Louis Theroux, the best documentary-maker of our time /anytime, has some recommendations for anyone who considers themselves a documentaryenthusiast.

The first, he said, is Joshua Oppenheimer’sThe Act of Killing.

Released in 2012, the film was nominated for The Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards and won a number of accolades including the BAFTA for Best Documentary.

Theroux toldMamamiahe often finds himself thinking aboutThe Act of Killing,which explores the individuals who perpetrated mass murder in Indonesia in 1965-66.

LISTEN: Clare Stephens interviews Louis Theroux on the latest episode of The Binge. Post continues below.

“There’s something about the way it’s made… the shocking level of violence it depicts that’s absolutely upsetting, riveting but also massively instructive.”

The Act of Killingis considered by many as one of the best documentaries ever made.

The second, Theroux said, would beHoop Dreams.

“I saw it in the ’90s when I was first coming out withWeird Weekends, and it’s a depiction of life in Chicago with two up-and-coming basketball stars – well they’re not stars, they’re talented school kids.

“When I came out I just thought, ‘Wow, that really represents a new benchmark of depth and it was novelistic in its sense of intimacy and sense of life displayed at every level’.”

Originally,Hoop Dreamswas intended to be a 30-minute short film, but the story gave way to five years of filming and hundreds of hours of footage. In the end, the film was 171 minutes, almost three hours long. Despite its unconventional approach, it received critical acclaim and, likeThe Act of Killingis regarded by critics as one of the best documentary films of all time.

Theroux, 47, has spent more than half his life making documentaries, mostly with theBBC.

His most recent work titledDark Statesexplores three American subcultures, which are home to devastating human crises; heroin addiction, sex trafficking and murder as a result of gun violence.

The first in the series,Heroin Town,sees Theroux visit Huntington, West Virginia, a community ravaged by opiate addiction. Following a crackdown of over-prescribed painkillers, more than two million Americans have turned to the next best thing: heroin.

Heroin is cheaper, stronger and easier to access than prescription painkillers. For the first time in 20 years, life expectancy in the United States is declining, and experts attribute this phenomenon largely to the significant rise in heroin overdoses. The drug currently claims more lives than gun violence or road accidents.

Huntington is one of the regions that has been hit the hardest, with one in 10 babies being born dependent on opiates. With a population of 48,000, one in ten are using opiates irresponsibly, and more than 1,000 die annually from a drug overdose.

Louis Theroux. Image via BBC.

Theroux immerses himself in the day-to-day lives of users and emergency service workers, in an attempt to understand this devastating epidemic.

Heroin Townhas been released in select cinemas across Australia, including Hoyts, and Village Cinemas.

Sex Trafficking,set in Houston, Texas, premieres onBBC Knowledgeon Tuesday, 21st of November, 8:30pm.

Murder in Milwaukeepremieres onBBC Knowledgeon Tuesday, 28th of November, 8:30pm.

Heroin Townpremieres onBBC Knowledgeon Tuesday, 5th of December, 8:30pm.

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You can watchThe Act of Killing, here, andHoop Dreams, here.

What is your favourite Louis Theroux doco of all time?