Op-Docs

Season 2

Op-Docs is The New York Times editorial department's award-winning section for short, opinionated documentaries, produced with wide creative latitude and a range of artistic styles, covering current affairs, contemporary life and historical subjects.

Where to Watch Season 2

52 Episodes

  • Death of a Prisoner
    E1
    Death of a PrisonerThe filmmaker Laura Poitras follows the tragic return home to Yemen of a Guantánamo Bay prison detainee, Adnan Latif.
  • The Long Wait
    E2
    The Long WaitThe filmmaker Jason DaSilva reveals the challenges for the disabled in navigating New York City’s public transportation system.
  • Gospel of Intolerance
    E3
    Gospel of IntoleranceThe filmmaker Roger Ross Williams reveals how money donated by American evangelicals helps to finance a violent antigay movement in Uganda.
  • True Believers in Justice
    E4
    True Believers in JusticeThe filmmaker Dawn Porter follows Travis Williams, a young public defender in the Deep South, who struggles against long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads to bring justice to all.
  • How to Build a Country From Scratch
    E5
    How to Build a Country From ScratchThe filmmakers Florence Martin-Kessler and Anne Poiret present a 12-step program to establish the world’s newest country: South Sudan.
  • Calorie Detective
    E6
    Calorie DetectiveWith the help of a science lab, the filmmaker Casey Neistat finds that calorie listings on food labels can be highly inaccurate.
  • Drones for America!
    E7
    Drones for America!In this animated satire, a former K.G.B. agent welcomes a future in which Americans live under the watchful eyes of drones.
  • Shoot One, Please
    E8
    Shoot One, PleaseThis short documentary follows a 15-year-old from Stamford, N.Y., in the Catskills, as he hunts his first deer with his father.
  • The Man Who Sells the Moon
    E9
    The Man Who Sells the MoonThis short documentary looks at Dennis Hope, a Nevada man who has made a living “selling” plots of land on the moon.
  • In Japan, a Portrait of Mistrust
    E10
    In Japan, a Portrait of MistrustTwo years after a tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan, the filmmaker Itai Keshet presents a documentary portrait of public fear, mistrust and suspicion about the safety of food.
  • Hail, Hail, Freedom in Cyprus
    E11
    Hail, Hail, Freedom in CyprusOn the island of Cyprus, the filmmaker Iva Radivojevic explores how the economic crisis has contributed to a rise in hostility toward immigrants.
  • Branko: Return to Auschwitz
    E12
    Branko: Return to AuschwitzBranko Lustig, a Holocaust survivor and Oscar-winning producer of “Schindler’s List,” returns to Auschwitz for the bar mitzvah he couldn’t have in his youth.
  • The War on Drugs Is a Failure
    E13
    The War on Drugs Is a FailureThe Gregory Brothers’ latest musical mash-up features Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, former Congressman Ron Paul and special guests who argue for the reform of U.S. drug laws.
  • The Ghost of Gun Control
    E14
    The Ghost of Gun ControlIn this animated Op-Doc by Drew Christie, a ghost mourns the failed history of gun control in the United States.
  • A Chinese Threat to Afghan Buddhas
    E15
    A Chinese Threat to Afghan BuddhasIn Afghanistan, a Chinese mining company threatens to destroy the remains of an ancient Buddhist city, which archaeologists are now racing to excavate.
  • Lost Every Day
    E16
    Lost Every DayMeet a Colorado woman with a rare neurological disorder who has no sense of direction, even in her own home.
  • Vigilante Copy Editor
    E17
    Vigilante Copy EditorA filmmaker searches for a mysterious vandal who has been correcting grammar on placards in the sculpture garden of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
  • A Long Ride Toward a New China
    E18
    A Long Ride Toward a New ChinaEvery summer, the blogger “Tiger Temple” bikes around China to report on rural news stories censored by state-run media.
  • Sex Offender Village
    E19
    Sex Offender VillageA small community known as Miracle Village, surrounded by sugar cane fields in South Florida, has become a refuge for more than 100 registered sex offenders who seek to rebuild their lives.
  • Ode to Bike Sharing
    E20
    Ode to Bike SharingIn this animation, a New Yorker looks forward to the city’s bike-share program and reminisces about riding his bike when the city was very different.
  • Subway Ballet
    E21
    Subway BalletYoung men perform daring aerial dances in a crowded New York City subway car.
  • Escape From North Korea
    E22
    Escape From North KoreaA smuggler named Dragon attempts to guide North Korean defectors across China into safe asylum.
  • West Virginia, Still Home
    E23
    West Virginia, Still HomeResidents of McDowell County, W.Va., share memories and hopes for their rural community — in jeopardy because of high unemployment and an exodus of young people.
  • The Caretaker
    E24
    The CaretakerA short documentary explores the tender relationship between a caretaker who is an undocumented immigrant and an elderly woman in the last months of her life.
  • Border Patrol Body Slam
    E25
    Border Patrol Body SlamIn a California lucha libre-style wrestling match, Blue Demon Jr., a self-proclaimed defender of Mexican immigrants, does battle against wrestlers who portray United States border patrol agents.
  • Occupy Bakery
    E26
    Occupy BakeryAn immigrant fights to change working conditions at a Manhattan bakery cafe.
  • Congo: The Road to Ruin
    E27
