With the social season here it’s helpful to have a few conversation starters ready for those awkward moments at the work Christmas party, or to impress the extended family or fellow campers on your break, and there’s no better source than our Rialto Documentaries, screening on Thursday evenings at 8.30pm.

With the social season here it’s helpful to have a few conversation starters ready for those awkward moments at the work Christmas party, or to impress the extended family or fellow campers on your break, and there’s no better source than our Rialto Documentaries, screening on Thursday evenings at 8.30pm.

Politics take centre stage this month with two fascinating documentaries about life in American public office. There’s the sex scandal that rocked New York Governor Eliot Spitzer in 2006 in Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (Thursday 8^th December, 8.30pm), and the controversial story of Pentagon war planner Dr. Daniel Ellsberg who in 1971 leaked top secret documents about the Vietnam war to the New York Times in The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Thursday 29^th December, 8.30pm).

These documentaries give a fascinating insight into the inner machinations of Wall Street and Washington, and while both men might polarise people they both talk very openly and honestly about their actions.

Obviously, Spitzer’s talking about his “sexual relations” with high class hookers may not seem as important as a Pentagon worker making the decision to betray his government to try and end a war, but it’s amazing just how complex the Spitzer story is.

As Attorney General for 8 years, and New York Governor for one, Spitzer was known as the Sheriff of Wall St, the guy who went after environmental violators, over paid CEO and fraudulent financial executives. He was aggressive and combative in his single minded pursuit of what he believed to be morally right, and he happily publicised his successes. It was generally held that he was on his way to being the first Jewish President of the United States, if only the FBI hadn’t busted an exclusive escort agency of which he was a client.

Director Alex Gibney has a great range of talking heads involved in his documentary, including Spitzer, his colleagues, “Angelina” - the mysterious prostitute whom he saw most frequently, his Wall St opponents, the media, and other commentators. While Spitzer takes full responsibility for his downfall, Gibney ties together events and relationships that imply Spitzer’s downfall was cleverly constructed by his enemies. He puts forward a good case, and even though Spitzer was plain stupid, you can’t help but see the benefit for Wall Street of the Sheriff being out of the town.

In 1971 when Daniel Ellsberg leaked 7000 pages of explosively damaging information on the Vietnam War, as many people accused him of being a traitor as a hero - which is how he got the title The Most Dangerous Man in America. A war planner under Henry Kissinger who went to Vietnam to see for himself what was really happening Ellsberg was a dedicated Cold War Warrior, which makes his actions even more startling.

This film doesn’t just present an interesting inside view of how the American government presented the war to the public and Ellsberg managed to leak the documents, it also covers his anguish over whether he should risk his career, his friends, and the possibility of jail for a mere chance of helping end the war.

The Most Dangerous Man in America is a well constructed and riveting documentary - it’s no surprise it was an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary in 2010.

Also screening this month is Kevorkian (Thursday 15^th December, 8.30pm) a documentary about Armenian - American Dr. Jack Kevorkian, known as the infamous Dr. Death. Old and frail but still alert, Kervorkian is a self absorbed and fascinating character who director Matthew Galkin catches up with after his failed bid to win a seat in congress in 2008.

And don’t miss Sergio (Thursday 22^nd December, 8.30pm), the tragic and moving story of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the charming and charismatic UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who was trapped in the UN Headquarters in Iraq in 2003 after a massive bomb blast ripped through the building. A powerful, beautifully crafted film, Sergio might turn you briefly into a blubbering mess, but is also a story not to be missed.

Click HERE for a full list and screening details for these December premiere documentaries.