Best movies like Phony

Naturalist Bill Mason on his journey by canoe into the Ontario wilderness. The filmmaker and artist begins on Lake Superior, then explores winding and sometimes tortuous river waters to the meadowlands of the river's source. Along the way, Mason paints scenes that capture his attention and muses about his love of the canoe, his artwork and his own sense of the land. Mason also uses the film as a commentary on the link between God and nature and the vast array of beautiful canvases God created for him to paint. Features breathtaking visuals and exciting whitewater footage, with a musical score by Bruce Cockburn.

A psychiatrist secretly films his female patients as an experiment; he pushes both him and his customers in ways that induce his own mental breakdown.

Growing up in small-town America, two friends dream about escaping their confining families to search for their dreams and freedom in the big city. Arriving in Los Angeles, the two discover the harsh realities of the city as they enter the shadowy world of the film business. Ultimately, the two friends must choose between love and friendship and soon discover that life has its own destiny for everyone.

After finding an ad online for “video work,” Sara, a video artist whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men, thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams. She drives to a remote house in the forest and meets a man claiming to be a serial killer. Unable to resist the chance to create a truly shocking piece of art, she agrees to spend the day with him. However, as the day goes on, she discovers she may have dug herself into a hole from which she can’t escape.

A young filmmaker decides to make a movie about his day-to-day activities in an attempt to understand himself and get his life back in order. A precursor to reality television and vlogs.

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet takes a deep dive into the crypto ecosystem and blockchain technology to discover the good, the bad and the ugly of this controversial industry, its major narratives, conflicts and the major players behind it. Can blockchain technology be used to create a new, fairer, decentralised and uncensored web3.0 where we can control our data and protect our online identities? Or will the potential be squandered as mega corporations once again compete for dominance in this new field. With his unrivalled and exclusive access, award-winning filmmaker Torsten Hoffman (Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It) takes us on a journey into the heart of this brave new world.

In the 1980s, a filmmaker begins a project to record the life of an average kid. In Perry, Ohio, he picks Rich Longfellow, a shy lad, and begins filming. Soon after, he dies in Mozambique. Sixteen years later, his son continues the project, finding Rich, now 23, in L.A., with dreams of being a Shakespearean actor, getting experience in porn films. We meet Betsy, Rich's sensible girlfriend, Lee, the impatient producer, and Carmichael, a director with artistic pretensions who inspires Rich. Problems with Besty and tension on the set bring Rich to a crisis; when his boyhood friend starts a Shakespeare company that tours nursing homes in the San Fernando Valley, Rich sees a way out.

Otto Wall is just a little unlucky in life, and unbeknownst to him, in love. When his wife suddenly asks for a divorce, he bounces between a search for answers, desperate attempts to stay connected to his daughter, and his fateful reentry into the dating pool.

A filmmaker, reeling from the death of her famous father, falls down the rabbit hole of a charismatic homeless man who becomes the subject of her latest documentary and her new love interest.

With great wit and insight, New York City filmmaker Nina Davenport documents her quest to have a baby as a single mother over forty. Davenport's film taps into the zeitgeist topic of how the modern family is being re-imagined. (TIFF)

A middle-aged man is having problems trying to regain his sexual drive. He leaves behind his old life and tries to discover a simpler happiness through painting and meeting new friends. Wanting to save him from a sexless fate, his friend (director Carlos Tobalina in a supporting role) attempts to solve the mystery of his sexual shortcomings, through any means possible. Filled with incredible footage of Las Vegas, the Sierra Nevada and elsewhere, as well as subplots involving kidnapping, and even a bit of unexpected gore, filmmaker Carlos Tobalina’s debut feature is a totally unique sexploitation experiment that showcases many of the stylistic touches that would become his trademarks, along with a cast of beautiful starlets, including Sharon Matt and Marsha Jordan.

A sketch comedy movie about the joys and embarrassments of teen sex. But mostly the embarrassments.

As the muse of Hal Hartley’s indie classics and as writer/director of the critically acclaimed Waitress, Adrienne Shelly was a shining star in the indie film firmament. A devoted young mother, her life was right on track until her husband found her dead. Filmmaker Andy Ostroy has been fighting to discover the truth about his wife’s death ever since.

