We’re a little bit past halfway through the year of 2025, and of the movies I’ve seen so far this year, about half are documentaries. And quite a few of them have been outstanding. These are my favorites:

Miranda Yousef’s documentary about Thomas Kinkade juggles the story of his rise, his fight for respectability, his place in the culture wars of the early 1990s, and ultimately his downfall. Finally released after two years on the festival circuit, it’s an often damning but fair portrayal of Kinkade’s legacy.

Matt Wolf’s film about the late Paul Reubens is, in many ways, about identity: The way Reubens was gay but kept it secret during his lifetime, and also the question of whether Paul Reubens ended and where his most famous character, Pee-Wee Herman, began. And Reubens also kept another secret, that he was dying of cancer, from almost everyone, the filmmakers included.

Alex Ross Perry’s examination of the 1990s band Pavement is several things at once: An examination of the band’s history, a documentation of their return, and a look at both a jukebox musical featuring their music and a Bohemian Rhapsody-like biopic about them. The musical is real, while the biopic is completely fake, which may jeopardize Pavements’ eligibility for documentary awards. But I thought this was a hoot, and a super-creative thing to do with the documentary form.

A fantastic, immersive documentary about the Colleyville hostage situation in early 2022, when a gunman took a rabbi and two congregants hostage during a Shabbat morning service. Directed by Dani Menkin, the film uses security camera footage, as well as testimony from the survivors, to tell the complete story of that day. I saw this at a one-off screening, and I have no idea when it might be released, but it’s fantastic.

A fascinating, and also damning, documentary, directed by Andres Veiel, about Leni Riefenstahl, the woman who made formally inventive but unquestionably evil laudatory documentaries about Hitler, and then went on to live into the 21st century. Riefenstahl had always claimed to not know the full picture about Nazi atrocities, but the documentary marshals evidence indicating that she knew more than she let on.

One of the best post-October 7 films, this one follows the family of a woman taken hostage, and their many different views about the right course of action, as they travel to the U.S. to lobby members of Congress (“you think I wanted to meet with Mitch McConnell, that asshole?,” one of them says.) One of the more nuanced and thought-provoking films about the conflict in recent memory.

One of the better parts of the seemingly endless celebration of Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary was this documentary, directed by Questlove, that looked at very about every aspect of SNL’s music: Great musical guests, musical moments, and huge controversies. The documentary began with a great montage, and didn’t let up after that:

One of several superlative docs that have aired this year on PBS’ various documentary series, this Independent Lens installment from director Robie Flores features the filmmaker’s return to her hometown on the U.S./Mexico border, after her brother’s death. A much more human story than most of what’s reported in the news about immigration and the border.

A very good archival documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono in New York in the 1970s, preparing for and ultimately performing their only concert together. Gets far beyond the myth of what you think you know about them.

It’s the U2 frontman following the format of the Bruce Springsteen Broadway performance, telling stories from his life, along with stripped-down versions of some of its hits. But this was way, way better than my expectations.

Honorable mention: Sly Lives aka The Burden of Black Genius, The Best of Me, The Diamond King, Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything, We Beat the Dream Team, Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse, Jimmy in Saigon, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?, Antidote.