NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2017 – DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, announced the full lineup for its eighth edition, running November 9-16 at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea’s SVA Theatre and Cinepolis Chelsea. The 2017 festival includes 111 feature-length documentaries among over 250 films and events overall. Included are 23 world premieres and 23 U.S. premieres, with more than 350 doc makers and special guests expected in person to present their films or participate on panels.
Special Events announced today include Closing Night Film, the NYC premiere of Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, directed by Lili Fini Zanuck, with the acclaimed musician in attendance; Centerpiece Film, the world premiere of Far From the Tree, director Rachel Dretzin’s adaptation of Andrew Solomon’s bestselling book; and the NYC premiere of Wormwood, an ambitious new project from Errol Morris exploring the 1953 death of a CIA agent. Previously announced, the NYC premiere Greg Barker’s The Final Year, accompanied by members of the Obama administration, will open the festival.
World premieres at the festival include A Murder in Mansfield, by Barbara Kopple (Miss Sharon Jones!), which explores the impact of a 1989 murder on a family; Maynard, by Sam Pollard (Two Trains Runnin’), about Atlanta’s first black mayor, Maynard Jackson; Naila and the Uprising, by Julia Bacha (Budrus), about the hidden role women played in the First Intifada, a project that won last year’s DOC NYC Pitch Perfect competition; Father’s Kingdom, by Larry Feinberg, exploring the legacy of Father Divine, who attracted over a million followers and claimed to be God; The Iconoclast, by King Adz, about notorious art forger Michel van Rijn; and The Godfathers of Hardcore, by Ian McFarland, on the long-lived NYC hardcore punk band Agnostic Front.
Among this year’s U.S. premieres are David Bowie: The Last Five Years, by Francis Whately, an intimate look at the creative final years of the music icon; Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco, by James Crump, a portrait of the most influential fashion illustrator of 1970s New York and Paris; Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, by Matt Tyrnauer, about the man who was the secret sexual procurer to the stars; The Stranger, by past DOC NYC award winner Nicole N. Horanyi, about a woman who discovers the man of her dreams has secrets; Armed with Faith, by Geeta Gandbhir and Asad Faruqi, which follows the heroic Pakistani Bomb Disposal Unit; Soufra, by Thomas Morgan, and executive produced by Susan Sarandon, about a woman who starts her own successful catering company in a Lebanese refugee camp; EuroTrump, by Stephen Robert Morse and Nicholas Hampson, on the Dutch Donald Trump, Geert Wilders; and The Beatles, Hippies and Hells Angels: Inside the Crazy World of Apple, by Ben Lewis, a look back at the wild early days of Apple Corps.
“Documentary storytellers help us make sense of the tumultuous times we’re living in with artistry, humor and inspiring characters,” said Director of Programming Basil Tsiokos. “This year’s DOC NYC line-up gives audiences fresh insight into high profile figures and shines a light on lesser-known individuals who leave a big impression." Tsiokos led the program selection in collaboration with Artistic Director Thom Powers and Executive Director Raphaela Neihausen.
The festival is curated in 18 sections that include two new strands: New World Order, with 6 films about global issues in the news, including Sky & Ground, which follows an extended family of refugees as they escape Syria; and Spiral, about the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. Centerstage, an 8-title section focused on performing and performers, presents the world premieres of The Problem with Apu, in which a South Asian-American comedian explores the impact of the character from The Simpsons; and Repeat Attenders, about musical theater superfans.
In the festival’s two feature competition sections, 8 films appear under the Viewfinders section for distinct directorial visions. They include the world premiere of Mole Man, about an autistic man who has built a 50-room structure in his backyard; and the U.S. premieres of The Judge, about the first female Shari’a judge in the Middle East, and Silas, about a Liberian environmental activist.
In the Metropolis competition section, 7 films are dedicated to stories set in New York City. They include the world premieres of The Iron Triangle, about the resistance to the urban renewal of Queens’ Willets Point; Vigilante: The Incredible True Story of Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels, an unfiltered look at the founder of the controversial group; and Miracle on 42nd Street, about an apartment complex providing housing to performing artists, including past residents Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard and Angela Lansbury.
Other returning sections include high-profile Special Events; national and global takes in American Perspectives and International Perspectives; and thematic sections Fight the Power (on activism), Sonic Cinema (on music), True Crime (on crime), Science Nonfiction (on science and technology), Modern Family (on unconventional families), Wild Life (on animals), Art & Design (on artists), and Behind the Scenes (on filmmaking). Short-form content (85 films in total) is represented by the festival’s Shorts Competition and DOC NYC U (showcasing student work).
