New York's Documentary Festival

New York's Documentary Festival

Doc Nyc Celebrates Documentary Filmmaking By Connecting Artists And Audiences Through Powerful Stories And Diverse Voices. The 2024 Festival Will Be Held In-Person From November 13 - 21, 2024, And Online From November 13 - December 1, 2024.

Schedule Of Events:

11:00 am: Shorts: Make Me Laugh

Three Humorous Shorts That Will Make You Laugh And Cry At The Same Time. - Samah Ali

11:15 am: Architecton

Nyc Premiere A Visually Stunning Documentary That Explores Humanity's Relationship With Architecture And The Environment. Italian Architect Michele De Lucchi Reflects On The Need For A New Concept Of Beauty, As Traditional Grandiose Structures And Disposable Concrete Buildings Become Unsustainable. Through Mesmerizing Imagery Of Ancient Ruins, Modern Cityscapes, And Natural Quarries, The Film Invites Viewers To Question The Ecological Impact Of Architecture On The World, Without Imposing Definitive Answers. - Ruth Somalo

11:15 am: Shorts: Our Bodies

A Program Dedicated To Learning And Loving Our Bodies. - Samah Ali

11:30 am: Shaking It Up: The Life And Times Of Liz Carpenter

Ny Premiere Liz Carpenter Was A Trailblazing Texas Journalist, White House Advisor, Activist, And Feminist Who Knocked Down Gender Barriers In american Politics. Five-Time Doc Nyc Alumna Abby Ginzberg Teamed Up With Christy Carpenter For This Thoroughly Delightful Remembrance Of Christy's Mother. Liz's Humor, Candor And Legendary Persuasive Abilities Are Brought Back To Vivid Immediacy Through Archives And Interviews.  - Jaie Laplante

11:45 am: Short List Shorts: Precious Life

Three Moving Short Documentaries Reflect On What The Meaning Of Life Is About When Faced With Regrets, Deceptions, And Mortality.

1:00 pm: Farming The Revolution

Us Premiere In 2020-21, Indian Farmers Mounted A Protest Against The Government, Demanding The Repeal Of Exploitative Farm Laws. Braving Surging Covid Numbers, Inclement Weather, And State-Sponsored Violence, Millions Of Farmers Remain Undeterred As They Leave Their Homes And Set Up Tents On The Fringes Of New Delhi. In This Film, Nishtha Jain, One Of India's Foremost Documentary Filmmakers, Records The Untiring Resilience Of A Working Class Resistance Mounted Against A Goliath-Like Government. —Bedatri D. Choudhury

1:30 pm: Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse

World Premiere This Insightful Documentary Delves Into The Life And Work Of Art Spiegelman, The Queens-Raised Artist Who Revolutionized Comics By Exploring Dark, Complex Themes. Shaped By His Holocaust-Survivor Parents And Inspired By Mad Magazine's Irreverent Satire, Spiegelman's Most Famous Work, Maus, Is A Poignant Holocaust Narrative That Redefined The Medium. The Film Showcases His Resistance To Fascism, From Nazis To Trump, And Features Rich Illustrations From His Comics, Highlighting His Significant Impact As An Artist And Cultural Critic. - Karen Mcmullen

1:30 pm: Mountain Queen: The Summits Of Lhakpa Sherpa

Lhakpa Sherpa Is The First Nepali Woman To Summit And Descend Mount Everest - But How She Navigates Her Life As A Single Mother And Immigrant Is An Even More Heroic Tale. Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker Lucy Walker Illuminates The Inspiring World Of A Remarkable Woman Who Continues To Venture Forth From Her New Life In Connecticut (Where She Works As A Dishwasher At Whole Foods) To Scale The Earth's Greatest Peaks.

1:40 pm: Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other

Nyc Premiere Late In Life, Two Strangers - Bronx-Born Photographer Joel Meyerowitz And British Artist/Writer Maggie Barrett - Meet And Fall In Love. Growing Old Is Not For The Faint Of Heart, And Joel And Maggie Must Face The Specter Of The End Of Life. At The Same Time, They Are Working To Stay Together And Learn The Hard Lessons From Previous Relationship Failures. First-Time Documentary Feature Filmmakers Manon Ouimet And Jacob Perlmutter, Themselves Creative Partners And Photographers, Deliver A Profound And Deeply Felt Exploration Of Life's Biggest Questions. - Jaie Laplante