After making a disastrous 3-hour documentary on New York City's water supply, two young filmmakers focus on the goings-on of life in the LA offices of Boone and Murphy, private investigators. Cheating husbands and missing dogs fail to bring in the big bucks, however, and after sleeping with the wife of one of their clients Murphy leaves. To stop Boone from having to close down the business, the filmmakers must resort to a more hands-on approach in the investigations to ensure the completion of their movie.

Too shy to make a proper introduction, a recent college grad devises to shoot a documentary about the NYC nightlife scene in order to meet the go-go guy he’s cyber-obsessed with.

Actor Michael Madsen turns the tables on notorious paparazzo, Billy Dant, by hiring a trio of documentary filmmakers to chronicle Dant's life, loves, and troubles.

A title card announces that the film is a result of found footage assembled by cameraman J.J. Burden working for the acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jim Dunn, who has disappeared. Leach, a heroin addict, introduces the audience to his apartment where other heroin addicts, a mix of current and former jazz musicians, are waiting for Cowboy, their drug connection, to appear. Things go out of control as the men grow increasingly nervous and the cameraman keeps recording.

A documentary filmmaker turns his lens on an enigmatic conspiracy theorist who claims he's found the entrance to a vast underground city populated entirely by monsters.

When aspiring horror filmmakers post an online casting call looking for "real life" monsters to interview for their upcoming documentary called, The Monster Project, they find three individuals claiming to be a skin-walker, a vampire, and a demon. Meeting these monsters at a remote mansion in the woods on the night of a total lunar eclipse, the filmmakers invite the three subjects to share their haunting, personal experiences. Working on the crew is a recovering drug addict who suffers withdrawal and paranoia. As a person of faith, he fears his friends underestimate the dark powers they are summoning. When the interviews turn deadly, he must battle the demons, inside and out, to escape the house and defeat the rise of evil incarnate.

Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.

A filmmaker decides to turn the camera back on and returns to his investigation of the Blackwell Ghost in this sequel documentary. After being provided with new information from someone who knew Mrs. Blackwell personally, the filmmaker begins to follow clues that ultimately bring him back to the haunted house for one final stay. A documentary that shows actual ghost footage captured on camera.

Danny, a commercial editor and documentary filmmaker attempts to finish his film, a study on relationship while navigating the relationships in his own life. Will he continue to chase the unattainable Theresa a hippy new age dancer(Caitlin Fitzgerald) or will he finally admit he's in love with his best friend Carla (Katherine Waterston) who is in an unfulfilling relationship with a political strategist(Gaby Hoffman). Manhattan Romance is a funny insightful look at contemporary life in Manhattan. It explores new age ideas and open relationship as well as true friendship and connection.

A fly-on-the-wall documentary film crew follow Alex, a hopelessly romantic, rom-com obsessed virgin on a quest to find love. Alex quickly finds himself out of his depth when Lana, a Moldovan mail-order bride he met online makes the bold decision of moving to London to marry him.

Linda Boreman's documentary 'Hardcore: A Poke into the Adult Film Orifice' chronicles the x-rated exploits of novice filmmaker Jack Innov as he gathers a cast and crew to produce his lavish sex epic 'Assanova'.

Christophe agrees to be filmed by his roommate Stéphane, while he is searching for a meaningful engineering job. Since he voluntarily resigned his job when he was to be moved to quality control, he does not get unemployment benefits, and goes to classes on how to contest the decision.

Mock documentary on the adult film world. Adult film stars portray themselves.

In 2040, a generation of Torontonians have grown up after the economic collapse of the west. The movie consists of episodes of a documentary series popular in mainland China about the bad jobs some white people have -- the plucky and resilient souls unlucky enough to be born into the slums of North America are both amusing and moving to the Chinese audience. Oscar is a digital janitor, and has to manually cover up logos for copyright reasons in the future's answer to Google StreetView maps. Gary and Karen assemble robot baby dolls for the children of the wealthy in Asia. Anton and Toph are spider silk collectors. Serina is human spam and makes a living by mentioning brands and products in casual conversation.

