Movies Like Downside Up
If you loved Downside Up's Documentary storytelling, these films deliver a similar experience — carefully selected for tone, themes, and emotional depth. Each pick includes where to watch it right now.
★ Top Picks

Everest
An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.

Lionel Messi: Destiny
Behind-the-scenes documentary about how Lionel Messi succeeded in lifting the World Cup – the only trophy to have eluded him in an incredible career.

Facing Ali
Ten of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.

John Candy: I Like Me
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.

The Alpinist
Marc-André Leclerc, an exceptional climber, has made solo his religion and ice his homeland. When filmmaker Peter Mortimer begins his film, he places his camera at the base of a British Columbia cliff and waits patiently for the star climber to come down to answer his questions. Marc André, a little uncomfortable, prefers to return to the depths of the forest where he lives in a tent with his girlfriend Brette Harrington. In the heart of winter, Peter films vertiginous solos on fragile ice. He tries to make appointments with the climber who is never there and does not seem really concerned by this camera pointed at him "For me, it would not be a solo if there was someone else" . Marc-André is thus, the "pure light" of the mountaineers of his time, which marvel Barry Blanchard, Alex Honnold or Reinhold Messner, interviewed in the film. An event film for an extraordinary character.

Babies
A non-narrated documentary following the lovesome lives of four infants from birth to their first birthday. The babies featured are two from rural areas: Ponijao from Opuwo, Namibia, and Bayar from Bayanchandmani, Mongolia, as well as two from urban areas: Mari from Tokyo, Japan, and Hattie from San Francisco, USA.
More Movies Like Downside Up

My Mom Jayne
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

Counterpunch
As boxing's popularity wanes, three fighters at different stages of their career make sacrifices to pursue their dreams of becoming champions.

Harmontown
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.

Whispers in the Woods
In the heart of the tranquil Vosges forests, where lynxes, bears and deer roam freely, Vincent Munier accompanies his father on his expeditions. He not only seeks to capture the visual wonders of this forest kingdom, but also aims to make its sounds audible. Every whisper of the forest is a reminder of the knowledge of nature that his father once imbued in him – knowledge that Vincent now passes on to his own son. Vincent Munier combines breathtaking footage of nature and its sounds to create a fairytale-like cinematic experience that slows time down.

I Am Heath Ledger
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

Cameraperson
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

Seduced and Abandoned
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.

For the Love of Spock
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.

Get Me Roger Stone
From his days of testifying at the Watergate hearings to advising recent presidential candidate Donald Trump, Roger Stone has long offended people on both sides of the political fence as a force in conservative America. Outspoken author, pundit, ahead of his time election strategist, this is his story.

Looking for Richard
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."

The Figo Affair: The Transfer That Changed Football
This documentary spotlights one of the most contentious deals in football history and the extraordinary player at the center of the storm: Luís Figo.
Why These Movies Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Downside Up (2013): Documentary themes, similar narrative structure, and comparable emotional depth. NoBadPicks uses a combination of TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface films most likely to resonate with fans of Downside Up.
See full details for Downside Up (2013)