1:45 pm: All God's Children

World Premiere Concerned About Escalating Tensions Between Jewish And Black Brooklynites, The Spiritual Leaders Of Congregation Beth Elohim In Park Slope And Antioch Baptist Church In Bed-Stuy Embark On A Radical Experiment To Bring The Change They Hope To See In Their Communities. The Rabbi And The Pastor Lead Delegations To Their Places Of Worship To Learn From Each Other, But Soon Tensions Emerge, Testing Their Dreams Of Unity. Tackling Their Complex Histories Head On, These Two New York City Devotional Institutions Find Communal Traction, Fighting Side By Side For Justice And Compassion. - Jaie Laplante

1:45 pm: Shorts: Generations

This Program Documents What Bonds And Separates Generations Of A Family. - Samah Ali

2:00 pm: Shorts: Hidden Histories

Discover The Illuminating Backstories Of Various Touchstones In Our Culture. - Samah Ali

3:45 pm: Light Darkness Light

North american Premiere After Living In Darkness For Nearly 40 Years, Ian Nichols, A Blind Anglican Priest, Becomes One Of The First People In The World To Receive An Experimental Bionic Eye Implant. At 76 Years Old, Nichols Grapples With The Profound Change, As The Groundbreaking Scientific Advancement Offers Hope Alongside Perplexing Technical Limitations. Audiences See What Nichols Sees, As Director Landon Van Soest Presents Impressionistic Visualizations Of Nichols' Enhanced Sight, Inviting Questions About The Nature Of Our Perception. - Brandon Harrison

4:00 pm: Shorts: The american Dream

This Collection Of Stories Point To The Hypocrisy Of The american Dream. - Samah Ali

4:00 pm: The Sing Sing Chronicles

World Premiere Just North Of New York City, Sing Sing Correctional Facility Is One Of The Country's Most Notorious Prisons. Veteran Crime Reporter Dan Slepian Forges A Bond With Jon-Adrian Velazquez, A Man Serving A 25-To-Life Sentence In The Facility, That Leads Him On A Two-Decade-Long Journey For Justice. Directed By Dawn Porter, This Multi-Part Exposé Featuring Original Investigative Reporting And Thorough Research Into Over 1,000 Hours Of Archival Footage, Chronicles The Two Men's Steadfast Perseverance Against A Tragic Failure Of The american Carceral System. - Brandon Harrison Episodes 2 And 4 Of The 4-Part Series Will Be Screened.

4:15 pm: What's Next?

Nyc Premiere At 100 Years Old, Dr. Howard Tucker Has Been Recognized By Guinness World Records As The World's Oldest Practicing Doctor. Told Through The Eyes Of His Loving Grandson, The Film Follows The Spirited, Curious, Elegant, And Quirky Neurologist As He Begins To Slow Down And Grapple With Aging, Social Media, And Computer Technology For The First Time. A Fun And Loving Ode To Living A Meaningful Life And Gracefully Keeping One's Own Identity. - Ruth Somalo

4:30 pm: We All Bleed Red

World Premiere The Intimate Relationship That A Photographer Develops With The People Whose Photos He's Taking Is At The Heart Of This Film. New York-Based Martin Schoeller Won Acclaim For His Ultra Close-Up Portraits Of Figures Like George Clooney, Barack Obama, And Taylor Swift, Yet Here Director Josephine Links Focuses On His Work Featuring People Who Are Not In The Public Eye, Including Homeless People And Death Row Exonerees. Through Testimonies From Everyday People He's Interested In Capturing, This Documentary Shows How Some Of Us Survive On The Margins Of Society. - Murtada Elfadl

4:30 pm: Yalla Parkour

World Premiere When Filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter Lost Her Palestinian Mother, She Lost Her Connection To Gaza. With All The Memories From Her Childhood Destroyed, She Sets Out On A Quest To Connect With A Young Man She Sees In A Video Doing Parkour among Ruins In Gaza. With Ahmed As Her Guide, She Explores Life In Gaza, And Rebuilds Her Memories Of Her Mother And Her Childhood. In This Time When Gaza And Its People Are Being Devastated Every Day, Here's A Portrait Of A Tormented City And The Perseverance Of Its People. - Murtada Elfadl

5:15 pm: Mothers Of Chibok

World Premiere A Community Of Mothers In A Nigerian Village Struggle To Persevere While Grieving For Their Daughters, Who Were Kidnapped By Boko Haram. Intertwining The Stories Of Multiple Families, The Filmmakers Show How Life Continues In The Wake Of Unspeakable Horror. At Once Cinematically Gripping And Emotionally Stirring, This Story Of Endurance Shows The Ongoing Personal Ramifications Of An Event Long Forgotten By The News Media. - Murtada Elfadl

