Madonna Filmography - Documentaries

Documentaries

In 1991, Madonna released her first documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare (named In Bed With Madonna outside North America). Directed by Alek Keshishian, the film followed Madonna on her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. It featured black and white backstage scenes and live performances filmed in color. The documentary was released in North America by Miramax Films and grossed more than $15 million in the U.S. alone. While criticized for being manufactured, the film offered insights into Madonna's relationship with then-boyfriend Warren Beatty and showed her admitting that ex-husband Sean Penn was the love of her life. Madonna deeply dislikes the title of In Bed With Madonna and has expressed in interviews that it is a "stupid title". The original title of the documentary was "Truth or Dare: On The Road, Behind The Scenes and In Bed With Madonna".

In 1992, behind the scenes footage was filmed by Fabien Baron during the making of the book Sex. This footage was shown at the launch party of the book, and has since been leaking on the internet. It includes many of the images used in the "Erotica" music video accompanied by 1920s music. It was handed out to 100 special guests at the launch and is listed on www.imdb.com as a documentary. It is sometimes known as The Making of Sex.

In 2005, a short internet documentary Confessions on a Promo Tour was created to promote the release of the album Confessions on a Dance Floor. It featured behind-the-scenes footage of the rehearsals for the Hung Up Promo Tour. The documentary was produced by HSI, Exposure Films and Cheeky Boy Films. It was directed by Dan Cadan, produced by Melissa Thomas and executive produced by Nicola Doring.

Later that year, Madonna released her second full-length documentary, I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, followed her and her family on the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour in 2004. Directed by long-time collaborator Jonas Åkerlund, it premiered commercial free on MTV in the US on October 21, 2005. It was released on DVD June 20, 2006 with a bonus audio CD.

In 2006, a second short internet documentary Confessions Tour: Behind the Scenes was created for the Confessions Tour website. It featured behind-the-scenes footage from the tour and rehearsals. The film was later released as an extra on the 2007 DVD and live album release The Confessions Tour.

Later that year, Madonna announced that she was funding a documentary about Malawi and it was through viewing this footage that she first saw David Banda, whom she has since adopted. The film is called I Am Because We Are and was released in 2008, directed by Nathan Rissman and produced, narrated and starring Madonna.

In 2010, Madonna released the DVD and live album Sticky & Sweet Tour which included the bonus feature, Sticky & Sweet World Tour - Behind the Scenes, a short documentary shot in 2008 on the Sticky & Sweet Tour and included rehearsals and backstage footage, including scenes with Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland on stage. The short was directed by Nathan Rissman.