2024's Oddball Doccies

"If there is a God of television, then I am the Devil." - creator of 'The Contestant'.

I’ve ranked my favourite documentaries that took the less travelled path in 2024. Most show insight into human nature, whilst some indirectly question whether society is worth conforming to. Antiheroes are to be loved.

‘The Contestant’, my top choice, is wild. Before reality programs became popular in the West, insane Japanese television put a man in a small room, and told him to survive by entering magazine competitions for food and clothing. Psychologically revealing, as much about the audience and producer as the ‘victim’. It’s proof that hardship can be used to recreate ourselves.

1. The Contestant (set in Japan)

2. Secret Mall Apartment (USA)

3. Spermworld (USA)

4. Queendom (Russia)

5. ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor! (USA)

6. Black Outside (USA)

7. The Last Year of Darkness (set in China)

8. Other Like Me: History of Coum Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle (UK)

9. The Primordial Code (Netherlands production but English)

10. The Arc of Oblivion (USA)

11. Kim's Video (USA and Spain)

12. Flipside (USA)

13. Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (USA)

I leave you with a screenshot of the visually astounding ‘Queendom’.