Movies Similar to It Is What It Is

Gimme Shelter(1970)

A detailed chronicle of the famous 1969 tour of the United States by the British rock band The Rolling Stones, which culminated with the disastrous and tragic concert held on December 6 at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, an event of historical significance, as it marked the end of an era: the generation of peace and love suddenly became the generation of disillusionment.

Like It Is(1968)

This documentary on the "youth movement" of the late 1960s focuses on the hippie pot smoking/free love culture in the San Francisco Bay area.

Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe(2017)

A look into the hard working heart of neo-burlesque.

Full Metal Village(2007)

The film describes the microcosmos of the small village Wacken and shows the clash of the cultures, before and during the biggest heavy metal festival in Europe.

Six Musicians And The City(2017)

Between East and West, between bloody wars and blooming gardens, between nostalgic music of duduk and modern jazz, one of the most ancient cities is situated. The name of this is city is Yerevan. Surviving after all the difficulties of the 20th century, it lives to its own rhythm, style and music. Six musicians, including four-times Grammy Laureate Arto Tuncboyaciyan and world-wide famous “duduk-voice” Jivan Gasparyan, are the “genius loci” of Yerevan; they talk and sing about their city, discovering its hidden pain and beauty.

Lisbon Beat(2019)

A journey through Lisbon’s suburbs through the lives of a handful of musicians establishing their place to exist in a city of complex identity struggles. Different generations and backgrounds meet, Angola to São Tome, Cabo Verde and Guine Bissau represented by old musicians and young producers.

G-Funk(2017)

G-Funk is the untold story of three childhood friends from East Long Beach who helped commercialize hip hop by developing a sophisticated and melodic new approach – merging Gangsta Rap with elements of Motown, Funk, and R&B.

Pussy Versus Putin(2013)

In 2012 two members of anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus, shooting a video about transparent elections, a controversial performance in a Red Square cathedral, and footage shot in a jail cell. Support comes from many corners including Madonna who painted the words "Pussy Riot" on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. The documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a country starkly divided between conservatism and anarchy. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free and they're willing to take it to extremes. "Pussycat made a mess in the house," they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers do not seek to moralize, they simply edit events and leave viewers to draw their own conclusions.

A Star-Spangled Story: Battle for America(2014)

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is known by all, treasured for its powerful melody and stirring lyrics. And yet, only about 40% of U.S. citizens know all the words. And even fewer know their meaning. Join us as we travel back to 1814, when Washington D.C. was under British attack during the "Second War of Independence," and the very bricks and mortar of American democracy were reduced to smoking rubble. We examine the battle that inspired witness Francis Scott Key to immortalize its final moments, then reveal how his poem transformed into an anthem.

Mylène Farmer, la star secrète(2023)

The Story of the Weeping Camel(2003)

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir(2014)

Drop out of school to ride with the Merry Pranksters. Form America’s most enduring jam band. Become a family man and father. Never stop chasing the muse. Bob Weir took his own path to and through superstardom as rhythm guitarist for The Grateful Dead. Mike Fleiss re-imagines the whole wild journey in this magnetic rock doc and concert film, with memorable input from bandmates, contemporaries, followers, family, and, of course, the inimitable Bob Weir himself.

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing(2006)

Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the country band from Texas called the Dixie Chicks and how one tiny comment against President Bush dropped their number one hit off the charts and caused fans to hate them, destroy their CD’s, and protest at their concerts. A film about freedom of speech gone out of control and the three girls lives that were forever changed by a small anti-Bush comment

Wirklich alles?!(2002)

The Red Elvis(2007)

A documentary on the late American entertainer Dean Reed, who became a huge star in East Germany after settling there in 1973.

FABISILVESTRIGAZZÈ Il Padrone della Festa - LIVE(2015)

For their first joint album, Niccolò Fabi, Daniele Silvestri and Max Gazzè revisit the European tours they have played together when they were young and then head towards a tour in Italian concert halls. To celebrate this journey, the three artists portray their music in a live-documentary, rich of new and old songs, musical boxing matches and videos from the making-of of the album.

Robin Schulz - The Movie(2017)

The 90-minute documentary describes the rise of DJ and producer Robin Schulz from talented newcomer to internationally acclaimed superstar and takes a look behind the scenes of our world star's life.

The Revolution Of El Harrachi(2014)

The artistic journey of Dahmane El Harrachi, born in 1925 in Algiers, bears the mark of his experience. An attentive and vigilant observer of the environment of immigrant workers, Dahmane has always avoided falling into the ambient miserabilism. From the Algerian Chaâbi, he has kept certain melodic lines and a clear propensity for sayings drawn from the oral poetic tradition. El Harrachi uses simple language, understandable by all popular sectors of the Maghreb, which partly explains its wide success. In 1949, he went to France and it was in cafes, springboard places where people come to breathe the air of the country, that he performed regularly. Elegant, with his beautiful atmosphere, the “bluesman” of the suburbs seduces, upsets and stirs consciences. Discovered late by the new generation, the creator of Ya Rayah met a tragic end, on August 31, 1980, in a car accident, on the Algiers coast which he sublimated above all else.

Deep Purple: From Here To Infinite(2017)

Feature length documentary about the story behind the pioneering and influential British heavy metal band as they enter the studio to record their new album.

A Symphony of Noise(2021)

Treating a trumpet as if it was a portion of fish and chips is not basic culinary research but an audio-activistic intervention that lends a voice to British fishermen’s opinion towards Brexit. And the title ‘audio activist’ is very fitting for the British composer Matthew Herbert. ‘A Symphony of Noise’ provides an insight into Herbert’s thoughts about how we should hear the world and presents amplified sounds of teeth being pulled out, a pig being born, and a swimmer crossing the English Channel. The controversial and political samples become a part of a live performance at the Berlin night club Berghain, which makes the listeners both grate their teeth and dance along. Matthew Herbert wants us to listen to the world afresh, and it is a pretty fantastic experience.