George Clooney immortalised the pioneering television journalist Edward R. Murrow in his film Good Night, And Good Luck, set in the 1950s when documentaries were enjoying a golden age and Murrow was urging people not to squander television's potential to inform the masses and reduce it to "wires and lights in a box". Fifty years later and the documentary format is experiencing a second golden age in which portal cameras, social media and other technological developments allow for the creation of beautifully crafted films. Freed from the traditional weight of high production costs, the result is an incredible diversity of films which shine a light on all aspects of life all around the world. Twenty-first century documentaries continue to live up to the high standards set in the past, covering everything from the global financial crash of 2008 and the continuing war on terror through to much more personal insights into the nature of gifted musicians and enivronmentalists committed to improving the world we live in, often against seemingly insurmountable odds. From the heartwarming to the outrageous, here are 15 of the most powerful documentaries released so far this decade.
