A total of 11 top documentaries will be shown during the tenth Bermuda Docs festival later this month.

And the line-up includes major winners at overseas film festivals, including one featuring long-time Bermuda resident, Hollywood superstar Michael Douglas.

Festival director Duncan Hall said the twice-yearly festival had gone from strength to strength since it was founded in 2009 as a one-day event featuring just six films.

Mr Hall said: “This time, there’s sport, there’s arts, history and humour, with quality and variety the goal.”

He added: “People support culture here, and there is real support for the arts.

“We saw, as I thought from having organised festivals for years, there was a real hunger for contemporary documentary film here — a mix of culture and education.”

Among the featured documentaries is ‘Evergreen: The Road to Legalisation in Washington’, which traces the US state’s move towards becoming the first in the US to legalise marijuana for recreational use.

Mr Hall said: “I keep my eye on films that do well on the film circuit, ones that do well and win awards.

“But I also look for films that have a real resonance in Bermuda. There’s a lot of talk about cannabis reform here so we have ‘Evergreen’ — it captures a historic time and provides a balanced view of the issues we are talking about right now in Bermuda and people who see it will learn a great deal about the experience in Washington.”

The festival also features an up-close view of a weekend in the life of Scots race ace Jackie Stewart, a three-time Formula 1 champion, by star director and racing fan Roman Polanski.

The film — which includes footage shot from the cockpit of Stewart’s Tyrell car — charts his preparation for the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix and brings Mr Stewart’s life and career up to date in a postscript shot 40 years after the event.

Mr Hall said: “It’s a masterclass from someone at the peak of his powers at probably the most glamorous race on the circuit. It’s not just about winning the race, it’s about surviving to win it.”

Other highlights of the festival, which will be screened at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute between April 17-20, include “Ai Weiwei: Fake Case’ the story of a Chinese artist and freedom of speech activist and his fight against his powerful and repressive government.

‘Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon’ is a hilarious portrait of Hollywood insider Shep Gordon, directed by comedian and actor Mike Meyers of ‘Austin Powers’ fame.

Mr Gordon, who managed rock star Alice Cooper, singers Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross, as well as actress Raquel Welch, features an A-list of stars, including Mr Douglas, who know him best.

Other documentaries chart the evacuation of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon as North Vietnamese troops swept towards it and the chaotic efforts to evacuate not only US citizens, but many South Vietnamese allies, friends and colleagues who faced imprisonment and death.

And the real-life inspiration of the hit George Clooney movie Argo, ‘Our Man in Tehran’ tells the story of Canadian ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor and his staff, who sheltered six US diplomats during the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran, when the US Embassy was stormed and occupied and helped smuggle them out of the country to safety.

Tickets for all 11 documentaries cost $15 and are available at www.bdatix.bm, or at Pulp & Circumstance in Hamilton’s Washington Lane, Fabulous Fashions at Heron Bay Plaza in Southampton, or by phone on 232 2255.

For film trailers and more information, visit www.bermudadocs.com.