This is a list of films and miniseries released in that are based on actual events. All films on this list are from American production unless indicated otherwise.
2012 11/25 The Day Mishima Chose His Own Fate (Japanese: 11・25自決の日 三島由紀夫と若者たち) (2012) – Japanese historical drama film based on the Mishima Incident, which was a failed coup d'etat attempt led by Yukio Mishima in 1970 A Green Story (Greek: Μια πράσινη ιστορία) (2012) – American-Greek biographical drama film about a Greek immigrant who becomes a successful inventor of eco-friendly household cleaning products, inspired by true events A Royal Affair (Danish: En kongelig affære) (2012) – Danish historical romance film set in the court of the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark, and focusing on the romance between his wife, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, and the royal physician Johann Friedrich Struensee A Smile as Big as the Moon (2012) – family television film based on the 2002 memoir of the same title by teacher Mike Kersjes, outlining his venture to bring out the best from his special education students by taking them to Space Camp Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2012) – biographical mystery drama television film about Carlina White, who was abducted as an infant by Ann Pettway from a New York hospital and solved her own kidnapping and reunited with her biological parents 23 years later Act of Valor (2012) – action war thriller film based on real US Navy SEALs missions around the world Aftershock (2012) – disaster horror film based on true events from the 2010 8.8 earthquake in Chile Amen (2012) – Indian drama short film inspired from the life of the human right activist Harish Iyer An Officer and a Murderer (2012) – crime drama television film about the crimes committed by Russell Williams, a former colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force Anita Garibaldi (2012) – Italian biographical miniseries based on real life events of Anita Garibaldi, wife and comrade-in-arms of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi Any Day Now (2012) – drama film about a gay couple who assume guardianship of a teenage boy who has Down syndrome, only to find themselves at odds with the biological mother and California's family law courts, inspired by that of Rudy, a gay man in Brooklyn Aravaan (Tamil: அரவான்) (2012) – Indian Tamil-language epic historical film based on the history of Madurai from 1310 to 1910 Argo (2012) – historical thriller film based on the "Canadian Caper", in which Tony Mendez led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran, under the guise of filming a science-fiction film during the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis As One (Korean: 코리아) (2012) – South Korean sports drama film based on the true story of the first ever post-war Unified Korea sports team which won the women's team gold medal at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan The Assassins (Mandarin: 銅雀臺) (2012) – Chinese historical drama film about Cao Cao, a prominent warlord who became the de facto head of the central government in China towards the end of the Han dynasty Augustine (2012) – French historical erotic drama film following a love affair between French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and his patient Louise Augustine Gleizes, who was known as Augustine or A Barabbas (Italian: Barabba) (2012) – American-Italian Christian biographical television film about the life of Barabbas Beaconsfield (2012) – Australian biographical drama television film about the 2006 Beaconsfield Mine collapse Bert and Dickie (2012) – British biographical sports drama television film depicting Dickie Burnell and Bert Bushnell's achievement at the 1948 Summer Olympics The Best of Men (2012) – British historical biographical television film dramatising the pioneering work of Dr Ludwig Guttmann with paraplegic patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which led to the foundation of the Paralympic Games Bheema Theeradalli (Kannada: ಭೀಮ ತೀರದಳ್ಳಿ) (2012) – Indian Kannada-language biographical action film based on a real-life incident that occurred in 1985 in North Karnataka during the time of the dreaded dacoit, Chandappa Harijana Big Miracle (2012) – American-British biographical drama film based on Tom Rose's 1989 book Freeing the Whales, which covers Operation Breakthrough, the 1988 international effort to rescue gray whales trapped in ice near Point Barrow, Alaska Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012) – Australian drama miniseries depicting the story of the Milperra massacre, when the Bandidos and the Comanchero motorcycle clubs went to war on Father's Day, Sunday 2 September 1984 Bill W. (2012) – biographical drama film about William Griffith Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Blue Eyed Butcher (2012) – crime drama thriller television film based on the 2003 stabbing death of Jeff Wright by the hands of his wife, Susan Wright, focusing on Kelly Siegler, the case's prosecutor Buddha in a Traffic Jam (2012) – Indian political thriller film narrating a tale of inter-meddling of academia with corruption and maoism, loosely based on the life of Indian author and political activist Arundhati Roy Call Girl (2012) – Swedish political thriller film depicting a fictionalised version of events based on the so-called 'Bordellhärvan' political scandal of 1970s Sweden which linked several prominent politicians to a prostitution ring that included underage girls Captive (2012) – Philippine-French-British action psychological thriller film describing the torturous life of the hostages of the Dos Palmas kidnappings, whose survivors were freed after a year in captivity Chasing Mavericks (2012) – biographical drama film about the life of American surfer Jay Moriarity Clinton (2012) – biographical television film about former president Bill Clinton The Color of Time (2012) – biographical drama film about the life of C. K. Williams Compliance (2012) – thriller film based upon a strip search phone call scam that took