This Week In Documentary: 'Sly Lives' & 'Paint Me A Road Out Of Here'
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - February 7-13, 2025
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival is over (see our coverage here, here, and here, and our rankings here), but this week brings the first of its documentaries to your living room — for its commercial release, that is. You can find it showcased as our Pick of the Week. Other highlights over the next seven days include our continued coverage of TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar programming and Film at Lincoln Center’s Frederick Wiseman retrospective. Also, two notable new theatrical releases and two films that might help you understand some infuriating current events a little better.
Now, without further ado, below you’ll find this week’s highlights, listings, and coming attractions, including our Pick of the Week. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future.
Nonfics Picks Of The Week: Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden Of Black Genius) (2025)
Questlove’s second documentary feature was going to have trouble living up to its high expectations, but Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) does not disappoint. Will it be remembered as the best documentary of 2025, the way Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is easily considered the best documentary of 2021? Probably not. The musician-turned-filmmaker’s latest effort is a more conventional biographical music documentary, albeit better than most. Nothing stands out the way even his recent documentary special, Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music, does with its extensive opening mashup montage sequence; it’s just very well made throughout.
Sly Lives! is a film about Sylvester Stewart, a.k.a. Sly Stone, the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone. It paints him as your typical troubled artist genius, not knowing how to handle his success and fame and eventually experiencing a downfall brought on by drug addiction. His life would make for a generic biopic with many of the cliches lampooned in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. As a documentary, though, Stewart’s story is supplemented by context. As he did with Summer of Soul, Questlove fills this feature with historical and cultural background for every segment of the event in focus (if we’re to consider a whole life one event in this example).
The film also includes a discussion of the concept of Black genius and how Stewart was the first such genius to rise to the level of rock stardom that he did, meaning he set the precedent. Without my having lived during the peak of his career, and without his legacy being consistently exaggerated the way most white rock stars and other icons had been during my youth in the 1980s, I had trouble recognizing how big a deal Sly and the Family Stone was at that time. The documentary doesn’t quite acknowledge that drop in his notoriety and significance over the last 50 years, which makes it a little incomplete as an examination of Stewart and Black genius. Still, it’s not hard to fill in the blanks.
One thing that Sly Lives! incorporates well, which I will continue to praise in the occasional music docs that do it (last year it was Ennio and Music by John Williams that did so), is detailed commentary on why certain compositions are masterpieces and/or pioneering songs. Questlove reminds us maybe a little too much about the artists who came after Stewart who wouldn’t be who they were without Sly and the Family Stone — particularly Prince and various hip-hop stars who sampled their songs. That’s obvious. For those of us who aren’t as savvy about music theory, though, talk of what made certain songs innovative works of genius adds a lot to understanding and appreciating Stewart’s contributions to the world and why they’re so everlasting.
Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) begins streaming on Hulu on Thursday, February 13.
Other Documentary Highlights
Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025)
The other big music documentary of the week is one that I haven’t yet seen. That’s a good sign. Sony Pictures Classics isn’t sharing screeners of Becoming Led Zeppelin with critics because they prefer we see it on the big screen. For its first week in theaters, the documentary is playing exclusively in IMAX, and I’m sure that’s the optimal way to watch it, preferably with a big crowd of fellow fans.
Led Zeppelin has been the subject of some unremarkable documentaries, and they starred in the iconic concert film The Song Remains the Same (currently streaming on Prime Video), but they never had anything like this. Becoming Led Zeppelin had the full cooperation of the band to document their origin story for the first time. Much of the footage has never been seen before by general audiences.
The film took a long time to make because finding enough of that unique early footage of Led Zeppelin was not easy. For such a major rock group for so many years, they’re surprisingly obscure in visual media. Announced in 2019, Becoming Led Zeppelin was screened as a work in progress at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, and almost four years have passed since then. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the documentary — it was also on our list of the year’s most anticipated films — and from what I hear, they won’t be disappointed.
Becoming Led Zeppelin opens on IMAX screens on Friday, February 7, and expands to other theaters on Friday, February 14.
Early Oscar Documentaries
Last week, I highlighted the earliest documentaries nominated at the Academy Awards, focusing on the films recognized before the introduction of the Oscars’ two documentary categories. This week, in honor of this month’s programming at Turner Classic Movies, I want to acknowledge the documentaries that were nominated in 1942, the first year of the Best Documentary Short Subject award. Interestingly, not all docs in contention that year were recognized in that category.
