Movies Similar to Permission to Exist

Framing Britney Spears(2021)

Her rise was a global phenomenon. Her downfall was a cruel national sport. People close to Britney Spears and lawyers tied to her conservatorship now reassess her career as she battles her father in court over who should control her life.

The Beach Boys - California Surfin(2004)

Wattstax(1973)

A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current-day Watts neighborhood.

Rize(2005)

A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.

Blade Rollers(2024)

Honour West and Joan Camuglia-May share their experiences in this upbeat roller-skating documentary.

Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency(2021)

Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency is a deeply personal and candid film following Roman as he explores the mental health and suicide crisis affecting young men in the UK.

32 Pills: My Sister's Suicide(2017)

Traces the life and mental illness of New York artist and photographer Ruth Litoff, and her sister's struggle to come to terms with her tragic suicide.

The Spice Girls Story: Viva Forever!(2012)

15 years after they first took the world by storm, a new musical about the girls called Viva Forever! is about to hit the West End. The programme looks at the creative process behind the show that is produced by Judy Craymer and written by Jennifer Saunders in collaboration with the Spice Girls themselves.

Adolescents(2020)

Emma and Anaïs are best friends and yet everything in their life seems to set them apart, their social backgrounds but also their personalities. From the age of thirteen to eighteen, Adolescentes follows the two teenagers during these years where radical transformations and first times punctuate daily life. Through their personal stories, the film offers a rare portrait of France and its recent history.

kid 90(2021)

As a teenager in the '90s, Soleil Moon Frye carried a video camera everywhere she went. She documented hundreds of hours of footage and then locked it away for over 20 years.

What Doesn’t Kill Me: The Life and Music of Vic Chesnutt(2016)

A documentary about the singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt

Godspell 2025

A documentary about the legendary 1972 Toronto production of the musical about the life of Jesus, which launched many illustrious careers and ignited a comedy revolution.

The Bridge(2006)

The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.

Dig!(2004)

A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.

To Stay Alive: A Method(2016)

Iggy Pop reads and recites Michel Houellebecq’s manifesto. The documentary features real people from Houellebecq’s life with the text based on their life stories.

Madonna: Truth or Dare(1991)

From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.

American Teen(2008)

A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.

Faces of Death(1978)

A collection of death scenes, ranging from TV-material to home-made super-8 movies. The common factor is death by some means.

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind(2018)

A funny, intimate and heartbreaking portrait of one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians, Robin Williams, told largely through his own words. Celebrates what he brought to comedy and to the culture at large, from the wild days of late-1970s L.A. to his death in 2014.

Science Fair(2018)

Filmmakers follow nine high school students from around the globe as they compete at an international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest teens from 78 countries, only one will be named Best in Fair.