“I may be biased, but my son Sam’s film documenting the failed war on drugs has helped to shift the conversation around drug policy reform,” says Branson.

“This offers a strong argument against the death penalty,” says Branson. “It documents the countdown to the execution of Edward Earl Johnson, a young African-American who was put to death in the gas chamber of Mississippi’s state penitentiary in 1987.”

“This really gets to the heart of the infamous Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight championship match between The Greatest and George Foreman,” says Branson. “As much action outside the ring as inside the ropes.”

“It offers real insight into the horror, and humanity, happening right now in Syria,” he says.

“Rodriguez represents music with the charming story of his discovery and rejuvenation in South Africa,” Branson says.

Branson likes “the innovative nature of his movie about the life and death of Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna.”

This is “a fast-moving film about the Maldives’ first democratically-elected President, Mohamed Nasheed,” says Branson. “The documentary is particularly moving considering President Nasheed’s subsequent story, and expertly captures his efforts to highlight the threat of climate change on a global level.”

“This stunning film, subtitled Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, gives the former US Secretary of Defense the chance to admit his mistakes in the terrible Vietnam War,” says Branson.

“The classic documentary about tightrope walker Philippe Petit’s awe-inspiring high-wire routine in New York. It set the bar for documentary making from then on,” says Branson.

This movie “tells the moving story of the amazing people trying to save Africa’s oldest national park,” says Branson.