Eleven short documentaries were nominated for the inaugural Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject: Adventure in the Bronx (now unavailable), Bomber: A Defense Report on Film (currently on YouTube), Christmas Under Fire (YouTube), A Letter from Home (unavailable), Life of a Thoroughbred (unavailable), Norway in Revolt (available via Alexander Street), A Place to Live (YouTube), Russian Soil (unavailable), Soldiers of the Sky (unavailable), War Clouds in the Pacific (NFB.ca), and Churchill’s Island (streaming on NFB.ca, Prime Video, Ovid, Tubi, and Filmzie), which won the Oscar. More than half of them have something to do with World War II.
One of TCM’s selections last week, Forty Boys and a Song (watch it now on YouTube), had the distinction of being one of those short documentaries nominated in 1942 that wasn’t part of the Best Documentary Short Subject category. Instead, it was nominated for Best Live Action Short Subject, One-Reel. The films Kings of the Turf (on YouTube), Sagebrush and Silver, Army Champions (on TCM this week), and Of Pups and Puzzles (unavailable) also had that distinction, with Of Pups and Puzzles winning.
The nonfiction films Alive in the Deep (unavailable), The Tanks are Coming (Flix Fling), and Main Street on the March! (YouTube) had a similar distinction but were nominated for Best Live Action Short Subject, Two-Reel. Main Street on the March! won that Oscar. Also in that category and showing on TCM this week, The Gay Parisian could be considered a nonfiction work as a presentation of a performance by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Or, it could also be considered an adaptation of a ballet.
How War Came (YouTube) is an animated documentary nominated in 1942 for Best Short Subjects - Cartoons. Harry Watt’s 48-minute film Target for Tonight (streaming on Tubi, Kanopy, and MGM+) also won a special Oscar that year for its vivid and dramatic presentation of the heroism of the RAF, and the feature-length 'Kukan': The Battle Cry of China (on YouTube in a shorter form) received a special Oscar for its producer for its record of China’s struggle during World War II.
Frederick Wiseman Documentaries
This week sees the continuation of the “Frederick Wiseman: An American Institution” program at Lincoln Center in New York City. If you can attend the retrospective, you’re lucky enough to see the new 4K restorations on the big screen. If you can’t, you should at least follow along at home courtesy of Kanopy’s exclusive library of Frederick Wiseman documentaries. Here are the films to watch as they’re being screened Monday through Thursday: Basic Training, Zoo, The Last Letter, La Comedie-Française, Adjustment & Work, Racetrack, Juvenile Court, Hospital, Canal Zone (this one is particularly relevant right now), Manoeuvre, Public Housing, Essene, Sinai Field Mission, and State Legislature.
Gaza (2019) & The Shock Doctrine (2007 & 2009)
Following President Donald Trump’s remarks last week about the U.S. taking over Gaza and owning it, I have a few relevant documentaries to recommend from the past 20 years. First is Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell’s Gaza, a brilliantly structured film that shows everyday life in the Palestinian territory at the time. The documentary proves that the region was anything but a hellscape for the people who called it home but was often hell for Gaza’s citizens as a result of Israel’s occupation and violence against the Palestinians.
As I wrote in my review of Gaza, “For a good 30 minutes, you might believe Gaza is an okay place to live,” acknowledging that it initially looks like a tourism ad. These early sequences sharing the beauty of the Gaza Strip are reminders of the value of this land to the investors and developers that Trump has in mind for its future. For the rest of Americans, the ones he’s trying to deceive, the president would prefer you not watch the first 30 minutes of the film and only see the misery shown afterward. Of course, he’d want something that does more to convince us that it’s a hell of their own design.
After Gaza, I suggest you read about disaster capitalism. Naomi Klein wrote a book about it titled The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, and two documentaries have adapted its contents to make them more digestible. The first film titled The Shock Doctrine is a short made by Alfonso Cuarón and his son, Jonas Cuarón. It’s almost like a trailer for the book but also “an adequate summation of Klein’s thesis on how the CIA and economist Milton Friedman have employed tactics associated with shock treatment and its effects in the wake of both manmade and natural disasters for the economic benefit of the free-market West.”
Two years later, Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross made a feature-length film of The Shock Doctrine, and while it’s not very good (read my review here), it’s sure to further convince you that what is happening to Gaza fits these terrible tactics. The documentary covers historical examples from the 1970s coups in Chile and Argentina through the events of 9/11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, and Hurricane Katrina. More natural and man-made disasters have given way to capitalist exploitations in the 16 years since the film’s release, and just weeks ago, Klein discussed Trump and Gaza in an interview with Democracy in Exile.
