In recent years, non-fiction films have not only climbed the box office charts but also influenced public discourse. Entertainment Weekly takes a look at some movies that made an impact. 
See the Gallery here

Filmmaker Joe Berlinger (“Crude”) speaks at WESTDOC 2010’s non-fiction keynote conversation. He discusses his legal problems with Chevron after his documentary,

We're living in the golden age of documentary films. Thanks to the advent of inexpensive cameras and facile editing software, the number of skilled filmmakers who are reporting from the front lines of the essential stories of our time is truly remarkable. Which is why we've chosen to focus on the new: We've picked the 15 greatest adventure, investigative, and nature documentaries of the 21st century, while also giving nods to ten 20th-century classics that paved the way.

The Topanga Film Festival — now in its 6th year — is dedicated to the exhibition of independent and experimental film, and in 2010, to expand its focus to promotion of film and trans-format digital content. The festival endeavors to bridge cultures, create and expand community, provide cultural exchange, networking opportunities and educational outreach.  This year the festival has expanded the festival by an additional day and runs Thursday 8/19 through Sunday 8/22.

Included in the festival's films are Plan B Environmental: As part of a communal documentary project in support of the

State Of the Arts - an extraordinary day of leading edge panelists, thought provoking dialogue and brain-share on the forefront of Arts, Media and Entertainment.  The Symposium offered a unique and fresh perspective on the future of Arts, Media, Communications and Technology while focusing on the conscious use of creativity and its power to drive global change. Get INSPIRED about creating the future NOW and learn how you can be profitable while creating positive change.

It wasn’t always the case that Hollywood, the media capital of the world, could be expected to embrace a day-long symposium on the power of arts and media to transform. When I broke into the industry in 1985, power was held by the major studios and four broadcast and cable outlets with a fifth emerging on the horizon. Most of the time, transformation only mattered in terms of ratings and dollars and cents.

The International Documentary Association and supporting filmmakers Michael Moore, D.A. Pennebaker, Barbara Kopple, Davis Guggenheim, Louie Psihoyos, Morgan Spurlock and many more, have banded together to create an open letter of support for filmmaker Joe Berlinger. A New York federal court has recently ruled that Berlinger must hand over 600 hours of raw footage from his documentary

It's not easy being green on a film set, says Colin Firth.

"It's a wasteful place," admits the Oscar-nominated actor.

"It is not ... because film people are free of conscience and they don't care about the planet. It's a very panic-stricken environment a lot of the time."

Firth says there are people in the film industry who will do anything to

AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival today announced the eight social issue documentaries selected for the second annual Good Pitch @ Silverdocs. The Good Pitch @ Silverdocs is a project of Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation in partnership with Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, an innovative traveling documentary pitching forum for filmmakers that gives them a unique opportunity to pitch projects and associated campaign strategies to invited NGOs, charities, foundations, campaigners, advertising agencies and media.

"The Cove," which chronicles the grisly business of dolphin hunting in Japan, on Sunday won the Oscar for best feature documentary.

The triumph of "The Cove," among the best reviewed films of the year but relatively unpopular with U.S. audiences due to its disturbing subject matter, came days after its distributor announced the film would open in theaters across Japan for the first time later this year.