In this fake documentary that skewers the world of no-budget camcorder cinema, amateur filmmaker Ed Benjamin and his kid sister Meredith put their savings into producing a direct-to-video sexy vampire flick. They foolishly hire ex-soap star Veronica Weaver as the lead, whose eccentricities and diva behavior threaten to wreck the entire production.

A beautiful reporter gets caught up in the deadly and erotic world of an online 'murder club' in this red-hot thriller.

Struggling filmmakers - Kennedy, Cory and James - finally catch the break they were looking for when they are hired to shoot a 'behind-the-scenes' documentary for a major studio production. But their dream job quickly turns into a nightmare when they explore the legendary, haunted location and find something far worse than anything Hollywood could create. Terror becomes reality for the filmmakers as they uncover the malevolent secrets of the hospital, and the sinister doctor who once ran it. Trapped inside the hospital with no apparent way out, our crew is tormented by the evil, unspeakable fear

When Ross is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given six weeks to live, his newly engaged older brother Seth offers to spend his $50,000 wedding fund on a final trip of a lifetime. Their plans are complicated when Ross invites a call girl to join the group and Seth’s uptight fiancée insists on tagging along. This raucous road trip comedy features hip-hop star Asher Roth.

Charlotte is a woman with anger management issues whose therapist suggests she write a journal to keep her emotions in check. Unlucky in love, she ventures online to find a boyfriend. Just as she reaches her limit of unsuccessful dates, Charlotte meets her soul mate Lyle. Everything is perfect until Lyle finds Charlotte's journal and sets out to prove just how deeply he loves her.

The estranged daughter (Lauren Lee Smith) of a recently deceased filmmaker gains a new understanding of her father when she offers to create a retrospective of his work.

Four friends embark on a cross-country journey to Las Vegas in an old RV to stop a wedding and save a friend from losing the love of his life.

After winning the 'trip of a lifetime' to a caravan park in Rhyl, North Wales, unlucky in love Northener, Janet, is ready for a holiday romance. Unfortunately, taking the advice of her best friend, Diana - that she should pretend to be the opposite of who she actually is in order to find love - doesn't quite lead to the happily ever after that Janet was hoping for.

Voss entices local gamers to create a utopia to impress a potential employer, but paradise is disrupted when his nemesis lays claim to the city and Voss's true love.

In 1993, Alabama based amateur filmmaker Warren Werner shot his first feature film, Pumpkin, on VHS. With a budget of only $600, a cast of friends, family, and unknown talent, the movie premiered at the local civic center and generated an immediate backlash from the community. Rumors that Warren and his girlfriend Samantha Dixon engaged in Satanic rituals began to spread throughout town. In the months following the premiere, Warren and Samantha committed suicide. The following year, another group of filmmakers began shooting a documentary about the deaths of Warren and Samantha. The documentary project was never completed, and Pumpkin was never released. The Nobodies is Warren Werner's Pumpkin, in it's entirety, cut together with the remaining documentary footage of the director's life and death.

A conflicted animation filmmaker travels to Argentina chasing after a girl he met online, only to end up living with her and her intimidating boyfriend on an isolated island on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

Bill Moyers and filmmaker David Grubin give viewers a rare glimpse into dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones’s highly acclaimed dance Still/Here. At workshops around the country, people facing life-threatening illnesses are asked to remember the highs and lows of their lives, and even imagine their own deaths. They then transform their feelings into expressive movement, which Jones incorporates into the dance performed later in the program. For this documentary, Jones demonstrates the movements of his own life story: his first encounter with white people, confusion over his sexuality, his partner Arnie Zane’s untimely death from AIDS, and Jones’s own HIV-positive status.

An estimated 15 million Brits are currently looking for a partner online. Thanks to the internet and social media, the whole world is now open for love. From Thai romance tours to speed-dating in the Ukraine, will they find 'the one'? And having parted with thousands of pounds, can they really put a price on love?