Gaza is currently streaming on Prime Video, Tubi, and Doc Alliance. The Shock Doctrine (2007) is streaming on Vimeo. The Shock Doctrine (2009) can be rented digitally from Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube.
Paint Me A Road Out Of Here (2024)
I have one highlight relevant to Black History Month this week, and it’s a new release. Paint Me a Road Out of Here is a captivating documentary that primarily follows the fascinatingly irrational journey of Faith Ringgold’s 1971 painting For the Women’s House from its creation as a gift for the incarcerated women on Rikers Island, where it was eventually covered up and hidden from its intended audience, to its current home at the Brooklyn Museum. The film shines a necessary light on Ringgold, who participated in the film before she died in 2024.
The film is about a lot more than Ringgold and her painting, though, including the story of another artist — the formerly incarcerated Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter — who is commissioned for a new work for Rikers. It’s also about the importance of Black artists, the injustice of many women serving (or who served) in prison, and how art can be used to inspire and help rehabilitate convicted criminals.
Paint Me a Road Out of Here will be released in theaters on Friday, February 7.
Documentary Release Calendar 2/7/25 - 2/13/25
Friday, February 7, 2025
Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025) - A feature documentary following the origins of the titular rock band. (In IMAX Theaters)
First Word on Horror Episode 1: “Stephen Graham Jones” - A docuseries about horror filmmakers. (Etch Studio Substack)
The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan (2025) - A docuseries about the cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan. (Netflix)
How They Got Over (2018) - A documentary about the influence of Black gospel quartets on rock and roll. (Ovid)
Jammin' the Blues (1944) - An Oscar-nominated short documentary presenting a jazz jam session. (TCM)
Marley (2012) - A documentary about Bob Marley by Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September). Re-released in honor of the subject’s 80th birthday. (In Theaters)
Paint Me a Road Out of Here (2024) - A documentary centered around a 1971 painting intended for the incarcerated women on Riker’s Island. (In Theaters)
Roberta (2022) - A documentary about the singer Roberta Flack. (Ovid)
The Story of a Dress (1964) - A short documentary promoting The Unsinkable Molly Brown focused on the film’s costumes. (TCM)
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Army Champions (1941) - An Oscar-nominated Pete Smith Specialty short about young men enlisting in the U.S. Army. (TCM)
Incredible Northern Vets Episode 1: “City Vet, Country Vet” - A docuseries following the work of three Indigenous veterinarians. (National Geographic)
New York Homicide Season 3, Episode 2: “The Almost Perfect Murder” - The latest episode of this true-crime docuseries about recent murder cases in New York City is about a missing landlord in Brooklyn. (Oxygen)
Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler Season 2, Episode 3: “Prosecuting the Mastermind” - The latest episode of this true-crime docuseries involves the hit-style murder of a suburban mom. (Oxygen)
Water Trix (1949) - An Oscar-nominated Pete Smith Specialty short about water skiers. (TCM)
Yellowstone to Yosemite with Kevin Costner (2025) - A three-part docuseries starring Kevin Costner as he retraces Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir's historic 1903 Yosemite expedition. (Fox Nation)
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Overture to the Merry Wives of Windsor (1953) - An Oscar-winning short in which the MGM Symphony Orchestra performs the title work. (TCM)
Monday, February 10, 2025
History’s Most Shocking Season 1, Episode 3: “Pythons in the Ceiling, Train Tunnel Escape, Suspicious Plane Crash & Russian Concord Crash” - The latest episode of this docuseries about the most shocking moments captured on camera. (History)
The In Between (2024) - A documentary in which director Robie Flores returns to her hometown and looks back at her adolescence after her brother’s death. Presented as an episode of Independent Lens. (PBS)
Now You See It (1947) - An Oscar-nominated Pete Smith Specialty short demonstrating micro- and macro-photography. (TCM)
Surviving Black Hawk Down (2025) - A three-part docuseries produced by Ridley Scott about the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu and the downing of three Black Hawk helicopters. (Netflix)
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Great Migrations: A People on the Move Episode 3: “One Way Ticket Back” - A new docuseries produced and hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. about the movement of African Americans through the 20th and 21st centuries. This episode follows the reverse migration to the South. (PBS)
JFK: The Assassination (2011) - A short documentary about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. (DVD)
