Film
The Goddess Project
- Drama
- Light-hearted
A documentary celebrating women across different fields who are actively reshaping their communities and themselves. It's an intimate, character-driven portrait of resilience and agency—less manifesto, more genuine conversation. For anyone curious about how real change happens at ground level, or looking for proof that one person's conviction can ripple outward.
If you liked this
Becoming2020
Michelle Obama's own documentary offers similarly intimate, reflective storytelling about a woman's journey to find her voice and shape her legacy on her own terms, with remarkable warmth.
But It's reverential in places, and if you're looking for scandal or serious critique, this isn't a adversarial portrait.
The Salt of the Earth2014
Wim Wenders' film about photographer Sebastião Salgado shares the same commitment to witnessing lives transformed by conviction—how one person's vision can hold a mirror to the world.
But It's meditative and slow-paced, which some may find demanding rather than energizing.
13th2016
Ava DuVernay's documentary braids together personal testimonies and systemic analysis to show how women and communities are fighting for justice and recognition.
But It's heavy and urgent in tone, focusing on injustice rather than inspiration alone—not a feel-good film.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Pumzi2009
Both honor women's agency in the face of systems designed to constrain them, but where The Goddess Project documents real change-makers, Pumzi asks what change-making might look like in a world pushed to the brink.
This Kenyan science-fiction short film imagines a future where water is scarce and climate disaster has transformed society—a woman must choose between safety and resistance. It's visionary, urgent, and formally inventive.
But At 18 minutes, it's a fragment. It's also speculative and abstract rather than documentary, requiring a different kind of engagement.
More like this (8)
Free Solo2018
Another character study of someone pushing past fear to pursue their passion, with beautiful cinematography and genuine tension about what matters most.
But The central subject is male and the stakes are literally life-or-death, so the emotional register is quite different.
Hoop Dreams1994
This landmark documentary follows two young men over years, showing how individual ambition intersects with community, family, and systemic barriers—deeply human and unsentimental.
But At three hours, it demands patience, and the outcomes are more complicated than triumphant.
Half the Picture2018
Female filmmakers discuss their craft and the obstacles they've overcome, offering both technical insight and personal candor about making space in a male-dominated industry.
But It's industry-focused, so if you're not interested in how films get made, the relevance may feel narrower.
The Dawn Wall2017
A documentary about two climbers pursuing an impossible goal, it captures the psychology of ambition, friendship, and pushing past fear in stunningly visual terms.
But Like Free Solo, the stakes are extreme and the mood is tense rather than uplifting—not everyone's comfort zone.
Heroin(e)2017
Elaine McMillion Sheldon's short documentary profiles three women in Huntington, West Virginia fighting addiction and its aftermath with stunning intimacy and no easy answers.
But It's raw and difficult, focusing on systemic failure as much as individual resilience. At 38 minutes, it's also brief if you're looking for something longer.
My Octopus Teacher2020
A filmmaker forms a relationship with an octopus over a year, but it's really about overcoming self-doubt and rediscovering wonder—genuinely moving and visually mesmerizing.
But The premise sounds whimsical, and some find the tone precious rather than earned.
Shirley2020
Both examine women overcoming internal and external obstacles to do consequential work, but this trades documentary realism for psychological fiction, showing artistic genius as something thorny and difficult, not noble.
Elisabeth Moss plays author Shirley Jackson during a productive summer in the 1950s, as Jackson writes 'The Lottery.' It's a fiction film, but psychologically intense and fiercely about a woman claiming her own creative authority.
But It's claustrophobic and dark, almost Gothic in mood—the opposite of uplifting. Jackson's genius emerges through her cynicism and rage, not through inspiration.
BabaKiueria1986
While The Goddess Project shows women building community from within, Babakiueria uses documentary form itself as a tool to question who gets to tell stories of 'progress' and impact—it's a formal critique dressed as comedy.
An Australian mockumentary that reimagines colonialism in reverse—Indigenous Australians observe and study white settlers as anthropological subjects. It's audacious, funny, and structurally brilliant.
But At 28 minutes, it's short. It's also a comedy that pivots on race and power, so the tone may read as irreverent if you come in expecting solemnity.
People
Cast
Nancy BerggrenSelf
Directing
- Holli RaeDirector
- Sara LandasDirector