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:

12:30 pm: A Mother Apart

Nyc Premiere In This Poignant Documentary, Poet Stacyann Chin Confronts The Lingering Scars Of Being Abandoned By Her Mother As A Baby. As She Navigates Motherhood With Her Own Daughter, Stacyann's Journey Becomes A Powerful Act Of Healing And Self-Discovery. The Film Captures Her Life As An Artist In Nyc And Her Periodic Travels Abroad Seeking Her Elusive Mother, While Discovering Familial Connection In Other Ways. Authentic And Vulnerable, This Film Offers A Moving Exploration Of Forgiveness And The Complexities Of Family. - Karen Mcmullen

1:00 pm: Moses - 13 Steps

Nyc Premiere For Nine Years, Nine Months And Nine Days, Track Superstar Edwin Moses Went Unbeaten In The Notoriously Difficult 400-Meter Hurdles.The Olympic Champion Devised His Method While A Physics Major At Morehouse College, Calculating The Appropriate Steps Needed To Dominate The Event. Featuring Interviews With Fellow Morehouse Alums Samuel L. Jackson And Spike Lee, The Film Shares Moses' Triumphs On And Off The Track. - Brandon Harrison

1:15 pm: Frida

Emmy-Nominated Editor And First-Time Feature Director Carla Gutiérrez Takes The Unusual Lstep Of Using The Iconic Twentieth-Century Mexican Artist Frida Khalo's Own Words, Gleaned From Diaries, Letters, Interviews, And Other Sources. Mixing Lyrical Animation Of Kahlo's Influential Works With Expressive Voice-Over By Several Artists, Frida Is A Definitive Film. "If You Only See One Filmic Piece About Kahlo, This May Be The One That Presents The Most Complete Overview Of Both The Biographical Highlights And Her Multifaceted Persona Behind Closed Doors," - Variety.

1:30 pm: Shorts: A Child's Eye

Witness Life Through The Eyes Of Youth In This Collection Of Shorts. - Samah Ali

3:15 pm: Stone Mountain

Us Premiere The Spectre Of The Confederacy Stands High Over Stone Mountain, Georgia, Engraved In Granite. The Community Lives In The Shadow Of A Controversial Carving, Larger Than A Football Field, Of Rebel Leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee And Stonewall Jackson. Stone Mountain Is Shot With A Vivid Cinematic Approach That Captures  Intimate Conversations Of Those For And Against The Confederate Iconography. From Oscar-Winning Executive Producer Roger Ross Williams, This Exploration Of Georgia's Number One Tourist Attraction Serves As A Microcosm Of america's Civic Discourse. - Brandon Harrison

3:45 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

3:45 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

4:00 pm: Diane Warren: Relentless

Nyc Premiere As An Awkward, Bullied Yet Rebellious Kid, Diane Warren Found Refuge In Music And Went On To Become One Of The Most Prolific And Successful Songwriters In america, As Legendary For Her Eccentric Personality As For Her Exceptional Talent. A Laundry List Of america's Top Singers, And Diane Herself, Recount The Joys And Pains Of Working With The Gifted And Prolific Hitmaker In This Intimate, Music-Rich Portrait. - Karen Mcmullen

4:00 pm: Plunderer

World Premiere "It's Not Every Day That You Meet An Old Nazi." So Begins american Historian Jonathan Petropoulos, Recalling The Day In 1998 When He Met Bruno Lohse, Who Was Hermann Göring's Art Agent In Paris During World War Ii. In This Riveting Account, Petropoulos Details Lohse's Role In Stealing Countless Masterpieces From Prominent French And Dutch Families, While Evading Meaningful Punishment, And Continuing To Deal Art Profitably For Most Of The Rest Of His Life. This Explosively Compelling Tale Calls The International Art Market To Task For Its Continuing Lack Of Regulation.  - Jaie Laplante

5:15 pm: Shorts: Far From Home

These Stories Are All About Humans On The Move. - Samah Ali

6:00 pm: Between Goodbyes

Nyc Premiere An Adoptee Raised In The Netherlands, Mieke's Life Is Very Different From The One She Might Have Led If Her Korean Family Had Not Been Pressured To Give Her Up As A Baby. When Her Birth Parents Track Down The Adult Mieke, Their Reunion Unleashes A Whirlwind Of Guilt, Joy, Regret, And ambivalence. Through Non-Linear Storytelling We Witness The Family's Journey Towards Reconnection In This Unique Story Of Home, Acceptance, And The Power Of Forgiveness. - Karen Mcmullen

