True stories have been a huge part of the success of TV and streaming services. When you fire up Netflix on your favorite streaming glass sandwich, you can find anything, from true stories to fiction, that can keep you entertained for hours.
For someone like my girlfriend, who only speaks Spanish, it’s often a hassle to find something we both can enjoy. Thankfully, Netflix has an option to watch your favorite media in your preferred language.
When you sit down to watch these diverse documentaries on Netflix, don’t let a slow internet frustrate you. Me and my girlfriend use Spectrum Internet, which also caters to their Spanish-speaking customers, but for that, you need to dial up teléfono de Spectrum.
But enough about the internet. Here are my picks for the seven documentaries you should watch in Spanish in 2024.
My Octopus Teacher
Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
The Tinder Swindler
Dick Johnson Is Dead
Pelé
World War 2 In Colour
Wrapping Up
Table of Contents
My Octopus Teacher
- Release Date: September 4, 2020
- Runtime: 1h 30m
- Director: James Reed, Pippa Ehrlich
It takes a talented team to create a piece of media that can highlight the relationship between humans and animals. Thankfully, the team that created My Octopus Teacher has done a terrific job of showing the bond between a filmmaker and an octopus.
The documentary is about Craig Foster, who follows an octopus during his free-diving sessions over a year. He finds and follows the octopus living in the South African kelp forest and develops a bond with it as the animal invites him into his underwater life, which helps him transform and grow his relationship with real-life people.
The documentary won the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award. If nothing else, this moving documentary is a reminder of how little we know about the creatures that live on this planet.
Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
- Release Date: December 18, 2019
- No. of Episodes: 3
- Director: Mark Lewis
The mini docu-series touches on some heavy but very important subjects. And if you’re a cat lover, this series is going to pull on your heartstrings a little too much.
The series is about a group of people on Facebook, trying to track down an internet killer who starts posting videos where he makes kittens meet an unfortunate end to their lives. This starts a relentless chase where the killer, Luka Magnotta, posts videos, and the internet detectives try to figure out who he is and try to catch him.
This documentary is not for the faint of heart, and if you’re someone who can’t stand the themes of animal abuse and murder, this isn’t a documentary you should watch. However, this is still a very important piece of media that explores the things that people with sick minds are capable of.
The Tinder Swindler
- Release Date: February 2, 2022
- Runtime: 1h 54m
- Director: Felicity Morris
This documentary serves as a cautionary tale for people swiping right on Tinder since you don’t know the person on the other side of the screen, and how easy is it to manipulate your online image.
The Tinder Swindler is about how a con artist named Shimon Hayat poses as a jewelry mogul and scams millions of dollars from women who fall for his charms. The women who were scammed, team up and try to hunt down the swindler who stole millions of dollars from them.
The amazing thing about this documentary was that Hayut was still on the loose and scamming more unsuspecting victims out of cash. After the documentary was released, he was banned from the app.
Dick Johnson Is Dead
- Release Date: January 25, 2020
- Runtime: 1h 29m
- Director: Kirsten Johnson
This playful documentary serves as a way for the filmmaker, Kirsten Johnson, to cope with the inevitable.
As Kirsten’s father nears the end of his life, she imagines creative and comical ways to stage his death. She imagines scenarios where he accidentally dies, such as tripping down the stairs or getting hit by an air conditioner.
Although the concept sounds morbid, it’s a bitter-sweet reflection on death and a comedic way for a daughter to bond with her father before it’s too late.
Pelé
- Release Date: February 23, 2021
- Runtime: 1h 48m
- Director: David Tryhorn, Ben Nicholas
Pelé serves as a tribute to the Brazilian football legend. The admiring documentary not only talks about Pelé but also focuses on the turbulent times faced by Brazil in the 60s.
The docu-film shows some of the key matches in his career and frames the story between the Brazil-hosted World Cup in 1950, where Brazil lost to Uruguay, which was a huge blow to Brazil’s pride, and the quest of Pelé to redeem himself.
The documentary has a lot of positive messages, like being brave and being honest about your past. Pelé is an incredible dribbler and goal scorer and he’s great at reading the pitch. He has broken records and keeps inspiring thousands of soccer lovers around the world.
World War 2 In Colour
- Release Date: September 4, 2009
- No. of Seasons: 2
- Director: Martin Hughes, Matthew Barrett, Philip Nugus, Phil Howard Jones, Antony Oliphant
World War 2 was an important part of history and this Netflix documentary highlights some important aspects of it by showing some of the unknown videos as well as commentaries from experts.
One episode shows the tactics used by the Germans and British in Dunkirk as well as the political climate of London. Another shows the battle of the Atlantic, which highlights how the Germans may have been able to win the war if Hitler focused his efforts on building a large fleet.
The documentary is surprisingly fun to watch, even if you’re not a fan of history. This is mainly due to the way the largely unknown parts of the war are discussed.
Netflix has slowly become the one place where you can find some amazing documentaries to watch. Some have become the critical darling, being loved by both reviewers as well as watchers. And all the documentaries in this list have great Spanish dubs, which make them a great watch, regardless of the language you speak.