The difficult subject of lynching postcards is tackled in a chilling new short film about dealing with ‘the ugly parts’ of racial history in the US

Christine Turner remembers one of the first lynching postcards she ever saw – but it wasn’t the horrific burnt corpse of Will Stanley in Temple, Texas, in 1915 depicted on the front that stayed with her most. It was the chilling note handwritten on the back: “This is the barbecue we had last night,” it reads, ending with the sign-off, “your son, Joe”.

“That was the thing that was seared in my mind and that I’ll never forget,” says the Brooklyn-based film-maker. “There was such a casual nature about the postcard. This young man was sharing with his parents something that he took part in that he was proud of. It’s that sense that this is almost a normal activity to partake in that was most disturbing.”

Documentaries and fiction features that contextualise the unfolding horrors in the former Soviet republic, as chosen by researchers at Ukraine’s Dovzhenko national film centre in Kyiv

One of the first non-state funded films of an independent Ukraine, this study of a Ukrainian soldier dealing with the traditional abuse handed out to new recruits in the Soviet army is based on the real-life experiences of director Andrii Donchyk and writer Yurii Andrukhovych.

Documentary maker and writer who shone a light on the inner workings of the police and the criminal justice system

Roger Graef, the documentary maker, theatre director and writer who has died aged 85 of cancer, played a major part in holding the criminal justice system to account and was instrumental in changing the ways that victims of rape and domestic violence were treated by the police.

He also had a distinguished record in showing the inner workings of organisations ranging from the US Senate and the European Union to the British Communist party and British Steel, and of highlighting injustices, whether in the treatment of children in care or the destruction of our towns and cities.

The star has announced a ‘definitive’ film about her life, featuring exclusive access, in the wake of the unauthorised Hulu series Pam & Tommy

Pamela Anderson has announced an “intimate” and “definitive” new documentary at Netflix.

The actor and activist revealed on Instagram that her years-in-the-making movie would land at the streamer, in the wake of the controversial Hulu series Pam & Tommy, which was made without her approval or involvement.

In 1970, Michael Brody Jr announced he would give away $25m, inspiring hundreds of thousands of letters. But as a new documentary shows, the story took an unlikely turn

What’s more poignant than an unopened letter, with all its needs unanswered and its expressions unseen? It’s a missive made for intrigue, as well as an invitation to voyeurism few could resist.

Small wonder director Keith Maitland and veteran film producer Ed Pressman centered their new documentary, Dear Mr Brody, on a trove of unread letters that came into Pressman’s possession and that he found so compelling, he has preserved them for more than five decades now. “Each letter is a life,” the producer said. “Opening them is like peeking behind a curtain into somebody’s private story,” Maitland added.

The comic actor has turned director of recent Sundance hit, Lucy and Desi, a documentary on I Love Lucy’s Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Questions, please!

There’s a lot more to Amy Poehler than her role as deputy director (and future POTUS) Leslie Knope in 2009–2015’s Parks and Recreation (a character that was especially created for the Saturday Night Live comedian by the creators of the American Office).

After graduating from university in 1991, Poehler joined a travelling improv group with 30 Rock’s Tina Fey, who, in 2001, went on to recruit Poehler for SNL where she performs as Hillary Clinton, Sharon Osbourne, Britney Spears, Madonna and many others. Poehler was nominated for nine Emmys, three Golden Globes and three Screen Actors Guild awards for her role in Parks and Recreation, eventually winning a Golden Globe for best actress in 2013.

A new documentary recalls the many forgotten victims of Jim Crow violence and white terrorism whose cases are being rediscovered after half a century

First we see him leaning against a wall, arms folded, a working man with pen and paper tucked into the breast pocket of his checked shirt. Then he is kneeling, removing his cap, one hand resting on a Bible as he raises the other and swears a solemn oath.

This is Wharlest Jackson, long dead and long denied justice, but preserved forever on film at the moment he takes a stand against the Ku Klux Klan. Not long after joining a Black armed resistance group in Natchez, Mississippi, the 37-year-old will be murdered with impunity.

