Movies Similar to Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

The Presidents’ Tailor – From Auschwitz to the White House(2024)

Martin Greenfield learned to sew while mending shirts for the Gestapo in Auschwitz and went on to make suits for U.S. presidents and stars. Now, at 95, America’s greatest tailor is grappling with his legacy.

Southern Comfort(2001)

This moving documentary chronicles the last year in the life of Robert Eads, a trans man dying of ovarian cancer. We're introduced to several prominent figures in Robert's life -- most importantly, his life partner and caretaker Lola Cola, who is also trans. The two prepare to lead a panel at the annual Southern Comfort conference, a yearly event created for transgender individuals.

Transformer(2018)

In the summer of 2015, former US Marine and world record weightlifter Janae Marie Kroczaleski was publicly outed as being transgender. The reaction was universal: her sponsors abandoned her, she was disowned by her parents and banned from competing. This film follows Janae as she attempts to find her place in society. Initially wanting to strip off the muscle and become a much smaller looking woman, she found herself unable to lose the muscle she so desperately gained. She now finds herself living one day as an alpha male and the next day as a delicate girl. Will Janae be able to handle her muscle relapses? Will her passage from being a male bring her the peace she's looking for? Will society accept a 250lbs muscular woman? Is her path personal redemption or physical and psychological disaster?

In Anticipation of Jan Myrdal's Death(2021)

Documentary about the author Jan Myrdal and his strange friendship with Lasse Diding, founder of the Jan Myrdal Society.

My Darling Vivian(2020)

The story of Vivian Liberto, Johnny Cash's first wife and the mother of his four daughters. Includes never-before-seen footage and photographs of Johnny Cash and Rosanne Cash, as well as footage featuring Reese Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix, Tim Robbins, Whoopi Goldberg, John C. Reilly and many more.

Las Preguntas que Perdimos(2023)

Estamira(2004)

Estamira is a 63-year-old woman who suffers from schizophrenia. She leads a tough life and has supported herself for the past 20 years by picking through garbage at the Jardim Gramacho Disposal Area in Rio de Janeiro. The film follows her starting in 2000, the year she begins treatment in a psychiatric clinic. At first, it is hard to understand her in her stream-of-consciousness sentences, delusions and obsessions. Gradually, however, we get to know her as a woman who can have quiet and lucid moments despite her illness.

The Source(1999)

Traces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs in 1997. Three actors provide dramatic interpretations of the work of these three writers, and the film chronicles their friendships, their arrival into American consciousness, their travels, frequent parodies, Kerouac's death, and Ginsberg's politicization. Their movement connects with bebop, John Cage's music, abstract expressionism, and living theater. In recent interviews, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kesey, Ferlinghetti, Mailer, Jerry Garcia, Tom Hayden, Gary Snyder, Ed Sanders, and others measure the Beats' meaning and impact.

imagine… Russell T Davies: The Doctor and Me(2023)

imagine... follows celebrated British TV writer Russell T Davies as he prepares to return as the showrunner of Doctor Who – with two Doctors and bigger ambitions.

The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye(2012)

An intimate, affecting portrait of the life and work of ground-breaking performance artist and music pioneer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV) and his wife and collaborator, Lady Jaye, centered around the daring sexual transformations the pair underwent for their 'Pandrogyne' project.

Frank Miller: American Genius(2024)

Explore the near half-century career of the legendary comic book artist and writer. Made for his fans following a near death experience, the documentary delves into Miller's radical and defining influence on art, storytelling and culture. Following his small town beginnings in Vermont, to New York City, Hollywood, and beyond; this intimate documentary delves into his failures, successes, self-destruction and re-discovery.

The Mindscape of Alan Moore(2003)

The Mindscape of Alan Moore is a psychedelic journey into one of the world's most powerful minds; chronicling the life and work of Alan Moore, author of several acclaimed graphic novels, including "From Hell," "Watchmen" and "V for Vendetta." It is the only feature film production on which Alan Moore has collaborated, with permission to use his work. Alan Moore presents the story of his development as an artist, starting with his childhood and working through to his comics career and impact on that medium, and his emerging interest in magic.

Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space(2023)

Raised in the small all-Black Florida town of Eatonville, Zora Neale Hurston studied at Howard University before arriving in New York in 1925. She would soon become a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, best remembered for her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. But even as she gained renown in the Harlem literary circles, Hurston was also discovering anthropology at Barnard College with the renowned Franz Boas. She would make several trips to the American South and the Caribbean, documenting the lives of rural Black people and collecting their stories. She studied her own people, an unusual practice at the time, and during her lifetime became known as the foremost authority on Black folklore.

Darcey Bussell: Looking for Audrey(2014)

Behind Audrey Hepburn's dazzling image, Darcey Bussell unravels an epic tale of betrayal, courage, heartache and broken dreams. For as long as she can remember Darcey has been fascinated by Audrey Hepburn: style icon, star of Breakfast at Tiffany's, an Oscar winner at 24. Now, Darcey follows in Audrey's footsteps through Holland, London, Rome, Switzerland and Hollywood to find out more. She discovers Audrey started out as a dancer, risked her life in the war and, although adored the world over, was always looking for love.

The Ten-Year Lunch(1987)

The story of the legendary wits who lunched daily at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City during the 1920s. The core of the so-called Round Table group included short story and poetry writer Dorothy Parker; comic actor and writer Robert Benchley; The New Yorker founder Harold Ross; columnist and social reformer Heywood Broun; critic Alexander Woollcott; and playwrights George S. Kaufman, Marc Connelly, Edna Ferber and Robert Sherwood.

Vito(2011)

In the aftermath of Stonewall, a newly politicized Vito Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. He went on to write "The Celluloid Closet", the first book to critique Hollywood's portrayals of gays on screen. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Vito became a passionate advocate for justice via the newly formed ACT UP, before his death in 1990.

Splinters - A Century of an Artistic Family(2011)

Peter von Bagh's documentary about Juhani Aho and people around him.

Katy Perry: Part of Me(2012)

Giving fans unprecedented access to the real life of the music sensation, Katy Perry: Part of Me exposes the hard work, dedication and phenomenal talent of a girl who remained true to herself and her vision in order to achieve her dreams. Featuring rare behind-the-scenes interviews, personal moments between Katy and her friends, and all-access footage of rehearsals, choreography, Katy’s signature style and more, Katy Perry: Part of Me reveals the singer’s unwavering belief that if you can be yourself, then you can be anything.

Southern Sorceresses(2020)

Through artistic manifestations, a group of LGBTQIA+ people performs public stagings that raise debates on issues of gender, social inequality and prejudice in the streets of downtown São Paulo. Messing with the popular imagination and providing debates, the artists explain their daily struggles to anyone who is interested in acquiring a new perspective on the most subtle layers of intolerance.

Un marziano di nome Ennio(2022)

The story tells an interesting moment in the life of Ennio Flaiano, his meeting with Federico Fellini and his relationship with the famous producer of the "Dolce Vita" Peppino Amato, until he decides to write a dictionary of the 'verbal errors' committed by Peppino Amato.