6:15 pm: My Stolen Planet

Nyc Premiere What Does A Woman Do When Political Institutions Police Every Aspect Of Her Life, From The Way She Dresses To What She Does For A Living? Filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi Takes Her 8mm Camera And Records An Alternate Life, One Lived Behind Closed Doors Where Her Family And Friends Choose For Themselves. This Powerful Documentary Offers A Heady And Provocative Mix Of Personal Narrative And Lessons In Iran's History Since The 1979 Islamic Revolution. - Murtada Elfadl

6:15 pm: Space Cowboy

Nyc Premiere Legendary Aerial Cinematographer Joe Jennings Has Spent Decades Soaring Through The Skies. A Thrill-Seeker Since Childhood, Jennings Fell In Love With Skydiving, And Parlayed His Penchant For Risk-Taking Into A Career Shooting Mind-Blowing Visuals For Commercials, Television, And Hollywood Blockbusters. Though He Has Lost Multiple Compatriots To The Dangers Of The Work, Jennings, Now In His 60s, Remains Undeterred As He Attempts To Film An Open-Top Convertible, Filled With Passengers, As It Tumbles Through The Air. - Brandon Harrison

6:30 pm: Shorts: Artscapes

A Glimpse Into The Artistic Process Behind Brilliant Creators Across Disciplines. - Samah Ali

6:45 pm: Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story

Nyc Premiere Groundbreaking Trans Soul Singer Jackie Shane Was On The Cusp Of Stardom When She Turned Away From The Music Industry And The World. After Her Death, Family Members Who Never Knew Their Pioneering Aunt, Piece Together Her Remarkable Life, Uncovering Her Personal Struggles, Immense Talent, And Unmistakable Voice. Through Never Before Heard Audio Recordings And Beautifully Expressive Animation, Jackie Tells Her Own Story, In Her Own Words. - Brandon Harrison

7:45 pm: Shorts: In The Making

Season 3 Of This Short Film Series From american Masters And Firelight Media Follows Artists On Their Way To Becoming Masters Of Their Disciplines.

8:30 pm: Twice Into Oblivion

Nyc Premiere In 1937 More Than 20,000 Haitian People Living In The Dominican Republic Were Systematically Murdered On Orders Of The State. A Theater Troupe Brings Together Actors From Both Sides Of This Genocide To Reckon With This Horrific Event, Recreating The Past In Order To Process It And Heal. This Provocative And Honest Film Is A Collaborative Effort That Radically And Playfully Changes The Documentary Format.. - Murtada Elfadl

8:30 pm: Welcome Interplanetary And Sidereal Space Conquerors

Nyc Premiere A Constellation Of Archival Footage, Historical Documents, And Sound Recordings Presents A Fascinating Counter History Of Colombia's Role In Space Exploration. among The Rare Scenes, We Witness Fascinating Cold-War Era Footage Of A Nasa Boot Camp Built In The Jungle To Teach Astronauts How To Survive In A Hostile Environment. Constructed Through Artful Editing And Manipulation Of The Fragmented Reality, This Playful, Spectral Narrative Raises Critical Questions About Colonization And Extractivism. - Ruth Somalo

9:00 pm: Turtle Walker

World Premiere In The 1970s, Satish Bhaskar Became A Turtle Walker: He Walked Nearly The Entire Coastline Of India And The Spectacular Andaman And Nicobar Islands In Search Of Sea Turtles. Carrying A Camera And A Notepad, He Documented Turtles' Nesting Areas And Tried To Save Them From Extinction. Then The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami Struck, Putting All His Work And The Creatures He Loved In Peril. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

9:15 pm: Shorts: A Place Like This

These Shorts Capture The Magic Of The Places That Bring Us Together. - Samah Ali

9:15 pm: The White House Effect

Nyc Premiere As We Face The Climate Crisis, The Filmmakers Look Back To A Hopeful Period When Leading Scientists, Government Officials, Heads Of International Conglomerates And, Most Importantly, The american People Agreed There Was A Problem At Hand. Spanning The Presidential Administrations Of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, And George H.W. Bush, The Film Uses Archival Material To Reveal How Our Shared Understanding Of Humanity's Effect On The Climate Tragically Became A Partisan Issue. - Brandon Harrison

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