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.
1997 ...First Do No Harm (1997) – drama television film about a boy whose severe epilepsy, unresponsive to medications with terrible side effects, is controlled by the ketogenic diet, aspects of the story mirror Jim Abrahams' experience with his son Charlie A Child's Wish (1997) – drama television film based on actual events of a family who discovers their 16-year-old daughter has cancerFamily-Leave Bill: Peace of Mind Issue New York Times, 4 February 1993 Amistad (1997) – historical drama film based on the events in 1839 aboard the Spanish slave ship La Amistad, during which Mende tribesmen abducted for the slave trade managed to gain control of their captors' ship off the coast of Cuba, and the international legal battle that followed their capture by the Washington, a U.S. revenue cutter An Eyewitness Account (Italian: Testimone a rischio) (1997) – Italian thriller drama film based on real life events of Sicilian Mafia hit eyewitness Piero Nava Anastasia (1997) – animated musical drama film based on the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia Annamayya (Telugu: అన్నమయ్య) (1997) – Indian Telugu-language biographical drama film portraying the life of the 15th century composer Annamacharya Any Mother's Son (1997) – crime drama television film based on the murder of Allen Schindler, a United States Navy sailor who was killed for being gay The Arrow (1997) – Canadian historical drama miniseries about Crawford Gordon, experienced wartime production leader after World War II and president of Avro Canada during its attempt to produce the Avro Arrow supersonic jet interceptor aircraft"The Avro Arrow: Canada's Broken Dream." shaw.ca, 2006. Retrieved: 25 September 2010. Artemisia (1997) – French-Italian-German biographical drama film about Artemisia Gentileschi, the female Italian Baroque painter Black Circle Boys (1997) – thriller drama film loosely based on real events filled with drugs, satanism & murder Boogie Nights (1997) – historical comedy drama film focusing on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, chronicling his rise in the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s through his fall during the excesses of the 1980s, based on actor John Holmes Border (Hindi: सीमा) (1997) – Indian Hindi-language epic war film inspired by real life events that happened during the Battle of Longewala in 1971 Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story (1997) – biographical sport drama television film about American diver Greg Louganis Buddy (1997) – family comedy drama film based on the life of a gorilla called Massa with elements of Gertrude Lintz's other gorilla Gargantua (who was called "Buddy" at the time) Comedian Harmonists (1997) – German biographical drama film about the popular German vocal group of the 1920s and '30s, the Comedian Harmonists Country Justice (1997) – crime drama television film based on a true story of a 1981 West Virginia court case Crowned and Dangerous (1997) – crime drama television film about the murder of a beauty queen, an investigation which reveals the suspects to be a former lover, a rival contestant, and a stage mother, based on a true story Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters (Thai: 2499 อันธพาลครองเมือง) (1997) – Thai crime drama film about young Thai gangsters in 1950s Thailand Daughters (1997) – thriller drama television film based on the true crime story about the murder of publishing heiress Anne Scripps Douglas who, in 1989, married a young hunk who eventually killed her David (1997) – Christian drama television film telling the biblical story of David Detention: The Siege at Johnson High (1997) – thriller drama television film based on the 1992 Lindhurst High School shooting and siege that resulted in the death of four people Don King: Only in America (1997) – biographical sport drama television film telling the story of Don King becoming a famous fight promoter and boxing manager Donnie Brasco (1997) – biographical crime drama film loosely based on the true story of Joseph D. Pistone, a FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in New York City during the 1970s, under the alias Donnie Brasco, a jewel thief from Vero Beach, Florida Dukhai (Bengali: দুখাই) (1997) – Bangladeshi drama film showing the struggle of the people of the shore in the 1970 Bhola cyclone Elvis Meets Nixon (1997) – Canadian-American biographical drama television film depicting an embellished account of the true story of American singer Elvis Presley meeting President Richard Nixon on 21 December 1970 FairyTale: A True Story (1997) – fantasy drama film loosely based on the story of the Cottingley Fairies, and following two children in 1917 England who take a photograph soon believed to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies Fever Pitch (1997) – British comedy drama film loosely on Nick Hornby's best-selling memoir, Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life (1992), concentrating on Arsenal's First Division championship-winning season in 1988–89 First Time Felon (1997) – crime drama film telling the story of the arrest, incarceration, shock incarceration program, home detention with electronic surveillance, and efforts to find employment experienced by a young black male who lived in Chicago and was arrested for drug possession, based on a true story For All: Springboard to Victory (Portuguese: For All – O Trampolim da Vitória) (1997) – Brazilian comedy drama film about a US established military base in Natal, Brazil during World War II Four Days in September (Portuguese: O Que É Isso, Companheiro?) (1997) – Brazilian thriller film depicting a dramatization of the 1969 kidnapping of the United States Ambassador to Brazil, Charles Burke Elbrick, by members of Revolutionary Movement 8th October (MR-8) and Ação Libertadora Nacional (ALN)Roger Ebert, Review: Four Days in September (1998), 6 February 1998, Roger Ebert website Frozen (Mandarin: 极度寒冷) (1997) – Chinese drama film following a young performance artist, Qi Lei, who attempts to create a masterpiece centred on the theme of death, supposedly based on a true storyBerry, Michael (2005). "Wang Xiaoshuai: Banned in China" in Speaking in Images: Interviews With Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers, p. 168. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 5 October 2008. The Gambler (1997) – biographical drama film set around the writing of the 1866 novel The Gambler by Fyodor DostoyevskyBFI.org Gaston's War (1997) – Belgian war drama film telling the story of a Belgian resistance fighter, Gaston Vandermeerssche, who tries to discover who betrayed them to the NazisBFI.org George Wallace (1997) – biographical drama miniseries following Alabama governor George Wallace through segregation, presidential elections, an assassination attempt and personal trauma Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story (1997) – biographical drama television film chronicling country music singer Barbara Mandrell's life and career, from her early years in her family's band to her rise to country music fame, and the 1984 car accident that nearly ended her career Hav Plenty (1997) – romantic comedy film based on the true story of Christopher Scott Cherot's unrequited romance with Def Jam A&R executive Drew Dixon Hoodlum (1997) – crime drama film depicting a fictionalized account of the gang war between the Italian/Jewish mafia alliance and the black gangsters of Harlem that took place in the late 1920s and early 1930s Into Thin Air: Death on Everest (1997) – disaster drama television film telling the story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster Iruvar (Tamil: இருவர்) (1997) – Indian Tamil-language epic political drama film inspired by the lives of M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa and is set against the backdrop of cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way (1997) – biographical sport drama television film chronicling Joe Torre's first year as manager of the New York Yankees when they won the World Series in 1996 Keeping the Promise (1997) – American-Canadian historical drama television film based on a factual story that Elizabeth George Speare discovered in Milo, Maine about a young boy who was left alone for a summer in the wilderness and was befriended by a Native American, named Attean, and his grandfather Kundun (1997) – epic biographical film based on the life and writings of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet24 December 1997 Review from The New York Times The Last of the Ryans (1997) – Australian biographical drama television film following the escape, re capture and hanging of Ronald Ryan for the murder of prison guard George Hodson The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997) – biographical drama film based on a 1950 letter written by Neal Cassady to Jack Kerouac Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997) – biographical drama miniseries about the Lewis and Clark Expedition Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder (1997) – drama television film based on the real life murder of Adrianne Jones by Diane Zamora in Texas Lucie Aubrac (1997) – French biographical drama film about World War II French Resistance member Lucie Aubrac The Manson Family (1997) – crime exploitation horror film covering the lives of Charles Manson and his family of followers The Mad Phoenix (Cantonese: 南海十三郎) (1997) – Hong Kong biographical drama film depicting the life of the legend Cantonese Opera playwright Kong Yu-Kau Marquise (1997) – French historical drama film based on the historical actress Marquise-Thérèse de Gorla, who rises from obscurity to win the hearts of some of France's most prominent citizens, including Moliere, Racine, and King Louis XIV Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) – mystery thriller film following the story of antiques dealer Jim Williams on trial for the murder of a male prostitute who was his lover Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor (1997) – biographical drama television film about the life of Mother TeresaThe Philadelphia Inquirer; Winfrey, Lee. Doing The Dirty Work That Real Sanctity Often Demands The Family Channel's Telemovie About Mother Teresa Is Probably The Most Important Show It Has Presented in Its 20-year History. As The Tough And Canny Little Nun, Geraldine Chaplin Commands The Little Screen at Every Turn. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 5 October 1997 Mrs Brown (1997) – British biographical historical drama film telling the story of a recently widowed Queen Victoria and her relationship with a Scottish servant, John Brown, a trusted servant of her deceased husband, and the subsequent uproar it provokedEbert,, Roger. "Review:'Mrs. Brown'", 25 July 1997 My Heart Is Mine Alone (German: Mein Herz – niemandem!) (1997) – German drama film depicting the real-life love affair between Jewish poet Else Lasker-Schüler and Nazi poet Gottfried BennJewish Currents, Volume 51, 1997. p. 33. Night Bus 807 (Swedish: Nattbuss 807) (1997) – Swedish crime thriller film based on a true story and events of the 1992 murder of a young boy in Vendelsömalm during the Stockholm Water Festival No Child of Mine (1997) – British biographical drama television film documenting the true case of a girl named Kerry who was sexually abused throughout her childhood The Opium War (Mandarin: 鸦片战争) (1997) – Chinese historical epic film telling the story of the First Opium War of 1839–1842, which was fought between the Qing Empire of China and the British Empire, from the perspectives of key figures such as the Chinese viceroy Lin Zexu and the British naval diplomat Charles Elliot Paradise Road (1997) – Australian war drama film telling the story of a group of English, American, Dutch and Australian women who are imprisoned by the Japanese in Sumatra during World War II