Louis Theroux has announced that he’s curating a new documentary series for BBC iPlayer, showcasing some of the films that have had a profound effect on him.
The legendary documentarian has trawled the BBC archives for Louis Theroux: Docs That Made Me, which sees him explaining why he chose each of the documentaries and their personal effect on his work.
Describing the project, Theroux said: “It is an absolute privilege to be able to be part of sharing these wonderful, powerful documentaries. Each of them had an impact on me in a different way.
“They cover a range of styles – some vérité-driven, others told more through interview – but in all of them you see life at its most raw, its most strange and therefore its most human. I hope BBC iPlayer viewers enjoy them as much as I have.”
The collection spans over forty years, with the oldest doc in the collection being 1975’s Inside Story: Mini, which follows the case of an 11-year-old boy who attempted to burn down his parents’ house on two different occasions.
Other inclusions include the stirring Fourteen Days Of May, a 1987 film about Edward Earl Johnson, a death row prisoner in Florida who is approaching his execution date as he appeals his sentence.
Hailing Fourteen Days In May, Theroux said: “Many documentaries that are terrific come and go but this one is one that I think most people involved in documentaries will have seen and would agree that it’s a powerful and important piece of storytelling.”
The full collection is available on BBC iPlayer now. Check out the full list below.
- Inside Story: Mini (1975)
- Fourteen Days In May (1987)
- Storyville: Philip And His Seven Wives (2006)
- Rain In My Heart (2006)
- Between Life And Death (2010)
- Exposed: Magicians, Psychics & Frauds (2014)
- Life And Death Row – Truth (2016)