Watch the Best Social Change Documentaries Free Online

Stories Of Wolves: The Lobo Returns (2013)

“Stories of Wolves” is about the recovery efforts for Mexican Gray Wolves, the most endangered land mammal in all of North America. Less than 100 wolves remain in the wild in...

Documentary · 73 min · 335 views · 3.8 stars · added by Elke Duerr

Tashi And The Monk (2014)

On a remote mountaintop of the Himalayas sits Jhamtse Gatsal (Tibetan for “The Garden of Love and Compassion”), a special school and home for 85 abandoned and neglected...

Documentary · 40 min · 16,228 views · 4.8 stars · added by Films For Action

Wetheuncivilised, a Life Story (2017) ($4)

Disillusioned by a story of consumption and alienation, a newly married couple is called to action. Carrying with them their unborn child, they embark on a year-long journey...

Documentary · 101 min · 4,545 views · 4.2 stars · added by Films For Action

Ike - Knowledge Is Everywhere (2014)

The future of our children, our health, and our society, will depend on how we meet the defining social challenge of our time: developing a quality, comprehensive education...

Documentary · 69 min · 4,743 views · 3.8 stars · added by Matthew Nagato

Honey At The Top (2016)

Kenya: a forest people #fightback as they are illegally evicted, beaten & imprisoned - paid for by the World Bank. HONEY AT THE TOP is the new documentary from Dean Puckett (...

Documentary · 57 min · 7,049 views · 4.3 stars · added by Dean Puckett

Inside the Hotbeds of Israeli Settler Terror

Abby Martin goes on-the-ground to the epicenters of state-backed settler terrorism in Palestine’s West Bank, in Part II of her report on illegal Israeli settlements and home...

Documentary · 26 min · 2,708 views · 4.3 stars · added by Abby M

Palestinian Home Demolitions for Illegal Settlements Surging

The demolition of Palestinian homes for Israeli settlements reached a ten-year high in 2016. While this activity led by the fanatical settler movement is illegal under...

Documentary · 24 min · 12,163 views · 4.3 stars · added by Abby M

Where Do You Draw the Line? (2016)

Why is the Ecuadorian government proposing to extract oil in an area frequently classified by ecologists as one of the most bio-diverse rainforest regions left intact on earth?...

Documentary · 60 min · 7,361 views · 3.8 stars · added by Films For Action

The Feminist Library: A Short Film (2016)

The Feminist Library: A Short Film was made in support of the Save the Feminist Library Campaign in London (UK), documenting a crucial moment in the library's herstory as it...

Documentary · 29 min · 2,299 views · 4 stars · added by Anaïs Charles

Answering the Call ($10)

Fifty one years ago, the nation watched in horror as bloody images of police attacks on civil rights protestors in Selma, Alabama aired on television. John Witeck...

Documentary · 75 min · 3,164 views · 4.3 stars · added by Brian Jenkins

Escape! From the Cult of Materialism (2016)

Does the philosophy of materialism work to destroy our identities, experience, and environment? Join narrator Daphne Ellis on a radical romp through the evidence and decide for...

Documentary · 50 min · 14,096 views · 4.4 stars · added by Films For Action

Still Berning (2016)

Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic presidential primary to Hillary Clinton. But it was a glorious loss. And it has become a beginning, not an end. The end of the Bernie Sanders...

Documentary · 47 min · 1,780 views · 4.3 stars · added by Films For Action

Before the Flood (2016) ($3)

Join Leonardo DiCaprio as he explores the topic of climate change, and discovers what must be done today to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet. From Academy...

Documentary · 95 min · 82,621 views · 4.7 stars · added by Andrew Butler

HyperNormalisation (2016)

We live in a time of great uncertainty and confusion. Events keep happening that seem inexplicable and out of control. Donald Trump, Brexit, the War in Syria, the endless...

Documentary · 161 min · 69,383 views · 4.2 stars · added by Andrew Butler

Gatekeeper (2016)

The Tojinbo Cliffs are a popular Japanese tourist destination known for their rugged beauty. The sheer cliffs are also a favored location for those wanting to jump to their...

Documentary · 40 min · 4,495 views · 3.5 stars · added by Andrew Butler

The Journey From Syria (2016)

Reporter Matthew Cassel spent a year documenting the journey of Syrian jeweler Aboud Shalhoub as he travels from Turkey to Greece, and through Eastern Europe to the Netherlands...

Documentary · 71 min · 9,960 views · 4.6 stars · added by Andrew Butler

Resistance in Athens - Medialien Doc (2016)

The Greek tragedy, economic blackmail and democratic treason, the impact of the refugee crisis and a visit to Exarchia, Athen's Arnarchist hood. La tragédie Grecque, chantage...

