Documentary of the Week

The documentary “Coded Bias,” playing online at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, examines the prejudice built-in to computer code that’s mainly written by white men. Filmmaker Shalini Kantayya looks at the Algorithmic Justice League and other activists who are lobbying for more government oversight.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

“Be Water” explores the life of martial arts film star Bruce Lee, from Hollywood to Hong Kong. Filmmaker Bao Nguyen interviews Lee’s family and friends, including Kareem Abdul-Jabar, about the actor’s effort to forge his own identity.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

“On the Record” follows former music executive Drew Dixon as she weighs going public along with others in accusing Russell Simmons of rape. Oscar-nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering have a long history of covering sexual assault in films such as “The Hunting Ground.” 

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “The Painter and the Thief” explores a strange relationship when an artist chooses to make a portrait of the gangster who stole her work. Filmmaker Benjamin Ree achieves a remarkable intimacy filming in the quiet spaces of a studio and couples therapy. This film is a testament to the power of art.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers 

For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

The five-hour PBS series “Asian Americans” traces the complex history of a multifaceted ethnic identity and experience. Series producer Renee Tajima-Peña collaborates with a team of Asian American directors to highlight remarkable lives from silent screen actress Anna May Wong to Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers 

For more information, click here to visit the series web site.

“Spaceship Earth” tells the story of eight researchers who locked themselves into the self-contained ecosystem of Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert for two years. Filmmaker Matt Wolf documents the interpersonal dramas and scientific controversies with an approach that has more respect than ridicule for the grandiose undertaking.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

“Capital in the Twenty-First Century” adapts the best-selling book by French economist Thomas Piketty into a lively documentary set to a pop soundtrack. Director Justin Pemberton enlists economic analysts ranging from Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz to Rana Foroohar to Piketty himself.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers 

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

“Circus of Books” looks at the iconic Los Angeles bookstore known for stocking gay pornography. The unlikely owners were the parents of filmmaker Rachel Mason. The film is a multi-layered exploration of gay history, First Amendment rights and family secrets.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers 

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The Netflix series “The Innocence Files” follows cases of wrongfully convicted prisoners whose cases are championed by The Innocence Project. Executive producers Liz Garbus, Alex Gibney and Roger Ross Williams uncover the effects of bad evidence, mistaken witnesses and corrupt prosecutors.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers

For more information, click here to visit the series web site.

“Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections” follows security expert Harri Hursti and others who reveal alarming vulnerabilities in U.S. electronic voting machines. Filmmakers Simon Ardizzone, Russell Michaels and Sarah Teale illuminate paper-balloting solutions, and point to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as a key impediment to passing the Secure Elections Act that has bipartisan support.

— Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.