Some of the most notable 2021 docs by and about women introduced us to a legal trailblazer, showed us a different side of music royalty we thought we knew, and followed activists from around the world fighting for the right to be heard and to have control over their own bodies.

Here are Women and Hollywood’s favorite docs of the year.

“My Name Is Pauli Murray” – Directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; Written by Betsy West, Julie Cohen, Talleah Bridges McMahon, and Cinque Northern

We would not be where we are social justice-wise if not for Pauli Murray, something Betsy West and Julie Cohen underline in this documentary. Learning about the activist and legal scholar and her achievements is reason enough to see “My Name Is Pauli Murray,” but fortunately it’s also interesting as hell. It’s the kind of doc that makes you want to consume all of its research materials.

Murray’s legal arguments bolstered the work of folks such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall, and aided last year’s ACLU Supreme Court victory. She questioned race and gender categories long before those conversations reached mainstream, or even academic, discourse. She was queer and nonbinary. Murray was a pioneer — she was on the frontlines of the fight for racial and gender justice before the more “famous” events that make high school curriculums, such as Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus or Brown v. the Board of Education.

The very fact that we don’t learn about Pauli Murray in school is proof of the exclusionary system she worked to dismantle. She made an indelible impact on queer history, Black history, women’s history, American history. She deserves to be recognized as the hero she is. With “My Name Is Pauli Murray,” I hope she finally will be. (Rachel Montpelier)

“My Name Is Pauli Murray” is available on Amazon Prime Video.

“Tina”

“Tina”: Rhonda Graam/Courtesy of HBO

Tina Turner has one helluva work ethic. “Tina” delves into her personal life, her art, and her legacy but its throughline is Turner’s incredible commitment to her work — from her aerobic dance routines to her determination to become “the first Black rock ‘n’ roll singer to pack places like The Stones.” She’s a pro in every sense of the word.

Turner has faced immense challenges in her life: both her parents left when she was a child, she survived an abusive marriage to her musical collaborator Ike Turner, and she has contended with racism and sexism. In “Tina,” she speaks openly about all of that, but is emphatic that she doesn’t like to dwell on the past and prefers to keep moving forward. The doc suggests that her work — her music, her dancing, her concerts, her ability to connect with her audience — has been as therapeutic as her Buddhist faith.

Turner’s tale is one of perseverance and triumph but “Tina” doesn’t gloss over her truth. She is the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll yet is still associated with her abuser. No matter how many times she shares her story, hoping to put it to bed for good, people still want to hear it again. However, “Tina” recognizes that Turner is more than the ex-wife of an abusive man. She is a legend in her own right and someone who gives her all to her art. Maybe now, in the wake of this documentary’s release, we can stop focusing on the worst parts of her life and join her in celebrating her many victories. (RM)

“Tina” is available on HBO Max.

“The 8th” – Directed by Aideen Kane, Lucy Kennedy, and Maeve O’Boyle

These are bleak times for reproductive rights here in the U.S., but watching “The 8th” really gave me hope. The film takes its name from the 1983 Constitutional Amendment in Ireland, which effectively made it illegal for women to get abortions. Spurred on by the death of Savita Halappanavar, a dentist suffering a miscarriage who was refused an abortion and developed sepsis, a new movement to repeal the 8th began across the country. Veteran activist Ailbhe Smyth creates an intergenerational call to arms that is so inspiring.

The campaign builds and builds until the climax of the vote. Even though we know how it turned out (they were able to repeal!), it is still a stirring and emphatically hopeful moment. So, if you are super depressed about what is going on this country, check out “The 8th” as a powerful reminder that there is hope on the horizon. (Melissa Silverstein)

“The 8th” screened online earlier this year and had a theatrical run in the U.K. and Ireland. It is awaiting a U.S. digital release.

“Writing with Fire” – Directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh 

“Writing with Fire”

“I believe that journalism is the essence of democracy,” announces Meera Devi, the central protagonist of Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s “Writing with Fire.” Devi is the Chief Reporter at Khabar Lahariya, India’s only women-led news outlet. Committed to doing everything within her power to ensure that the media “doesn’t become just like any other business,” she’s determined to serve as a channel to justice for the disenfranchised, highlighting stories that are missing from the mainstream media and exposing discrimination based on gender and caste. She and her colleagues are all too familiar with having their own voices silenced and devalued. Besides trying to break ground in a male-dominated field, many of the reporters who work at Khabar Lahariya are Dalits, or “untouchables,” the lowest caste in Indian society. “In our region a Dalit woman journalist was unimaginable. Over the last 14 years, we’ve changed that perception,” we’re told.

