HBO Documentary Films

In this follow-up to 'Afghan Star,' filmmaker Havana Marking returns to Afghanistan to check in on infamous contestant Setara from the popular Afghan talent show of the same name. The film looks at where Setara is now and the impact that her controversial performance has had on her life and her country, including ever-present threats to her safety.

"Wishful Drinking" is based on Fisher's memoirs of the same title. The stage adaptation had its world premiere in 2006 at the Geffen Playhouse in L.A. It later played at Berkeley Repertory before opening on Broadway in October at Studio 54. The show takes audiences on a comic tour of Fisher's messy personal life and career. The actress-writer recounts stories about her work on the "Star Wars" series as well as her relationship with her parents Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. She also discusses her much-publicized problems with alcohol and drugs.

A feature-length documentary starring Fran Lebowitz, a writer known for her unique take on modern life. The film weaves together extemporaneous monologues with archival footage and the effect is a portrait of Fran's worldview and experiences.

With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, this documentary brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On June 20, 2009, Neda Agha-Soltan was shot and killed on the streets of Tehran during the turmoil that followed the Iranian presidential contest. Within hours, images of her dying moments, captured on cell phones, appeared on computer screens across the world, focusing the world's attention on mass protests against the rigged elections in Iran. Featuring previously unseen footage of Neda with friend and family, as well as exclusive video of her recorded the day she died, "For Neda" debuts just before the anniversary of her death.

Journalist Lawrence Wright brings his multilayered one-man play to the screen as he discusses how a reporter remains objective while covering highly charged issues such as 9/11, Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's past and the history of Islam. Wright examines the Muslim religion, Al-Qaeda's rise to power and bin Laden's complicated relationship with the rulers of Saudi Arabia in this riveting documentary from Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney.

The concluding film of "How Democracy Works Now," a documentary series that brings the viewer behind the scenes of American democracy and shows how change happens at every level of government. The Senators' Bargain plunges viewers directly into the backstage reality of a remarkable moment -- before the 2008 elections, before the bailouts, before Tea Partiers -- when a high-stakes bill six years in the making had a chance to change American immigration policy. But deep at the heart of this fast-moving story, below the level of strategy and protocol, we find a moral tale of modern American politics. Ted Kennedy, one of the handful of people who, through his personal efforts had truly changed the face of America, now would be forced to decide: how much did he want this deal, and what was he willing to trade for his greatest legacy.

Documentary film interviews leading African Americans on race, identity, and achievement.

A sexy, funny and poignant reminder that losing love can mean finding yourself. This film is a series of surreal songs linked by an ongoing monologue, triumph for the main character lies between the two.

It is happening all across America-rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas." Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground-a hydraulic drilling process called "fracking"-and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower.

A documentary that examines the relationship between celebrity and society.

In Oct. 2006, the U.S. government decided to build a 700-mile fence along its troubled 2000-mile-plus border with Mexico. Three years, 19 construction companies, 350 engineers, thousands of construction workers, tens of thousands of tons of metal and $3 billion later, was it all worth it? When Arizona recently enacted one of the most extreme immigration laws in the country, the Obama administration responded by filing a lawsuit against the state. This dispute was merely the latest symptom of a greater national problem: the lack of a comprehensive, workable U.S. immigration policy. In its place, lawmakers have resorted to a series of half-measures, the most expensive of which — the U.S.-Mexico border fence — extends through the desert 150 miles south of the Arizona state capital.

Four young Americans who've each suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury emerge from their comas at a New Jersey medical facility. Their eyes may be open, but now the real challenge for each of the patients, their families, their doctors and their therapists begins. Brain healing isn't predictable, we're told, and certainly is not guaranteed. So with each 'major' step forward that is observed (opening one's eyes, bending a thumb upon command, vocalizing a word, answering a question correctly) comes a sense of jubilant relief and hope from the families of these patients, but as we soon see, the more a patient progresses, the more difficult things can be for all involved. Moments of faith & hope contrast with disappointments & frustrations, moments of confidence with moments of doubt. It's difficult to watch, and unimaginable to have to ever live through.

Documentary on Antonio "King Tone" Fernandez and his gang, the Latin Kings, whose main target was to protect Latin people.

In the spring of 2002, filmmaker Joe Berlinger traveled to Vienna to witness the burial of the preserved brains of over 700 children killed at a Nazi "euthanasia" clinic. GRAY MATTER chronicles the filmmaker's personal journey as he searches for Dr. Heinrich Gross -- known as the "Austrian Dr. Mengele" -- who allegedly participated in these killings. Along the way Berlinger meets survivors of the clinic, as well as other remarkable individuals, who are confronting a nation that has only begun to grapple with its denial of this horrific legacy.

Each year in the United States, over 200,000 prisoners face a parole board that must make the difficult judgment of whether these convicted criminals are ready to gain their freedom and return to society. This documentary focuses on three inmates in Louisiana, Nevada, and Massachusetts with a range of chilling crimes - a father's murder by his troubled son, a crime of passion by a respected NASA scientist, and a shooting/robbery on the streets of Las Vegas. Incorporating interviews of key characters with extensive testimony footage and reenactment sequences that explore the life and crime of the inmate, the film vividly examines the conflicting needs of the victim, the criminal, and the community while testing our own notions of justice.

A definitive and unvarnished examination of multi-billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

A kaleidoscopic portrait told in two parts that traces the life of the imaginative artist