The service, which launches today, will include feature-length and short documentary films from the likes of Spike Jonze, Kathryn Bigelow, Terrence Malick, Brett Morgen, Andrea Nevins, Roger Ross Williams, Zana Briski, Davis Guggenheim, and Werner Herzog.

Titles include The Imposter, Life, Animated, Born into Brothels, Cartel Land, Dior and I and Being Evel. There are political films such as Cory Booker film Street Fight, Elian Gonzalez story Elian and Lee Atwater’s Boogie Man as well as music documentaries including Seattle grunge doc Hype!, Colin Hanks’ Tower Records doc All Things Must Passand The Other F Word as well as sports doc One Man and His Shoes about Michael Jordan.

It will also feature the work of up-and-coming filmmakers from the likes of Lana Wilson (Miss Americana), Ramona S. Diaz (A Thousand Cuts), Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation), Clay Tweel (Gleason), Kareem Tabsch (Mucho Mucho Amor), and Laura Gabbart (Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles).

The free service is available on a range of streaming platforms including Apple TV, Amazon and Roku as well as on mobile.

Documentary+, which is a joint venture between nonfiction studio XTR and the late Tony Hsieh, will be looking at potential acquisitions to add to their library at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where XTR has eight films premiering.

“There has never been a more exciting time for nonfiction — we’re seeing visionary new directors emerge and streaming has given documentary films wide new global audiences,” said Bryn Mooser, co-founder of Documentary+ and CEO of XTR. “With Documentary+, not only are we building a home for some of the best documentary films of our time, but we’re giving filmmakers another option for distribution as competition continues to increase. The COVID pandemic created this great digital acceleration and we are building Documentary+ to be a key cornerstone in the future of the industry.”

The company, set up by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and RYOT co-founder Bryn Mooser, is launching Documentary Plus+ later this year.

The producer, which is also behind wrestling doc You Cannot Kill David Arquette, is hoping that the service becomes a Criterion Collection for docs. It will include a collection of feature docs and short films with a handful of XTR films as well as third-party content. It will launch in the fall and will be free for users.

The service will be available online as well as on existing platforms including Amazon Prime, Roku, Apple TV, Google Play, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. 

Documentary Plus+ comes as XTR co-financed five films that made their world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

Its film on NBA legend Magic Johnson is being fund and produced in association with H.wood media and New Slate Ventures and is set for 2021.

“We’re excited to build Documentary Plus+ and create a streaming home for great documentary film and filmmakers,” said XTR CEO Bryn Mooser. “This is a revolutionary moment in documentary film where new audiences are discovering the genre and new filmmakers are able to create and tell their own stories. In the past documentaries were limited in distribution to art house movie theaters and the back row of video rental houses. With documentary plus we will bring these films directly to our audiences on their TV or mobile phones or wherever they watch content. In these dynamic global times, the role of a documentary film has never been more important or vital.”