Changing that perception hasn’t been easy out in the field or at home. “Speak within your limits. Don’t overdo it,” one reporter is told while covering a story. Others are reproached by their husbands for devoting time to anything other than housework. On top of all the sexist and classist nonsense they have to deal with, the women of Khabar Lahariya are in the midst of major upheaval: they’re making the transition from print to digital. Not all of the reporters have electricity at home to charge their new smartphones. Not all of the reporters have used a smartphone before. The process of taking the platform online is, as you’d expect, a challenge — but these women wouldn’t have gotten to where they are if they weren’t up for a challenge. (Laura Berger)

“Writing with Fire” is now in select theaters.

“Framing Britney Spears” – Directed by Samantha Stark

It’s difficult to remember a recent documentary that’s had as much of a cultural impact as “Framing Britney Spears.” Samantha Stark’s portrait of the iconic superstar got people talking — and not just about the media’s sexist treatment of the “…Baby One More Time” singer, but about mental health, disability rights, and the justice system.

A damning indictment of a particularly heinous era of celebrity news coverage, “Framing Britney Spears” held a mirror up to the culture that dehumanized and demeaned Spears. It also shed light on Spears’ conservatorship and the #FreeBritney movement, drawing attention the horrifying circumstances Spears was living under and encouraging viewers to rally behind her.

Since “Framing Britney Spears” debuted, Spears’ conservatorship has ended. While the doc can’t take all of the credit for righting this wrong, it can and ought to be acknowledged for raising awareness about the situation and taking the conversation to a fever pitch, bringing increased public scrutiny and demands for accountability. (LB)

“Framing Britney Spears” is available on Hulu.

“Playing with Sharks” – Written and Directed by Sally Aitken

“Playing with Sharks”: Sundance Institute

I’d never heard of Valerie Taylor before “Playing with Sharks,” but Sally Aitken’s loving tribute makes a compelling case for why the pioneer in underwater filmmaking and shark research should be much better known. A former champion spearfisher, Taylor credits a personal epiphany with her decision to dedicate her life to changing humans’ misconceptions about sharks. “From now on, I’m shooting them with a camera,” she recalls thinking.

“Very little was known about sharks in those days,” Taylor explains. You could observe the animals from the boat but not below the surface. She, along with her husband, Ron, filmed the first images in the world of Great White sharks swimming underwater and shot all the underwater live shark footage for “Jaws.” Of course, “Jaws” didn’t serve as the best PR for sharks. Despite being a work of fiction, the iconic blockbuster further cemented the creatures’ reputation for preying on humans — a legacy that Taylor was determined to correct. With statistics on her side, she vowed “to prove that sharks are not out to get us,” and humans pose a greater risk to them than the other way around. That mission saw her turning herself into shark bait to illustrate just how skewed public perception is about sharks and their behavior.

Taylor’s contributions to the scientific community are considerable, but what truly stands out about her — and the doc — is her remarkable sense of adventure. After contracting polio as a child, she spent her days lost in adventure books. As an adult, she turned her own life into the equivalent of one. She vowed to have her “own special life,” and what a life it’s been. (LB)

“Playing with Sharks” is available on Disney+.

“Pray Away” – Directed by Kristine Stolakis 

As moving as it is infuriating,” “Pray Away” sees director Kristine Stolakis taking a sobering look at the ongoing toll of conversion therapy. The doc explores the “ex-gay movement,” and how former leaders of Exodus International, the largest conversion therapy organization in the world, have since come out as LGBTQ.

“If you didn’t want to be gay, there was a way out for you,” one character remembers thinking. Preaching and teaching conversion therapy was a form of spreading the good news — showing others how to pray the gay away. “We were doing what we believed god wanted us to do,” we’re told. It’s painful to watch old footage of figureheads from the movement extolling the virtues of conversion therapy and speaking to their own transformations. In reality, these “ex-gay” leaders were of course still gay, and wrestling with feelings of inauthenticity and the fear of being discovered.

Besides the battle they were waging inwardly, Exodus’ leaders were also doing a great deal of damage to other LGBTQ community members. Very few practitioners had any relevant qualifications, and it wasn’t uncommon to have absolutely no training in psychology, counseling, or human sexuality. A number of people receiving “treatment” overdosed or attempted suicide. Much of the doc sees former leaders reckoning with how their involvement with the organization impacted others.

Guided by a strong sense of compassion, “Pray Away” addresses these painful tensions without ever losing sight of the real enemy: homophobia and its toxic, widespread effects. (LB)

“Pray Away” is available on Netflix.

