1. Hoop Dreams
Site rank 11, IMDb rank 10, Overall rank = 21
Directed by Steve James
Beginning as a simple half-hour project, Hoop Dreams became a five-year-long observation culminating in a 171-minute-long documentary that won Best Documentary at Sundance in 1994 and several other awards.
The story follows two African-American kids from Chicago as they transfer schools in order to pursue their dream of playing in the NBA. Their new school, St. Joseph High, is a private institution whose students are mostly white. William and Arthur try to fit in while enduring the highly demanding practice regimen of elite basketball and commuting 90 minutes every day on public transit.
The documentary has earned $11.8 million on a $700,000 budget and was nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Editing.