As a manatee, one has to be extremely unlucky to be given a name. The young Hamilton is a living example of this. 600 kilos of pure friendliness – a sea cow, or manatee, is not exactly a paragon of beauty. However, they are without doubt the friendliest giants that inhabit the crystal waters of Florida’s rivers and shores. For the first time, a team of filmmakers has managed to observe a manatee for three years. As a result, the footage astounded even the experienced researchers of the Sirenia Projects. Besides, the gorgeous images of sea birds, alligators and dolphins depict the astonishing eco-system of the Gulf Coast and Florida’s crystal clear rivers.

In February of 2006, a documentary film crew from Dallas, Texas followed a young woman as she began her career in the porn industry. By March, she had disappeared.

North London band Wolf Alice have had a rise to prominence that might have been bends-inducing were it not for their tightness as a group. In summer of 2015, the deliciously dark, hook-and-riff-filled sound of their debut album, My Love Is Cool, inspired the NME to crown it: "the debut of the decade". As a measure of their impact, BAFTA-winning filmmaker Michael Winterbottom joined the band on the road, capturing 16 different gigs and daily life backstage.

Three first-time filmmakers, Justin, Dana and John set out to make a documentary about the hardships of inner-city life. Justin follows two NYPD officers while Dana and John focus on Thomas (a black youth poised to move up from his hardships). Stories merge, relationships corrode and the filmmakers become participants in the underground world they set out to document.

Use Me is a provocative thriller following filmmaker Julian Shaw (playing himself) as he makes a documentary about ‘mental humiliatrix' Ceara Lynch (playing herself). Lynch is a new breed of online sex worker who has made a fortune humiliating her willing clientele over the Internet without ever meeting them in person. As Julian delves deeper into Ceara’s bizarre practice he discovers that the line between fantasy and reality isn’t as clear as she portrays it to be. Could it be that Ceara is hiding something deeply unethical from Julian? Perhaps some of her clients aren’t as willing as she has portrayed them to be? When Julian engineers a real-world encounter between Ceara and a slave he believes she has wronged, a game of cat and mouse begins that could have life and death consequences.

Stranded in the suburbs, student filmmaker Chloe begins to make a documentary about her family's troubled past. Whilst filming, she and best friend Ed, witness an hysterical girl appearing to escape from a neighbour's house, only to be quickly dragged back inside again. Is she a recovering drug addict like the neighbours say? Or is she really in danger from those who claim to be caring for her? Chloe and Ed begin to run surveillance, but as they dig deeper, they find themselves caught up in a world of strange beliefs, old religions, and dark witchcraft. Their search for the truth will climax in a live webcast that will terrify and make those watching question the very authenticity of what they are seeing. Webcast is inspired by a wealth of films from both the horror and thriller genres, including Rear Window, The Wicker Man, The Blair Witch Project, Rosemary's Baby, Paranormal Activity, and Race with the Devil.

Behind the Sightings follows Todd and Jessica Smith, two filmmakers from Raleigh in North Carolina, who set out to produce a documentary exploring the highly publicized, creepy clown sighting epidemic, which was investigated by local law enforcement. As the young married couple venture into Peachtree Way, Nash County, in search of clowns, what they found was far from funny.

Three aspiring filmmakers are hired to film a documentary about the legends of a local cemetery. While filming; BJ, Katlin, and Brandon begin to realize that the haunted legends that surround the cemetery aren't just local folklore. As the haunting increasingly gets worse, the three must make a decision between their film career and their lives.

In an industry that is becoming increasingly competitive, what drives indie filmmakers to keep creating their art, even when there is no promise of money or fame? CREATE OR DIE explores the insatiable passion to create despite the overwhelming odds through the lens of South Carolina writer and filmmaker David Axe, as he and his band of cast and crew head out into the backwoods of Georgia to shoot his low budget passion project ACORN. But when tragedy strikes on set, doubt and tension threaten to bring an end to their production and their dreams.

A filmmaker tries to prove that ghosts are real but soon regrets his intentions after he finds himself being terrorized in a haunted house by a ghost with a dark past. An authentic documentary that shows actual ghost footage that was captured on camera.