Spring break. Spring sports. Gardening. Wardrobe Changes. End of the school year. These springtime concerns are all the subjects of intriguing documentaries. Celebrate the change of seasons by watching the films on this curated list of documentaries about Spring things. Â
The annual baseball season starts in Spring. For anyone who just can't wait to see their favorite team in play, get a jump start on the action with Ballplayer: Pelotero , the documentary that tracks two very talented young players in the Dominican Republic. They are among the 100,000 'peloteros' who are vying for American major league contracts with signing bonuses that will elevate their families from poverty. The statistics quoted at the beginning Ballplayer: Pelotero indicate that 20 percent of the professional baseball players on American major league teams come from the Dominican Republic. Will these two talented players make the cut and wind up on your favorite team? See this exciting documentary! Read my full review.More »
Teenagers' raging hormones erupt in Spring! Filmmaker Nicole Opper's Off and Running is a coming of age documentary about an teenage track star's search for her personal identity. The film's central character is Avery Klein-Cloud, an African-American teenager who lives with her adoptive parents -- two gay white women, and their other inter-ethnic adopted children. Avery is smart, sensitive, well-adjusted and competitive on the track. But she has unresolved and troubling questions about her roots. Will her search for her birth mother detract from her dedication to her sport? Read myfull review.More »
Using actual footage from the 132nd Annual Kentucky Derby (which took place in 2006), filmmakers John and Brad Hennegan follow six very different trainers who, for the first time in their careers, are in charge of horses that keep winning the stakes races that will qualify them for the Kentucky Derby. You witness their excitement mount as they strive for their chance to compete for the racing world's holy grail: the rush of the horserace that's been called "the most exciting two minutes in sports." But the film's biggest achievement is its unparalleled access to behind-the-scenes spring training and the stories of trainers and their thoroughbreds.  Read my full review.More »
Are you planning a Spring or Summer getaway in a national park? Think about John Muir and thank him. And see this wonderful biographical documentary film about the great American environmentalist who created America's national park system and preserved the thousands of acres of wilderness that we enjoy as back to nature retreats from the urban sprawl that dominates the landscape and our everyday lives. Muir's life, lifestyle and philosophy are fascinating, and his accomplishments are monumental.  Read my full review.More »
As Spring flowers burst into bloom, the birds and bees get busy! Disneynature: The Wing of Life uses extraordinary HD technology to bring you and up close and personal view of how a variety of winged species work tirelessly to pollinate plants that provide us with sustenance. The film is fascinating and, after seeing it, you will never swat at a bee again! Read my full review.More »
Before digging into your Spring gardening endeavors watch A Man Named Pearl, filmmakers Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson's documentary about the self-taught topiary artist, Mr.Pearl Fryer, who turned his economically failing community into a thriving tourist attraction by creating wonderful topiary gardens around town. The true story of Mr. Fryer and his accomplishments will certainly fuel your gardening ambitions, and inspire you to plant and prune. Read my full review.More »
Spring brings luscious fruit to local markets. This is a good season to develop a passion for tasting -- and growing -- exotic fruit. Filmmaker Yung Chang follows several dedicated 'fruities' who already have that passion in its advanced stages. One of them is actor Bill Pullman, who cultivates as many varietals as he can possibly fit into the back yard of his Hollywood Hills home, and advocates for the preservation of rare fruit plants. Pullman has championed the creation of a public garden where flora bearing exotic fruit are imported from around the world and planted, so that their specific fruit can be kept from extinction. Who knew? Now you do. And for more, see this delicious documentary. Read my full review.More »
Spring offers you the opportunity to re-costume yourself. As you shed your winter togs for spring's attire take some sartorial tips from one of the world's top fashion arbitrators. Diana Vreeland, whose life and career are profiled in Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng's documentary, will influence your fashion outlook, as she has swayed the looks of dashing fashionistas for several decades. A most entertaining fashion documentary for Spring -- or any other season.  Read my full review.More »
For kids interested in theater, Spring brings the annual Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Shakespeare Festival, a competition that fostered the careers of Kevin Spacey, Mare Winningham, Val Kilmer and other stars. Filmmaker Alex Rotaru's documentary follows high school theater groups as they prepare productions of Shakespeare's plays to compete for top honors. The film is a celebration of youthful aspirations and these teens' dedication to their dreams, and the blossoming of their talents every Spring at the Shakespeare Festival. Read my full review.More »
Spring is audition time for toddlers (or their parents, really) seeking admission to top nursery schools that start them on the educational track leading to ivy league colleges. The competition is particularly keen in the Big Apple, as we see in filmmakers Marc H. Simon and Matthew Makar's Nursery University, tracking a cross section of NYC parents trying to assure their kids' eventual fame, fortune and fulfillment of the larger than life American dream. futures by placing them in the 'right' nursery schools. lacement in elite private schools that will lead them to Ivy League colleges that promise  of the larger-than-life American dream.Read my full review.More »