    Congo: The Road to RuinOn a dangerous journey from war-torn villages to a refugee camp, Congolese families are caught in the cross-fire.
  • An Attack on Equality
    E28
    An Attack on EqualityIn New York, widely regarded as a gay-friendly city, reports of attacks on same-sex couples are on the rise. Here, one young couple tells their story.
  • Bodies on the Border
    E29
    Bodies on the BorderForensics experts in Arizona struggle to identify the bodies of migrants who perished while attempting to cross illicitly from Mexico into the United States.
  • A Short History of the Highrise Trailer
    E30
    A Short History of the Highrise TrailerPremiering October 2013, “A Short History of the Highrise” is an interactive documentary that explores the 2,500-year global history of vertical living and issues of social equality.
  • No Ordinary Passenger
    E31
    No Ordinary PassengerIn this short film, Stan Dibben, a winner of the World Sidecar Championship in 1953, recounts the thrills and perils of his profession.
  • Paraíso
    E32
    ParaísoThe Op-Doc “Paraíso” (Paradise) reveals the beauty and danger of three immigrant window cleaners’ work on Chicago’s skyscrapers.
  • 56 Ways of Saying I Don’t Remember
    E33
    56 Ways of Saying I Don’t RememberAlan Berliner explores memory and forgetting in this short experimental documentary about his cousin Edwin Honig — a poet, translator and professor — and his journey through Alzheimer’s disease.
  • An Education in Equality
    E34
    An Education in EqualityFilmed over 13 years, this short film presents a coming-of-age story of an African-American boy who attends an elite Manhattan prep school.
  • A Short History of the Highrise: Part 1
    E35
    A Short History of the Highrise: Part 1In the first episode of a four-part series, "Mud" traces the roots of the residential highrise, from the biblical Tower of Babel to New York's tenement buildings.
  • A Short History of the Highrise: Part 2
    E36
    A Short History of the Highrise: Part 2In the second episode of a four-part series, "Concrete" explores how, in New York City and globally, residential high-rises and public housing attempted to foster social equality in the 20th century.
  • A Short History of the Highrise: Part 3
    E37
    A Short History of the Highrise: Part 3In the third episode of a four-part series, "Glass" examines the recent proliferation of luxury condos and the growing segregation between the rich and poor.
  • A Short History of the Highrise: Part 4
    E38
    A Short History of the Highrise: Part 4In the final episode of a four-part series, "Home" comprises images submitted by New York Times readers, who show their lives in high-rises around the world.
  • A Short History of the Morgue
    E39
    A Short History of the Morgue
  • An Unfair Game
    E40
    An Unfair GameThis short film explains a troubling situation in English football, where ticket prices have risen to levels so high that many of the fans can no longer afford them.
  • Flo: Portrait of a Street Photographer
    E41
    Flo: Portrait of a Street PhotographerThis short documentary profiles the photographer Flo Fox who, in spite of near-blindness and multiple sclerosis, continues her work in the streets of New York.
  • The Animated Life of A. R. Wallace
    E42
    The Animated Life of A. R. WallaceThis paper-puppet animation celebrates the life of Alfred Russel Wallace, who is co-credited with Charles Darwin for the theory of natural selection.
  • Great Expectations for Female Lawyers
    E43
    Great Expectations for Female LawyersTwelve years after being interviewed by The New York Times Magazine, five women, who all started their law careers at Debevoise & Plimpton, reflect on ambition, leadership and success.
  • November 22, 1963
    E44
    November 22, 1963Will we ever know the truth about the Kennedy assassination? In a film by Errol Morris, Josiah “Tink” Thompson returns to what has haunted him for 50 years: Frame #313 of the Zapruder film.
  • Why Care About the N.S.A.?
    E45
    Why Care About the N.S.A.?A short film explores whether ordinary Americans should be concerned about online surveillance.
  • Riding With the 12 O’Clock Boys
    E46
    Riding With the 12 O’Clock BoysA group of dirt bike riders in Baltimore have been called reckless. But to them, riding their bikes provides a sense of escape.
  • 35 and Single
    E47
    35 and SingleAn Argentine shares her intimate search for love and the answer to this question: To be happy, should she settle down or remain a free spirit?
  • Naturally, J.J. Cale
    E48
    Naturally, J.J. CaleThis animated Op-Doc explores why J.J. Cale, who wrote such classic songs as “After Midnight,” “Cocaine” and “Call Me the Breeze,” never achieved stardom.
  • Spider Drove a Taxi
    E49
    Spider Drove a TaxiThis Op-Doc video celebrates New York City’s taxi drivers through the life of Johnnie Footman, known as Spider, who was the city’s oldest cabby.
  • The Night Witch
    E50
    The Night WitchThis animated Op-Doc explores the life of Nadezhda Popova, known as Nadia, who became a World War II hero as part of a Soviet all-female bombing regiment.
  • Christmas Icon Reform
    E51
    Christmas Icon ReformSanta has gone too soft on kids, argues this animated Op-Doc, prompting the need for more frightening Christmas-season icons - like the German Krampus or Japanese Namahage.
  • Daredevil on a Snowmobile
    E52
    Daredevil on a SnowmobileThis Op-Doc celebrates the achievements of Caleb Moore, a competitive snowmobiler who was the first to fatally crash at the X Games.

 

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