An intimate portrayal of methamphetamine addiction in the Czech Republic, Europe’s largest producer, through the life of Lenka, an addict of over 20 years.

Lenka’s elderly parents rely on her for social care and labour on their land, while she relies on the drug to fuel all that is required of her at home. Beyond her home life, her relationship is breaking down and her dealer has gone awol, forcing her to make some painful decisions.

The country has a long and complex history with the drug, which started gaining popularity in the 1990s

Warning – this film contains strong language and some viewers might find the content distressing

In the UK and Ireland, for details of local services that provide counselling and treatment for drug addiction, please visit ‘Talk to Frank’ https://www.talktofrank.com/get-help/find-support-near-you

In a new documentary premiered at Sundance, Wood claimed she was ‘coerced into a commercial sex act under false pretences’

The actor Evan Rachel Wood has accused the rock musician Marilyn Manson of raping her on the set of the music video for his 2007 single Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand).

In Phoenix Rising, a new documentary about her life and career which premiered at the 2022 Sundance film festival, Wood said that during a previously discussed “simulated sex scene”, Manson “started penetrating me for real” once the cameras were rolling.

Sonita Gale explores the impossible situation faced by many British citizens under the current government is necessary viewing

Sonita Gale’s impassioned documentary draws necessary attention to the “hostile environment” the UK government has created for migrants. She draws a through line from the British empire to today’s refugee crisis, connecting it to the Windrush scandal and Brexit.

Case studies filmed during the early days of the pandemic highlight the impossibility of the situation: a Pakistani family of four have British-born children who are ineligible for citizenship; the parents have been granted leave to remain but with “no recourse to public funds”. Elsewhere, an immigrant-led charity that provides hot meals for the NHS receive a commendation from Boris Johnson but no support from the council. An overpowering score is sadly distracting and labours the point; the subject alone is grave enough.

Meg Smaker’s look at a facility aiming to ‘deradicalize’ offers empathy and context

“Jihad is for teenagers. Now I am too old.”

It’s not exactly the answer you’d like to hear when asking a supposedly reformed fundamentalist if they have an interest in rejoining al-Qaida, but it’s better than nothing. And at least he’s being honest.

Jihad Rehab is showing at the Sundance film festival and will be released later this year

Film due to premiere at Sundance this week features footage from rapper, producer and fashion mogul’s 20-year career

Kanye West has demanded that Netflix allow him to approve the edit of its forthcoming documentary about him, Jeen-Yuhs.

Writing on Instagram, he said: “I’m going to say this kindly for the last time. I must get final edit and approval on this doc before it releases on Netflix. Open the edit room immediately so I can be in charge of my own image. Thank you in advance.”

There’s smart input from Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and others, but this documentary really excels in its moments of intimacy as Wilson revisits his past

This documentary sets out on a noble but foolhardy mission: to examine the history of Brian Wilson with the man himself. Wilson turns 80 this summer, and he is showing his age. His recent singing on stage can be faltering, almost conversational at times, and the mental health problems he has weathered during his life make interviews difficult: he is often nervous to the point of monosyllables.

And yet director Brent Wilson (no relation), working with Rolling Stone journalist Jason Fine, creates an evocative piece under the circumstances: kindly film-making that puts Wilson at ease, and allows for some rare, unusual portraiture of the Beach Boys mastermind.

Kelly Duda faces charge of ‘offending the honour or prestige’ of prosecutor in case alarming free speech advocates

An American film-maker has been put on trial in Italy for “offending the honour or prestige” of an Italian prosecutor after testifying in a criminal case against a former health ministry chief and representatives of a pharmaceutical company accused of supplying Italians with tainted blood products.

Kelly Duda, who revealed how contaminated blood taken from prisoners in Arkansas was sold around the world, faces up to three years in prison if found guilty of an offence that dates back to Italy’s fascist period.