Documentaries About Sex Documentaries About Musicians Hybrid Documentaries Anti-War Documentaries Documentaries About Genocide
•Ballplayer: Pelotero
The annual baseball season starts in Spring. For anyone who just can't wait to see their favorite team in play, get a jump start on the action with Ballplayer: Pelotero , the documentary that tracks two very talented young players in the Dominican Republic. They are among the 100,000 'peloteros' who are vying for American major league contracts with signing bonuses that will elevate their families from poverty. The statistics quoted at the beginning Ballplayer: Pelotero indicate that 20 percent of the professional baseball players on American major league teams come from the Dominican Republic. Will these two talented players make the cut and wind up on your favorite team? See this exciting documentary! Read my full review.More »
•Off and Running
Teenagers' raging hormones erupt in Spring! Filmmaker Nicole Opper's Off and Running is a coming of age documentary about an teenage track star's search for her personal identity. The film's central character is Avery Klein-Cloud, an African-American teenager who lives with her adoptive parents -- two gay white women, and their other inter-ethnic adopted children. Avery is smart, sensitive, well-adjusted and competitive on the track. But she has unresolved and troubling questions about her roots. Will her search for her birth mother detract from her dedication to her sport? Read myfull review.More »
•The First Saturday in May
Using actual footage from the 132nd Annual Kentucky Derby (which took place in 2006), filmmakers John and Brad Hennegan follow six very different trainers who, for the first time in their careers, are in charge of horses that keep winning the stakes races that will qualify them for the Kentucky Derby. You witness their excitement mount as they strive for their chance to compete for the racing world's holy grail: the rush of the horserace that's been called "the most exciting two minutes in sports." But the film's biggest achievement is its unparalleled access to behind-the-scenes spring training and the stories of trainers and their thoroughbreds.  Read my full review.More »
•John Muir In The New World
Are you planning a Spring or Summer getaway in a national park? Think about John Muir and thank him. And see this wonderful biographical documentary film about the great American environmentalist who created America's national park system and preserved the thousands of acres of wilderness that we enjoy as back to nature retreats from the urban sprawl that dominates the landscape and our everyday lives. Muir's life, lifestyle and philosophy are fascinating, and his accomplishments are monumental.  Read my full review.More »
•Disneynature: Wings of Life
As Spring flowers burst into bloom, the birds and bees get busy! Disneynature: The Wing of Life uses extraordinary HD technology to bring you and up close and personal view of how a variety of winged species work tirelessly to pollinate plants that provide us with sustenance. The film is fascinating and, after seeing it, you will never swat at a bee again! Read my full review.More »
•A Man Named Pearl
Before digging into your Spring gardening endeavors watch A Man Named Pearl, filmmakers Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson's documentary about the self-taught topiary artist, Mr.Pearl Fryer, who turned his economically failing community into a thriving tourist attraction by creating wonderful topiary gardens around town. The true story of Mr. Fryer and his accomplishments will certainly fuel your gardening ambitions, and inspire you to plant and prune. Read my full review.More »
•The Fruit Hunters
Spring brings luscious fruit to local markets. This is a good season to develop a passion for tasting -- and growing -- exotic fruit. Filmmaker Yung Chang follows several dedicated 'fruities' who already have that passion in its advanced stages. One of them is actor Bill Pullman, who cultivates as many varietals as he can possibly fit into the back yard of his Hollywood Hills home, and advocates for the preservation of rare fruit plants. Pullman has championed the creation of a public garden where flora bearing exotic fruit are imported from around the world and planted, so that their specific fruit can be kept from extinction. Who knew? Now you do. And for more, see this delicious documentary. Read my full review.More »
•Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel
Spring offers you the opportunity to re-costume yourself. As you shed your winter togs for spring's attire take some sartorial tips from one of the world's top fashion arbitrators. Diana Vreeland, whose life and career are profiled in Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng's documentary, will influence your fashion outlook, as she has swayed the looks of dashing fashionistas for several decades. A most entertaining fashion documentary for Spring -- or any other season.  Read my full review.More »
•Shakespeare High
For kids interested in theater, Spring brings the annual Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Shakespeare Festival, a competition that fostered the careers of Kevin Spacey, Mare Winningham, Val Kilmer and other stars. Filmmaker Alex Rotaru's documentary follows high school theater groups as they prepare productions of Shakespeare's plays to compete for top honors. The film is a celebration of youthful aspirations and these teens' dedication to their dreams, and the blossoming of their talents every Spring at the Shakespeare Festival. Read my full review.More »
•Nursery University
Spring is audition time for toddlers (or their parents, really) seeking admission to top nursery schools that start them on the educational track leading to ivy league colleges. The competition is particularly keen in the Big Apple, as we see in filmmakers Marc H. Simon and Matthew Makar's Nursery University, tracking a cross section of NYC parents trying to assure their kids' eventual fame, fortune and fulfillment of the larger than life American dream. futures by placing them in the 'right' nursery schools. lacement in elite private schools that will lead them to Ivy League colleges that promise  of the larger-than-life American dream.Read my full review.More »