWNES VAN ZANDT (2004)
THE ORDER OF MYTHS (2008)

Larry Charles
BORAT (2006)
RELIGULOUS (2008)

Patrick Creadon
WORDPLAY (2006)
I.O.U.S.A. (2008)

Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady
THE BOYS OF BARAKA (2005)
JESUS CAMP (2006)

Jeff Feuerzeig
HALF JAPANESE: THE BAND THAT WOULD BE KING (1993)
THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON (2005)

Ari Folman
WALTZ WITH BASHIR (2008)

Seth Gordon
THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS (2007)

Davis Guggenheim (1963 -
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006)
IT MIGHT GET LOUD (2008)

Gary Hustwit
HELVETICA (2007)
OBJECTIFIED (2009)

Jason Kohn
MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) (2007)

James Longley (1972 - )
GAZA STRIP (2002)
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS (2006)

John Maringouin (1973 - )
RUNNING STUMBLED (2006)
BIG RIVER MAN (2009)

Jehane Noujaim (1974 - )
STARTUP.COM* (2001)
CONTROL ROOM (2004)

Jacques Perrin (1941 - )
LE PEUPLE MIGRATEUR (WINGED MIGRATION) (2001)

Laura Poitras
FLAG WARS* (2003)
MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY (2006)

Sarah Price
THE YES MEN* (2003)
SUMMERCAMP!* (2006)

Juan Carlos Rulfo (1964 - )
EN EL HOYO (IN THE PIT) (2006)

Hubert Sauper (1966 - )
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE (2004)

Morgan Spurlock (1970 - )
SUPER SIZE ME (2004)

Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg
THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT (2006)
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK (2007)

Deborah Stratman
IN ORDER NOT TO BE HERE (2002)
O'ER THE LAND (2009)

Ondi Timoner
DIG! (2004)
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (2009)

Bing Wang
TIE XI QU: WEST OF THE TRACKS (2003)

Comments

[James McNally]

Offhand, in the emerging voice category, I would nominate Austrians Michael Glawogger (Megacities, Workingman's Death) and Erwin Wagenhofer (We Feed the World, Let's Make Money) and Brit Lucy Walker (The Devil's Playground, Blindsight).

[Jamie]

Dennis O'Rourke for sure (Cannibal Tours, Good Woman of Bangkok, Cunnamulla), Viktor Kossakovsky (The Belovs, Tishe!), Alan and Susan Raymond (An American Family- listed as "filmmakers", they shot and did sound for this seminal work. They also did Police Tapes and two follow up documentaries to An American Family), Jeff Kreines and Joel DeMott (Seventeen alone assures them a spot, but also the amazing Demon Lover Diary argues for their inclusion, both are maddeningly hard to find).

[caspar sonnen]

There are three directors on the top of my personal list of favorites that I'd definitely like to nominate:

Victor Kossakovsky (The Belovs, Tishe!, Svyato)

Jorgen Leth (66 scenes from America, Five Obstructions)

Ulrich Seidl (Tierische Liebe, Mit Verlust ist zu Rechnen, Jesus Du Weist)

[Ky N. Nguyen]

Raoul Peck's "Lumumba" and Larry Charles's "Borat" are not documentaries.

At first, it seems a bit incongruent -- albeit technically accurate considering his scant released work as a director -- to classify Jacques Perrin under "Noteworthy Filmmakers in the Earlier Stages of their Careers."

[David H.]

Sarah Kernochan (Marjoe, 1972 & Thoth, 2002)?

[Francois Verster]

Great resource this... but it sees to be a bit North American-centric, with some bows to obvious non-American greats... Would strongly agree with including Jorgen Leth, Ulrich Seidl, Victor Kossakovsky, Michael Glawogger as suggested. Or then, in terms of importance more broadly, what about Avi Mograbi, John Appels, Abbas Kiarostami, Jean Marie Teno, Andrzej Fidyk? And, still in North America, what about Peter Mettler and Larry Weinstein? As for "earlier stage" filmmakers, perhaps Kazuhiro Soda?

[mpowell]

Vagabond by Agnes Varda is not a documentary (It stars Sandrine Bonnaire) but her recent, Les Plages d'Agnes is a brilliant documentary.

[Adam Hyman]

Hi AJ,

thank you for adding some titles!

There are quite a few left off, such as Jean Marie Teno, who were on the Doculink compiled list (and who has a new film doing the festival rounds right now).
Thom Andersen is not in early stages - he's just not primarily a filmmaker, so he has just a few films, but going back to the 1960s.
I actually was supposed to do one more update of the Doculink list. It was unquestionably North American centric, but a few of us were trying to add some from elsewhere, but our knowledge remains limited. I'd love to get more input from curators of the Flaherty Seminar, who have been bringing more work from other lands. An obvious dearth of work from China on the list, but there must be plenty.

[Emily W. Sussman]

I'm good with it all, but why not add "The Hamptons" to Barbara Kopple's resume?

[Adam Benzine]

I would add Alastair Fothergill to that list - wildlife documentaries are documentaries too, and Planet Earth is likely to feature near the top of any wildlife documentary list...

[Frederik Rosen]

Janus Metz 'Armadillo', CANNES 2010 will be one of the most important documentaries ever made.

[Tobi Elliott]

I would have to add Magnus Isacsson (Montreal) to the list. Authored many award-winning films, including 'Power', 'The Choir Boys' and 'Pressure Point'. Recently produced 'La Bataille de Rabaska', 'L'art en action' and 'Les Super Mémés' - all critically acclaimed films about citizen activism.