6:00 pm: Out Of Plain Sight

World Premiere What If You Lived In A Coastal City Never Knowing That The Ocean Hid A Deadly Poison? That's Exactly What La Residents Did For Decades, Until A Scientist Alerted La Times Journalist Rosanna Xia To A Problem Ignored By Officials For Years. They Discover That As Many As Half A Million Barrels Of Ddt Waste Had Been Dumped Into The Ocean, And Are Finally Able To Connect The Dots Between Sick Sea Lions, A Poisoned Ecosystem, And The Legacy Of Health Issues In All Who've Been Exposed. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

6:15 pm: Front Row

World Premiere Bertolt Brecht Asked Whether There Would Be Singing In The Dark Times. In The Throes Of War, The United Ukrainian Ballet Company Defiantly Insists There Will Be Dancing, Too. Far From The Land They Call Home, Young Dancers Take Quiet Comfort From Art. For A While, Their Work Feels Like The Old Days, Except There Is A New Troupe Member: A Soldier Learning To Dance With Prosthetic Legs. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

6:30 pm: Afterwar

North american Premiere A Poetic And Haunting Film About The Daily Struggles Of A Group Of Children Who Grew Up In War-Torn Kosovo. A Dark Coming Of Age Story Filmed Over A Period Of 15 Years, Which Solemnly Observes And Reflects On The Long-Term Repercussions Of War. Birgitte Staermose Expertly Introduces Performative Interludes That Highlight The Intimate Artistic Collaboration With The Film's Protagonists By Giving Them The Space To Address And Confront The Audience In Their Own Terms. - Ruth Somalo

6:30 pm: Balomania

Us Premiere This Jaw-Dropping Celebration Of Brazilian Baloeiros -  Secret Groups Of Men Who Craft And Launch Elaborate Hot-Air Balloons - Is A First-Rate Big-Screen Experience. The Immensely Talented Filmmaker Sissel Morrell Dargis Spent Years Winning The Trust Of The Outlawed Subculture To Create An Epic Portrayal Of Free-Spirited Artistry. Beyond The Spectacle Of Ever-More Mammoth And Elaborate Balloon Launches, Morrell Dargis Takes On A Parallel Journey Into The Vulnerable And Volatile Emotions Of Brazilian Masculinity In A Brotherhood Ricocheting Between Fierce And Fraught Loyalties. - Jaie Laplante

6:30 pm: Janis Ian: Breaking Silence

World Premiere Janis Ian Had One Of The Most Remarkable Debuts In Modern Music History. At The Age Of 13, She Began Performing Her Original Songs At New York City Gigs Alongside Future Legends. From There, The Precocious Teenager Turned Fearless Singer-Songwriter Built A Career With Many Chapters-Winning Grammys While Navigating Personal And Professional Highs And Lows-In A Remarkable Trajectory Now Entering Its Fifth Decade. Ian's Emotionally Transporting Songbook And Turbulent Life Story Make Compelling Echoes For The Generation Of american Women Who Came Of Age In The 1960s And 1970s, Discovering And Voicing Their Power. - Jaie Laplante

7:00 pm: Gallagher

World Premiere With His Witty Wordplay And Wacky Props, Leo Gallagher Became One Of The Biggest Comedy Acts Of The 1980s. The Comedian's Most Famous Bit: Smashing A Watermelon With A Giant Mallet To The Messy Delight Of Audiences. His Signature Act Was A Gift And A Curse, Shooting Him To Superstardom While Breeding Both Dismissive Detractors And Imitators, Including His Own Brother. As Tastes Change, The Aging Gallagher Seeks The Respect He Deserves As An Innovator In The Art Of Stand-Up Comedy. - Brandon Harrison

7:00 pm: Spacewoman

World Premiere Astronaut Eileen Collins Is The First Woman To Pilot And Command The Space Shuttle. From Her Small Town Beginnings, She Went On To Smash Many Glass Ceilings At Nasa In Her Career, Culminating In Four Dramatic And Dangerous Space Shuttle Missions. Through Sensational Archival Materials And Intimate Interviews, Hannah Berryman's Nail-Biting Film Considers The Emotional Drama Eileen's Family Experienced, And A Philosophical Question About What Level Of Risk Is Acceptable In Human Endeavor. - Ruth Somalo

8:00 pm: Petra Kelly - Act Now!