“Introducing, Selma Blair” – Directed by Rachel Fleit

“Introducing Selma Blair”

Selma Blair holds no illusions about her place in Hollywood. Whether it’s “Cruel Intentions,” “Legally Blonde,” or “Hellboy,” she’s best known standing beside, or rather behind, her more famous counterparts. “I was always very conscious that I was a supporting actress,” she explains in “Introducing, Selma Blair.” “Everything I did on set was to support the star.”

Here, Blair gets top billing. “I always thought I was on a reality show, like I was in a documentary, but only god would see it — and disapprove,” she says early on in the film. Though we don’t get omniscient access to Blair’s life, we get pretty damn close. Director Rachel Fleit is entrusted to film the actress’ most personal, and achingly vulnerable, moments as she reckons with her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis and decides to pursue a stem cell transplant.

“Introducing, Selma Blair” sees its star pulling back the curtain on her experiences with a chronic illness and offering a no-holds-barred look into her most challenging and intimate moments, a decision that will be seen as brave by many. Blair balks at the word. She says she’s just walking and talking — and this happens to be how she walks and talks.

An unvarnished tribute to an actress, mother, daughter, sister, and friend during a time of inner and outer transformation, the film finally puts Blair front and center, and what a captivating leading lady she turns out to be. (LB)

“Introducing, Selma Blair” is available on discovery+.

“Prism” – Directed by Eléonore Yameogo, An van. Dienderen, and Rosine Mbakam 

“Prism”: Icarus Films

In “Prism,” three women filmmakers explore bias and racism in filmmaking, from a creator’s gaze to lighting to makeup to the invention of cameras and film. The project’s genesis came about when An van. Dienderen (“Patrasche: A Dog of Flanders, Made in Japan”), who is white, kept receiving questions about on-screen color calibration. How have artists learned to light dark skin when the practice historically only used pale skin? Dienderen realized she couldn’t answer that question, so decided to have a conversation about it with Rosine Mbakam (“Delphine’s Prayers”) and Eléonore Yameogo (“Paris mon paradis”), both of whom are Black filmmakers.

For the most part, Dienderen listens in “Prism,” while Mbakam and Yameogo present and debate their views on cinema’s racism, colorism, and bias. For Mbakam and Yameogo, this is a chance to reckon with the colonization of the screen and the mistreatment of Black voices and images; for Dienderen, it’s a chance to be an ally, to educate herself with the aim of employing anti-racist film techniques in her future work.

Like most complex conversations, “Prism” does not conclude with a tidy resolution — there is no “right” way to address and rectify racism in film. But that was never the goal. This documentary’s mission is to edify its audience about cinema’s past and present, how white supremacy and colonialism have influenced film and vice versa. Should we dismantle the current system, or try to do better with what we have? I’m not sure and neither is “Prism,” but asking questions is the first step to finding answers. (RM)

“Prism” is now in select theaters.

“The Rescue” – Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin 

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin are back with another crowd-pleasing, jaw-dropping look at a death-defying mission. They’ve followed up their Oscar-winning portrait of rock climber Alex Honnold’s attempt to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan sans rope with “The Rescue,” which chronicles the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue. The collaborators take viewers behind the scenes of the story that galvanized the globe: unexpected flooding caused 12 boys and their coach to get stuck deep inside a Northern Thailand cave. Trapped and helpless, they awaited rescue. Finding the missing group was the first challenge, but even after locating them, the rescue was just getting started. Getting them out of the cave was beyond a logistical nightmare — it was seemingly impossible.

We all know this harrowing tale has a (mostly) happy ending — the boys and their coach made it home safe. Still, Vasarhelyi and Chin manage to make “The Rescue” incredibly suspenseful. Perhaps more crucially, they tell a multi-layered story.

British divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton received the bulk of attention for the rescue. Vasarhelyi and Chin spotlight the men, examining what drew the pair to cave diving, a dangerous undertaking that most folks simply can’t imagine doing, let alone for fun. The doc is, in part, a loving tribute to former bullied kids whose obscure hobby led them to becoming international heroes. But “The Rescue” is careful not to give all the credit to the farangs — and so too are Volanthen and Stanton. Almost 5,000 Thais participated in the rescue and hundreds from around the world contributed. As one interviewee emphasizes, “People came to help.” Different countries and different cultures came together, and “The Rescue” underscores this fact throughout, teasing out the tensions and celebrating the triumphs of the unlikely collective. (LB)

“The Rescue” is now in theaters and available on Disney+.

Honorable Mentions

“Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It” – Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera (Digital rent/purchase)

“Delphine’s Prayers” – Directed by Rosine Mbakam (Select theaters, Vimeo On Demand, OVID)

“In the Same Breath” – Directed by Nanfu Wang (HBO Max)

“Ascension” – Directed by Jessica Kingdon (Paramount+)