place in Mount Washington, Kentucky, in which the caller, posing as a police officer, convinced a restaurant manager to carry out unlawful and intrusive procedures on an employee The Consul of Bordeaux (Portuguese: O Cônsul de Bordéus) (2012) – Portuguese biographical historical drama film depicting the life of Aristides de Sousa Mendes Dandupalya (Kannada: ದಂಡುಪಾಳ್ಯ) (2012) – Indian Kannada-language crime film based on the real-life exploits of a notorious gang named 'Dandupalya' The Day of the Siege: September Eleven 1683 (2012) – Italian-Polish historical drama film based on the 1683 Battle of Vienna Devil's Dust (2012) – Australian biographical drama miniseries recounting the tragedy of many Australian workers and their families afflicted with asbestosis and mesothelioma in the twentieth-century asbestos mining and processing industries, through the factual case of Bernie Banton Diaz – Don't Clean Up This Blood (2012) – Italian biographical drama film focusing on the final days of the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa, Italy, when police stormed Armando Diaz, a school in Genoa Doctor Ray and the Devils (Serbian: Doktor Rej i đavoli) (2012) – Serbian biographical comedy drama film centering around famous American director Nicholas Ray's 1960s stay in SFR Yugoslavia on invitation by Ratko Dražević, the head of Avala Film studio and former Yugoslav state security operative"'Doktor Rej i đavoli' je legenda";B92, 3 March 2012 Dormant Beauty (Italian: Bella addormentata) (2012) – Italian biographical drama film revolving around the true story of Eluana Englaro, a girl felt into an irreversible coma in 1992 following a car accident and deemed incurable The Dream of the Marathon Runner (Italian: Il sogno del maratoneta) (2012) – Italian biographical sports drama television film about the story of the Italian athlete Dorando Pietri and restitutes the runner's fortunes and misfortunes at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London Dream Team 1935 (Latvian: Sapņu komanda 1935) (2012) – Latvian biographical sports drama film about the Latvia national basketball team which won EuroBasket 1935, the first FIBA European basketball championship Eden (2012) – thriller drama film inspired by the story of Chong Kim, who claims that she was kidnapped and sold into a domestic human trafficking ring in the mid-1990s El Presidente (Spanish: El Presidente: Historia del General Emilio Aguinaldo y la Primera República de Filipinas; Tagalog: Ang Pangulo: Kuwento ni Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo at ang Unang Republika ng Pilipinas) (2012) – Philippine biographical historical drama film about the life of General Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippine Republic Emperor (Japanese: 終戦のエンペラー) (2012) – American-Japanese historical drama film based on the investigation of the role of Emperor Hirohito in World War II Falling Flowers (Chinese: 蕭紅) (2012) – Chinese biographical drama film based on the life of writer Xiao Hong Fatal Honeymoon (2012) – American-Australian mystery drama television film loosely based on the suspicious death of Tina Watson whilst she was on her honeymoon Fetih 1453 (2012) – Turkish epic action film based on events surrounding the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II Flight (2012) – action drama film inspired by the true incident of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, in which a Boeing MD-83 suffered vertical control malfunctions and plummeted 31,000 feet on 31 January 2000 Florbela (2012) – Portuguese biographical film about the life of poet Florbela Espanca For Greater Glory (2012) – Mexican epic historical war drama film based on the Mexican Catholic counter-revolution of the 1920sYoung, James, "Cristiada welcomed in Durango", 21 August 2010, Variety Game Change (2012) – political drama television film based on John McCain's 2008 presidential election campaign Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) – Indian Hindi-language crime action film centering on the coal mafia of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggles, politics and vengeance between three crime families from 1941 to the mid-1990s The Girl (2012) – British biographical drama television film based on Donald Spoto's 2009 book Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies, which discusses the English film director Hitchcock and the women who played leading roles in his films God Loves Caviar (Greek: Ο Θεός αγαπάει το χαβιάρι) (2012) – Greek-Russian biographical drama film based upon the true story of Ioannis Varvakis, a Greek caviar merchant and eventual benefactor from Psara who was formerly a pirate Goltzius and the Pelican Company (2012) – Dutch-French-British historical drama film based on the life of Hendrik Goltzius, a late 16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints The Great Mint Swindle (2012) – Australian biographical crime film based on the Perth Mint Swindle which took place in the 1980s Habibie & Ainun (2012) – Indonesian biographical drama film based on the memoir written by the 3rd president of the Republic of Indonesia, B. J. Habibie about his wife, Hasri Ainun Habibie, also named "Habibie and Ainun" Hannah Arendt (2012) – German-French-Luxembourger biographical drama film centering on the life of German-Jewish philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt Hatfields & McCoys (2012) – Western drama miniseries based on the Hatfield–McCoy feud Haute Cuisine (French: Les Saveurs du Palais) (2012) – French comedy drama film based on the true story of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch and how she was appointed as the private chef for François Mitterrand Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home (Japanese: はやぶさ 遥かなる帰還) (2012) – Japanese drama film based on the story of the Hayabusa asteroid probe, which collected samples from the asteroid Itokawa in 2005 and returned them to Earth in 2010 Hell and Mr. Fudge (2012) – biographical drama film about Edward Fudge, a real life Alabama preacher who was hired to determine the nature of hell