Rafferty teamed up with his brother Pierce and Jayne Loader[5] to produce the cult classic documentary film The Atomic Cafe.

[6] He was the director, producer, editor and cinematographer of many documentary projects, including Blood in the Face, The War Room, Feed, and The Last Cigarette.

[3] Thom Powers of Harvardwood writes that Rafferty is "renowned for his wit and fresh perspectives on American culture".

Of Hurry Tomorrow, Rafferty's documentary indictment of a California State psychiatric hospital, Colin Bennet of The Age wrote "Its anger and courage are the kind that lead to reform".

[10] Michael Atkinson of IFC calls Rafferty's latest, Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, "a hypnotic pleasure,"[8] and Fast Company calls it an "engrossing documentary" which was "the best sports film we've seen in years",[11] and Manohla Dargis of New York Times writes "while it seems absurd to include such a picayune event in the annals, the filmmaker Kevin Rafferty makes the case for remembrance and for the art of the story in his preposterously entertaining documentary Harvard Beats Yale 29-29".