2023 was another strong year for the documentary genre, with many films giving us a greater look at public figures who have impacted us all and incredible true stories that needed to be seen to be believed.

Here are our picks for the Top 5 Documentaries of 2023.

5. Last Stop Larrimah: Murder Down Under

In the middle of the Australian outback sits the small, and I mean the tiny, town of Larrimah. Ten people live there, and it used to be eleven. That person was Paddy, who went mysteriously missing, and since then, there’s been something of intrigue with the town and its people. Did someone kill Paddy, or was he kidnapped? Did he go wandering off himself or just leave? This is a quirky crime doco with a super-Australian feel and a well-paced mystery that, although it doesn’t get all the answers, offers an intriguing tale with interesting characters nonetheless.

– Dylan

4. American Symphony

Conceived as a behind-the-scenes look at Jon Batiste writing his first symphony for a uniquely American orchestra, the film follows him for a year as he experiences his greatest career successes with his album ‘We Are’. This ends up being juxtaposed with his difficult personal life with his wife Suleika Jaouad battling leukemia. An incredibly moving film about creativity and music but also one of the greatest love stories of the year.

– Ashley

3. Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles

The Wiggles have been a staple for Australian children since the 90s, but I’m sure many don’t know their full story. Hot Potato tells the whole story of the children’s music group who took over the world, from their early days as education students performing at kids’ parties, through their rise in Australia and America and through to the many transition phases for The Wiggles. With everyone involved interviewed, the documentary provides many interesting insights about the business, the songwriting and how Dorothy the Dinosaur came to be. It’s a must-watch for anyone who has ever wiggled along.

– Ashley

2. Take Care of Maya

Take Care of Maya will leave you equally heartbroken and frustrated as it tells the story of Maya, a young girl who has been diagnosed with advanced complex regional pain syndrome, who in 2016 is taken to a hospital after a relapse in her condition. The staff at the hospital believe that Maya’s parents are lying about her condition and believe Maya is a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, taking her into state custody and barring her parents from seeing her. The documentary follows their heartwrenching battle to get their daughter back and is sure to leave you seething at the system that allowed this to happen.

– Ashley

1. Mister Organ

In a world of highly produced and well-researched documentaries of the year, there’s something special about the true ground-roots and “we’ll figure out the story later” nature of Mister Organ. This is a film from David Farrier, whose 2016 film Tickled is constantly and rightfully listed as one of the wildest docos of the past ten years. With Mister Organ, a similar set-up is followed with Farrier investigating an intriguing subject, in this case, a man named Michael Organ, in what starts as an odd story about clamping cars in a parking spot in front of a shop. What follows is a deep dive into why you should always be careful when you’re poking around anywhere as you’ll never know what you’ll uncover and also the unwavering hubris of Organ, the type of person you never want in your own life and if you have, should remove immediately. 

– Dylan