Documentary · 20 min · 3,273 views · 4.6 stars · added by FRanck dubosc

Decadence: The Meaninglessness of Modern Life (2006)

Decadence: The Meaninglessness of Modern Life is a six-part Australian television documentary series hosted by Pria Viswalingam. The series examines the decadence and...

Documentary · 150 min · 9,426 views · 4.4 stars · added by Andrew Butler

"Injustice Anywhere" (2016)

Filmmaker Aziza Binti describes the documentary as such: "Social justice is not just "their" problem; it's everyone's concern. We reference the quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin...

Documentary · 50 min · 5,637 views · 4.3 stars · added by Aziza Binti

A Very Heavy Agenda Part 3: Maintaining the World Order ($3)

“Without doubt it is the best documentary I have watched – on any subject – in years” – Tom Secker [spyculture.com] “One of the most important documentaries in circulation at...

Documentary · 212 min · 5,303 views · 4.3 stars · added by Films For Action

Visions of Utopia - Experiments in Sustainable Culture (2016) ($5)

Visions of Utopia documents and profiles 7 diverse intentional communities in the United States. Have an inside look at what it is like to live in intentional communities from...

Documentary · 96 min · 2,678 views · 4 stars · added by Films For Action

The 5 Stages of Climate Change Grief w/ Bill Nye and Arnold Schwarzenegger

Bill Nye is feeling down. He's visiting his therapist – Dr. Arnold Schwarzenegger – wondering why he doesn't feel like himself lately. He feels as if a horrible weight is on...

Documentary · 43 min · 50,818 views · 4.3 stars · added by Said El Fanne

Wasted/ Wanted

Every year, supermarkets in the UK throw away an estimated 40million tonnes of perfectly edible food, often for perplexing reasons. FareShare is a charity that diverts some of...

Documentary · 27 min · 2,651 views · 4 stars · added by Billy Zed

Seeing the Forest (2015)

This documentary tells the story of how a national forest service evolved from seeing trees as its primary resource, to seeing the forest whole.

Documentary · 31 min · 4,742 views · 3.5 stars · added by Alan Honick

rEVILution: Rise of the Christofascists (2016)

The following documentary examines the role Christianity plays in American right-wing politics and the radicalizing effect it has had. Republicans often say that a handful of...

Documentary · 31 min · 16,849 views · 4 stars · added by A Cause For Ideas

UNCOUNTED: The Story of the California Primary (2016)

In an extensive mini-documentary by Rogue Kite Productions and The Young Turks, we tell you the true story of what happened leading up to and after the California Democratic...

Documentary · 40 min · 10,398 views · 4.3 stars · added by Films For Action

Monsanto, America's Monster

Last month, the University of San Francisco made an alarming discovery, that 93% of Americans tested had traces of a chemical called glyphosate in their urine. Last year, the...

Documentary · 24 min · 10,829 views · 4.3 stars · added by Abby M

Struggle[s] at Nuit Debout, Part 1: Paris - Medialien (2016)

Thoughts on the first weeks at Nuit Debout, how it functions, its massification, its relationship to the labour unions, to violence, to police brutality and to the...

Documentary · 30 min · 1,512 views · 4.6 stars · added by Medialien

Planet Ocean (2014)

Can we imagine a film that would change the way people look at the ocean? Can we explain simply, to everyone, the greatest natural mystery of our planet? And lastly, can we...

Documentary · 88 min · 16,833 views · 4.6 stars · added by Andrew Butler

Let Fury Have the Hour (2012)

Rough, raw and unapologetically inspirational, Let Fury Have the Hour is a charged journey into the heart of the creative counter-culture in 2012. In a time of global...

Documentary · 87 min · 3,798 views · 4 stars · added by Andrew Butler

Propaganda and The Engineering of Consent for Empire with Mark Crispin Miller

With thousands of advertisements seen by Americans everyday, and a corporate media that reinforces the needs of Empire, propaganda in the U.S. is more pervasive and effective...

Documentary · 26 min · 3,145 views · 3.8 stars · added by Abby M

How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change (2016)

Oscar Nominated director Josh Fox (Gasland) continues in his deeply personal style, investigating climate change – the greatest threat our world has ever known. Traveling to 12...

Documentary · 125 min · 4,997 views · 4 stars · added by Films For Action

The Climate Changers (2016)

The Climate Changers is a short documentary about civil society engagement during the historic climate conference (COP 21) in Paris in December 2015. Journalist Samuel...

Documentary · 47 min · 4,414 views · 3.5 stars · added by Esther Petsche

A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity (2016)

A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity is a feature-length documentary that follows a community in Australia who came together to explore and demonstrate a simpler way to live in...