North american Premiere Activist Petra Kelly Was Convinced That A Single Person Could Change The World And, As Co-Founder Of The German Green Party, She Did. Director Doris Metz Crafts An Enlightening Portrait Of One Of The Most Influential Political Figures Of The 20th Century. Weaving Historical Archives That Showcase Her Creative Tactics To Fight For Disarmament, The Environment, And Human Rights With Intimate And Revealing Testimonies From Her Inner Circle, The Film Demonstrates That Kelly's Spiritual Legacy Continues To Resonate Today. - Ruth Somalo

8:30 pm: My Sweet Land

North american Premiere The Hopes And Dreams Of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians Are Sprung Anew In The Generation Represented By An Ebullient 11-Year-Old Boy Named Vrej, As Charismatic A Documentary Subject As There Ever Was. Yet The Dark Clouds Of Historic Conflict Rumble Again Over Vrej's Beloved Homeland, And His Idyllic Childhood Is Interrupted When His Family Flees For A Brief Exile As War Erupts Between Armenia And Azerbaijan. When The War Ends, Vrej Returns Home To Confront Devastation, Unexploded Mines, And The New Reality Of Having To Train For Future Battles Himself - But With His Characteristic Pluck, Hope For A Better Future Remains. - Jaie Laplante

8:45 pm: Unearth

World Premiere In The Pristine Bristol Bay Area Of Alaska, Two Sets Of Siblings Are Alarmed When They Learn Of Plans For The Proposed Pebble Mine In The Vicinity Of Their Homes. The Salmon Sisters, Native Alaskans, Work On The Regulatory Front - Pushing The Federal Epa To Block The Project, And Remaining Hyper-Vigilant To Political Pressures That Could Shift At Any Moment. The Strickland Brothers, Independent Fishermen Who Know They Could Be Just One Mine Accident Away From Losing Their Livelihood, Probe Closed-Door Meetings To Expose The Truth Behind What The Developer Tells The Public. Together, The Salmons And The Stricklands Remind Us Never To Quit Until Goliath Has Fallen. - Jaie Laplante

8:45 pm: Nocturnes

An Ecologist And Her Assistant From The Indigenous Bugun Community In The Eastern Himalayas Work At Night To Research The Vibrant, Colorful World Of Moths. As They Study The Changes In Behavior Of These Vibrant, Spellbinding Creatures, Their Findings Have Implications For Other Species In The Region, As Irreversible Climate Change Patterns Begin To Show Their Effects. Nocturnes Is An Astonishing, Immersive Experience. - Jaie Laplante

9:00 pm: Gaucho Gaucho

Nyc Premiere An Intimate Portrait Of A Small Community Of Iconic Gauchos (Cowboys And Cowgirls) Who Proudly Preserve Their Traditions Despite Changing Modern Customs.The Sacred Bond They Share With Their Animals Is Forged While Facing The Rigors Of The Wild Together. With Superb Black-And-White Cinematography And Exquisite Sound Design, Directors Dweck And Kershaw Conjure A Dreamlike Landscape To Tell A Life-Affirming Story- An Ode To Freedom And Respect For Nature. - Ruth Somalo

9:15 pm: Born To Be Wild: The Story Of Steppenwolf

North american Premiere This Rock Doc Traces Steppenwolf's Journey From Their Little Richard- And Blues-Inspired Beginnings In Toronto To Their Rise As Hard-Rock Pioneers. Despite Initial Industry Skepticism, The Band Evolved To Become Top Performers With Hits Like "Born To Be Wild" And "Magic Carpet Ride." The Film Explores Their Genesis And Triumphs, And The Personality Clashes That Led To Their Breakup. Featuring Interviews With Band Members, Their Families, And Icons Like Alice Cooper, And Cameron Crowe, It's A Deep Dive Into The Band's Fascinating Story. - Karen Mcmullen

9:45 pm: Slumlord Millionaire

World Premiere This Documentary Exposes Housing Injustice In Nyc, Following The David-And-Goliath Battles Between Ordinary Renters And Powerful Developers. Through Stories From Neighborhoods Across The Boroughs, The Film Reveals The Harsh Realities Of Unsafe Housing, Unethical Landlords, And An Overwhelmed Housing Court System. It Also Uncovers A Troubling Pattern Of Desirably Located Properties Being Seized For Luxury Developments In Low-Income Neighborhoods, Often With The System's Complicity. Slumlord Millionaire Is Both Empowering And Sobering, Highlighting Grassroots Activism In The Fight Against Relentless Gentrification. - Karen Mcmullen

9:45 pm: Shorts: Inside And Out

These Powerful Shorts Identify The Borders And Institutions That Divide Us. - Samah Ali

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