If you were moved by the intimate and heartfelt documentary 'Jane by Charlotte' (2022), which explores the tender relationship between Charlotte Gainsbourg and her mother Jane Birkin, you'll love these 10 similar films and shows. This article curates a list of touching, personal, and artistically profound works that delve into family bonds, artistic legacies, and emotional storytelling, perfect for fans of raw, cinematic vulnerability.

Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Description: This documentary explores the disintegration of a family under intense scrutiny, blending personal home videos with investigative journalism to reveal deep emotional and psychological layers.
Fact: The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and sparked controversy due to its ambiguous portrayal of the Friedman family's legal troubles.


My Kid Could Paint That (2007)
Description: This documentary examines the intersection of art, authenticity, and family, raising questions about perception and truth in a deeply personal context.
Fact: The film centers around Marla Olmstead, a child prodigy whose paintings sold for thousands of dollars, sparking debates about whether her work was genuinely her own.


The Armstrong Lie (2013)
Description: This documentary delves into the complexities of fame, deception, and redemption, presenting a multi-faceted portrait of its subject through personal and public narratives.
Fact: The film was initially intended to document Lance Armstrong's comeback but evolved into an exposé of his doping scandal after new revelations emerged.


The Queen of Versailles (2012)
Description: The film captures the opulent yet troubled lives of a wealthy family, offering a candid look at their aspirations, failures, and the fragility of their seemingly perfect world.
Fact: The documentary began as a portrait of excess but turned into a study of the 2008 financial crisis as it impacted the Siegel family's unfinished mega-mansion.


Stories We Tell (2012)
Description: The film uses a mix of home videos, interviews, and reenactments to explore memory, truth, and the stories families tell themselves, creating a deeply personal and reflective narrative.
Fact: Director Sarah Polley discovers a family secret about her own parentage, which becomes the central focus of the documentary.


The Act of Killing (2012)
Description: This documentary confronts the perpetrators of historical violence, blending surreal reenactments with chilling confessions to explore guilt, denial, and the nature of evil.
Fact: The film's subjects, former Indonesian death squad leaders, reenact their crimes in various cinematic genres, revealing their unsettling perspectives on their past actions.


The Wolfpack (2015)
Description: The film provides a unique glimpse into an isolated family's world, focusing on their creative coping mechanisms and the blurred lines between reality and fantasy.
Fact: The Angulo siblings, the subjects of the film, spent most of their childhood confined to their apartment in New York City, using movies as their primary window to the outside world.


The Family I Had (2017)
Description: The film explores the aftermath of a family tragedy, focusing on themes of love, loss, and the search for understanding in the face of unimaginable events.
Fact: The documentary features intimate interviews with the family members, including the mother's poignant reflections on her son's actions and their impact.


Three Identical Strangers (2018)
Description: This documentary unravels a shocking true story of identity, family, and the ethical dilemmas of scientific research, blending personal narratives with investigative depth.
Fact: The film reveals that the triplets were part of a secret study on nature versus nurture, separated at birth and placed in different families without their knowledge.


The Beales of Grey Gardens (2006)
Description: This documentary offers an intimate and unfiltered look into the lives of its subjects, capturing raw emotions and personal struggles, much like the reference film. It delves into complex family dynamics and personal identity.
Fact: The film is a follow-up to the original 1975 documentary 'Grey Gardens' and features never-before-seen footage of the Beale family.
