Factual films have grown in popularity over the last few years. With our hunger for the truth about what really goes on in the minds and meeting rooms of the leaders and policy makers of the world has come a thirst for answers. Often controversially, the films and film makers detailed below have faced hostile wall’s of silence, dead ends and occasionally danger and the threat of death, to bring to the general public the truth about a plethora of subjects, from climate change to the ‘War on Terror’.
Michael Moore seems to be a particularly important documentary maker about the policies of the Bush administration. ‘Bowling for Columbine’, ‘Fahrenheit 911′ and ‘Sicko’ are three of his more well-known films. These are about gun legislation in the US; the Iraq war and supposed war on terror; and poor sick people in the US today (something you don’t want to be) respectively. Moore is a voice for the true underdog and marginalised of American society. He tells his stories in layman’s terms and makes information accessible to all.
The rise and rise of the developed world’s obesity, and as a result, health problems, have inspired several documentary style films. ‘Fast Food Nation’ is based on the book by the same name by Eric Schlosser and documents the truth behind the fast food industry. Made using the facts Schlosser presents but dramatising the storyline, it has become a shocking revelation for the masses.