The Story of Documentary Film

Mark Cousins continues tracking the history of cinema, focusing his eye on documentary. He looks at documentaries from all corners of the world that take on power, uncover lies or veil the truth.

Spanning 16 hours, this epic documentary traces the global evolution of nonfiction film, revealing the filmmakers who discovered, innovated, and shaped documentary cinema into a dynamic lens for life.

The Story of Documentary Film premiered Travelogues, Power and People at Sundance Film Festival 2026. Other chapters have since screened at Berlinale, Festival de Cannes, Sheffield DocFest and Karlovy Vary with the full film premiering at Telluride in September 2026.

Directed by Mark Cousins

Produced by John Archer

Edited by Timo Langer

Distributed by Dogwoof

For a full list of featured films, download the PDF guide.