Welcome to The Watchlist 007.
I spent the last week at Toronto International Film Festival, saw some great documentaries (special mention to Rescue, Once Upon a Time in Harlem and Ba’s Room). I also spoke on a panel about documentary marketing and social media - apparently there will be a recording of that available at some point. So if I don’t die of embarrassment watching it I might share it with you all.
Anyway, onwards to the documentaries…
01 THIS WEEK’S PICKS
Directed by Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson · 2026 · Available to rent on Docs to Watch.
Holloway
Sometimes the best documentaries are the simplest. In Holloway, six women who once served time in the prison return to the empty building and spend five days together in group therapy.
There’s so much going on beneath that simple setup: what brought each woman to prison and the things that happened long before they got there. It’s a great lesson in a documentary that just gives space to each of the contributors to tell their own story.
There’s also just something very London about it. The dark humour, the stories, the characters. It’s a really, really amazing film.
Rent it here.
Directed by Marie Amiguet and Vincent Munier · 2021 · Available to rent on Amazon Video, Apple TV.
The Velvet Queen
Vincent Munier has a new film coming out soon, which gave me a reason to re-visit the The Velvet Queen. This is up there as one of my favourite nature documentaries.
It’s really hypnotic and actually ends up being much more of a meditation on the filmmaker rather than the animal.
Really excited for Vincent’s new film Whispers in the Woods which is coming out later this year, but in the meantime watch this.
Directed by Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous · 2017 · Available to rent on Amazon Video and Apple TV.
The Work
If you want an intense double header of prison and therapy documentaries, watch The Work after Holloway. It follows a group of men taking part in four days of group therapy inside Folsom Prison, and I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t at least part of the inspiration for Holloway.
There’s also the added twist that three civilians also go into prison for the therapy sessions. Men confronting their emotions and dealing with trauma, we love to see it.
02 CINEMA RELEASES
Few good ones coming up, I’m also starting to do a weekly post on Instagram about this.
In the UK: When a 15-year-old Paul McCartney auditioned for John Lennon's band, the song he played was Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock." Less than three years later Cochran was dead at 21, killed in a car crash in England while touring the UK. Don't Forget Me is the first official documentary about him, made with his family, and it's in UK cinemas now. The title comes from what he used to write in autograph books. Keith Richards, Rod Stewart, Roger Daltrey and Sting all turn up to talk about him. Find your local screening here.
In the US: The History of Concrete opens in New York on Friday 18 September and expands to 20 cities, LA included, on the 25th. John Wilson goes to a workshop on writing Hallmark movies and uses the formula to sell a documentary about concrete. Sounds mental, trailer looks amazing. Watch it here.
03 THIS WEEK ON DOCS TO WATCH
Not a huge amount to report as I was pretty tied up in Toronto all week, and launched Holloway which I’ve already told you about (go watch it).
So just the usual reminder you all have 20% off to use in the rental store… Use code MAILER at checkout.
Thanks for reading!
See you next week.
Cheers, Patrick.