JFK Conspiracy Part 2: Going Deeper (2024) - A medium-length documentary about the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. (DVD)
The Kennedy Legacy (2011) - A medium-length documentary about the Kennedy family. (DVD)
Knight Life (2025) - A documentary about a professional jousting company. (DVD)
Lewis Hamilton (2008) - A medium-length documentary about the titular racing icon. (DVD)
Life Below Zero Season 22, Episode 17: “High Risk, High Reward” - The latest episode of this docuseries following secluded life in Alaska. (National Geographic)
Lost in the Maze (2023) - A documentary following two men navigating the Uraricoera River in the Amazon jungle. (DVD)
Nadia (2021) - A documentary about soccer star Nadia Nadim. (DVD)
Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking (2021) - A biographical documentary about the titular pioneering African-American filmmaker. (DVD)
Penn's Seed: The Awakening (2023) - A documentary about William Penn. (DVD)
Pitino: Red Storm Rising (2025) - A docuseries about Coach Rick Pitino and the St. John’s men’s basketball team. (Vice)
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (2021) - A documentary about the titular punk icon who fronted the band X-Ray Spex. (Ovid)
Ship of Dreams: Titanic Movie Diaries (2023) - A documentary about the making of James Cameron’s Titanic. (DVD and VOD)
Story of a Dog (1945) - An Oscar-nominated short documentary following dogs training to be a part of the U.S. Coast Guard. (TCM)
What Did Diddy Do? (2025) - A documentary about Diddy’s criminal allegations. (DVD)
Wrong Way Butch (1950) - An Oscar-nominated Pete Smith Specialty short that comedically informs viewers about safety with tools and machinery. (TCM)
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Eric Clapton Unplugged... Over 30 Years Later (2025) - A documentary special looking back at Eric Clapton’s iconic MTV Unplugged performance and album. (Paramount+)
Harlem Ice (2025) - A five-part docuseries about young figure skaters from Harlem. (Disney+)
Homicide Squad New Orleans Season 1, Episode 8: “Caught in 4K” - The latest episode of this new docuseries involves a young woman gunned down after a fistfight. (A&E)
Imagining the Indian (2022) - A documentary about sports mascots exploiting Native American culture and imagery. (Ovid)
Kings of the Turf (1941) - An Oscar-nominated Sports Parade short about a Standardbred horse named Mortimer. (TCM)
Lifers: A Local H Movie (2025) - A hybrid concert film starring Local H. (In Theaters)
UFOs: Investigating the Unknown Season 2, Episode 6: “Citizen Scientists Tackle the UFO Phenomenon” - The latest episode of this docuseries on UFOs involves investigations done by citizen scientists and private groups. (National Geographic)
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Fugitive Hunters Mexico Season 1, Episode 7: “Nowhere to Hide” - The latest episode of this new docuseries about American fugitives south of the border involves a woman on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and more. (A&E)
Prophet Without Honor (1939) - A short biography film about Matthew Fontaine Maury, an American Naval officer who developed the first maps that charted the oceans' winds and currents. (TCM)
Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) (2025) - A feature documentary by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Summer of Soul) about Sly and the Family Stone. Find it on our list of the most anticipated documentaries of 2025. (Hulu)
UFOs: Investigating the Unknown Season 2, Episode 6: “Citizen Scientists Tackle the UFO Phenomenon” - The latest episode of this docuseries on UFOs involves investigations done by citizen scientists and private groups. (Hulu and Disney+)
Sneak Peak At What’s Coming Soon
2/17 - American Murder: Gabby Petito - A three-part true-crime docuseries about the death of Gabby Petito. (Netflix)
2/21 - Onside: Major League Soccer - An eight-part docuseries about Major League Soccer. (Apple TV+)
2/23 - Lockerbie: The Bombing of Pan Am 103 - A documentary about the 1988 airline tragedy. (CNN)
2/28 - Brothers After War - A follow-up to Brothers at War following Iraq War veterans as they reconnect. Watch the film’s new trailer below. (In Theaters)
3/1 - Shaking It Up: The Life & Times of Liz Carpenter - A feature documentary about the titular writer and feminist. (PBS)
3/11 - Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna - A feature documentary about cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was accidentally killed by a gun fired by Alec Baldwin on the set of the movie Rust. (Hulu)
3/19 - Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert - A concert film starring the titular film composer. (In Theaters)
3/28 - Janis Ian: Breaking Silence - A feature documentary about the titular singer-songwriter. (In Theaters)
4/11 - One to One: John & Yoko - A documentary by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September) about John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s One to One charity concert for special needs children. (In IMAX Theaters)