Documentary · 79 min · 9,000 views · 4.7 stars · added by Jordan Osmond

United Natures: a United Nations of all Species (2013)

United Natures explores the Rights of Mother Earth, Environmental Philosophy, Wisdom, Spirituality and the potential for a Neo-indigenous future for humanity. Directed and...

Documentary · 103 min · 11,438 views · 4.3 stars · added by Films For Action

What a Strange Way of Life (2015)

This documentary closely follows the eco-village Cabrum, a recent community in northern Portugal; Cooperativa Integral Catalana, in Barcelona, which practices self-management...

Documentary · 109 min · 7,544 views · 4.3 stars · added by Films For Action

The Worm Is Turning (2015) ($8)

THE WORM IS TURNING tells the story of how corporate agribusiness is taking over the world's food production in the name of 'efficiency' and 'feeding a starving world' - while...

Documentary · 103 min · 1,804 views · 3.5 stars · added by mona smith

Used and Betrayed - 100 Years of US Troops as Lab Rats

On Memorial Day, politicians will speak at ceremonies all over the country and repeat their favorite mantra: “Support the troops.” This pledge is hammered into the American...

Documentary · 31 min · 9,381 views · 4.5 stars · added by Abby M

Re-Learning the Land: a Story of Red Crow College (2015)

RE-LEARNING THE LAND is the story of a Blackfoot community in southern Alberta, Canada, and how they have re-taken control of their education system within Red Crow Community...

Documentary · 68 min · 4,581 views · 3.5 stars · added by Enlivened Learning

Donald Trump: Make America Hate Again (2016)

The following documentary examines the many parallels between Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler. Trump's right-wing populism, Islamophobia, racism, and nationalism has gained him...

Documentary · 42 min · 5,518 views · 3.5 stars · added by Films For Action

One Day in Tamera (2016)

This short documentary is about the self sustaining community of Tamera, Portugal. In the film we speak with the residents of the community, who tell us how they made that...

Documentary · 23 min · 2,788 views · 4.5 stars · added by Bérczes Ádám

Street Life: Faces Uncovered (2016)

Our mission is to enlighten and educate the general population about the grassroots issues of poverty and homelessness in Chicago, the US and abroad, and tell the story from...

Documentary · 41 min · 1,489 views · 4 stars · added by Neal Karski

DISOBEDIENCE: The Courage To Break Free (2016)

Disobedience is a new film about a new phase of the climate movement: courageous action that is being taken on the front lines of the climate crisis on every continent, led by...

Documentary · 41 min · 24,151 views · 4.8 stars · added by Films For Action

A New Story for Humanity (2016)

Inspired by the New Story Summit at the Findhorn Foundation: a sold-out multicultural, multigenerational inquiry into a new story for humanity, attended by change makers and...

Documentary · 102 min · 59,468 views · 4.6 stars · added by Films For Action

Hillary Clinton's Business of Corporate Shilling & War Making (2016)

Digging deep into Hillary's connections to Wall Street, Abby Martin reveals how the Clinton's multi-million-dollar political machine operates. This episode chronicles the...

Documentary · 27 min · 9,408 views · 4.7 stars · added by Abby M

How the World Runs on Looting the Congo

Every drone flown by the U.S. military has inside a piece of the Democratic Republic of the Congo--a valuable mineral, of which the DRC has trillions of dollars worth buried...

Documentary · 27 min · 10,192 views · 4.6 stars · added by Abby M

Pushing Through the Pavement: a Permaculture Action Story || OFFICIAL TOUR FILM

Pushing Through the Pavement: A Permaculture Action Story It’s true; musicians can be a catalyst for social change! Watch the inspiring story about the first Permaculture...

Documentary · 72 min · 2,580 views · 4.4 stars · added by Zac Fabian

In Defence of Life (2016)

In Defence of Life follows the struggles and triumphs of four communities resisting large-scale mining projects in Colombia, the Philippines, South Africa and Romania...

Documentary · 33 min · 3,158 views · 4.6 stars · added by Joseph Lambert

HAMSA : A Syrian Refugee Family now in Rural Germany.

In September 2015 the BBC recorded an interview with Hamsa, a Syrian mother and refugee, as she neared the end of a desperate four-year journey from Homs, Syria to Germany. Her...

Documentary · 19 min · 2,849 views · 4.4 stars · added by Caroline Spearpoint

The Sea Between Us (2016)

Vignettes of some of the women, men and children journeying across the Aegean Sea, seeking refuge and lives of less precarity- and the reflections of those working in...

Documentary · 47 min · 9,267 views · 4 stars · added by Andrew Butler