These sections join the previously announced slate of Short List titles, highlighting 15 of the year’s award contenders, and the eight-day DOC NYC PRO conference, focusing on panels and masterclasses.
DOC NYC will welcome over 350 filmmakers and special guests in attendance for Q&As after most screenings and for DOC NYC PRO panels. Among the notable visitors expected to appear in person are Steve Madden for Maddman, Fern Mallis for Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story, Dan Rather for Fail State, Susan Sarandon for Soufra, Sonja Sohn for Baltimore Rising, and more to be announced in the coming weeks.
For this year’s Short List section of awards season frontrunners, guests include Greg Barker (The Final Year), Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (One of Us), Bryan Fogel (Icarus), Yance Ford (Strong Island), Amanda Lipitz (Step), Brett Morgen (Jane), Errol Morris (The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography), Peter Nicks (The Force), Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Coral), Laura Poitras (Risk), Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles (Dina), Ceyda Torun (Kedi), and Agnès Varda and JR (Faces Places). (Other titles are Steve James’ Abacus: Too Small to Jail and Matthew Heineman’s City of Ghosts, which will be represented at DOC NYC by producers or other special guests.) Filmmakers will also take place in the Short List Day of panel conversations on Nov. 10 at DOC NYC PRO.
Notable documentarians will also be honored at the previously announced Visionaries Tribute Awards event on Nov. 9: Sheila Nevins and Errol Morris will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards while Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady will receive the Robert and Anne Drew Award for observational filmmaking. Cara Mertes, director of the JustFilms initiative at the Ford Foundation, will receive the Leading Light Award for distinguished service to documentary in a role outside filmmaking.
The following is a breakdown of programming by section:
OPENING NIGHT
THE FINAL YEAR
Dir: Greg Barker (NYC PREMIERE)
Greg Barker gives an unprecedented look at the shaping of US foreign policy by following key members of outgoing US President Barack Obama’s administration.
CLOSING NIGHT
ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS
Dir: Lili Fini Zanuck (NYC PREMIERE)
An intimate, revealing musical odyssey on the life and career of guitar virtuoso Eric Clapton, told by those who have known him best.
CENTERPIECE
FAR FROM THE TREE
Dir: Rachel Dretzin (WORLD PREMIERE)
An adaptation of Andrew Solomon’s bestselling book examining how parents face their children’s extreme differences, challenging ideas of "normalcy."
SPECIAL EVENT
WORMWOOD
Dir: Errol Morris (NYC PREMIERE)
DOC NYC’s Visionaries Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Errol Morris (The Fog of War) investigates the 1953 death of a CIA agent in this innovative new project.
VIEWFINDERS COMPETITION
THE JUDGE
Dir: Erika Cohn (US PREMIERE)
A vérité legal drama about the first woman appointed to a Shari’a court in the Middle East, providing rare insights into both Islamic law and gendered justice.
LOVE, CECIL
Dir: Lisa Immordino Vreeland (NYC PREMIERE)
An affectionate portrait of Cecil Beaton, a multi-talented photographer, writer and painter who also designed sets and costumes for films like My Fair Lady.
LOVE MEANS ZERO
Dir: Jason Kohn (NYC PREMIERE)
Infamous and influential tennis coach Nick Bollettieri has trained champions that include Andre Agassi and Boris Becker, but greatness comes at a personal price.
MOLE MAN
Dir: Guy Fiorita (WORLD PREMIERE)
An autistic man is faced with the possibility of losing the only home he has ever known—and the remarkable 50-room structure he's built in the backyard.
NAILA AND THE UPRISING
Dir: Julia Bacha (WORLD PREMIERE)
Filmmaker Julia Bacha (Budrus) reveals the hidden history of the key role women played in the Palestinian uprising known as the First Intifada.
SILAS
Dirs: Anjali Nayar, Hawa Essuman (US PREMIERE)
A rousing profile of Liberian activist Silas Siakor, a tireless crusader against illegal logging and a symbol of resistance for a new generation.
THE STRANGER
Dir: Nicole N. Horanyi (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE)
Amanda, a 25-year-old single mother, meets the man of her dreams on Facebook... but she soon discovers that the charming, worldly Casper has secrets.
THIS IS CONGO
Dir: Daniel McCabe (NYC PREMIERE)
Filmmaker Daniel McCabe examines multiple sides of the fractious war in the Democratic Republic of Congo in this stunningly shot film.
METROPOLIS COMPETITION
ANTONIO LOPEZ 1970: SEX FASHION & DISCO
Dir: James Crump (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
A portrait of the most influential fashion illustrator of 1970s New York and Paris, known for discovering talents such as Pat Cleveland and Grace Jones.
CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS
Dir: Bartle Bull (NYC PREMIERE)
Three amateur boxers compete for glory and life-changing opportunities in New York City's legendary Golden Gloves tournament.
THE IRON TRIANGLE
Dirs: Prudence Katze, William Lehman (WORLD PREMIERE)
Workers and owners of auto repair shops in Queens' Willets Point face off against gentrification and urban renewal for the future of their livelihoods and community.
MIRACLE ON 42ND STREET
Dir: Alice Elliott (WORLD PREMIERE)
The surprising history of Manhattan Plaza and its embrace of the performing arts, featuring famed former residents including Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard and Angela Lansbury.
Screening with Lucy Walker’s Oh, What A Beautiful City (A City Symphony). A celebration of summertime in NYC.
OH, RICK!
Dirs: Dustin Sussman, Aaron Rosenbloom (WORLD PREMIERE)
A profile of comedian Rick Crom, long-running emcee at Greenwich Village's Comedy Cellar, featuring Ray Romano, Colin Quinn, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes.
STILL WATERS
Dir: Peter Gordon (WORLD PREMIERE)
In Bushwick, where rapid gentrification is pushing out Latino families, a unique alternative after-school program serves as a haven for the community.
VIGILANTE: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF CURTIS SLIWA AND THE GUARDIAN ANGELS
Dir: David Wexler (WORLD PREMIERE)
An unfiltered look back at 1970s and '80s NYC through the eyes of Curtis Sliwa, founder of the controversial crime prevention patrol the Guardian Angels.
AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES
12TH AND CLAIRMOUNT
Dir: Brian Kaufman (NYC PREMIERE)
Hundreds of hours of home movies, archival footage, illustrations and new oral histories offer multiple perspectives of the 1967 Detroit uprising.
32 PILLS: MY SISTER'S SUICIDE
Dir: Hope Litoff (NYC PREMIERE)
Years after the suicide of her sister Ruth, a talented but troubled artist, director Hope Litoff tries to make sense of her loss.
FAIL STATE
Dir: Alex Shebanow (NYC PREMIERE)
Executive produced by Dan Rather, Fail State explores the dark side of higher education in America, focusing on the rise of for-profit colleges.
FATHER'S KINGDOM
Dir: Lenny Feinberg (WORLD PREMIERE )
In the first half of the 20th century, Father Divine, an African-American spiritual leader, gained over a million followers by claiming to be God.
THE GROWING SEASON
Dir: Evan Briggs (WORLD PREMIERE)
An intimate, bittersweet portrait of growing up and growing old, set in a nursing home that also houses a preschool program.
MAYNARD
Dir: Sam Pollard (WORLD PREMIERE)
Director Sam Pollard constructs a portrait of charismatic trailblazer Maynard Jackson, who became Atlanta’s first black mayor in 1973.
METH STORM
Dirs: Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud (NYC PREMIERE )
DEA agents face the Sisyphean task of curbing the influx of Mexican ice, a more potent form of meth, into poor, rural communities in Arkansas.
SHOT IN THE DARK
Dir: Dustin Nakao Haider (NYC PREMIERE)
Orr Academy's high school basketball team is a refuge from the brutal realities of the streets of Chicago's West Side.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
ARMED WITH FAITH
Dirs: Geeta Gandbhir, Asad Faruqi (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
A suspenseful portrait of the men of the Pakistani Bomb Disposal Unit, who risk their own lives every day to combat homegrown and international terrorism.
ASK THE SEXPERT
Dir: Vaishali Sinha (NYC PREMIERE)
A lighthearted look at India’s Dan Savage, Dr. Mahinder Watsa, a 93-year-old retired gynecologist. Is he a hero of progress or an enemy of traditional values?
A BETTER MAN
Dirs: Attiya Khan, Lawrence Jackman (US PREMIERE)
Twenty years after their break-up, filmmaker Attiya Khan confronts her ex-boyfriend to take responsibility for their abusive relationship.
CUBA AND THE CAMERAMAN
Dir: Jon Alpert (NYC PREMIERE)
For more than 40 years, acclaimed filmmaker Jon Alpert has enjoyed privileged access to Cuba, chronicling its changes from Havana to the countryside.
ISLAND SOLDIER
Dir: Nathan Fitch (NYC PREMIERE)
Residents of the remote islands of Micronesia question whether the benefits of US protection are worth the human costs of fighting its wars.
LOVESICK
Dirs: Ann S. Kim, Priya Giri Desai (WORLD PREMIERE)
In India, where marriage is a must but AIDS carries a stigma, Dr. Suniti Solomon serves as matchmaker for her HIV-positive patients.
THE PINK HOUSE
Dir: Sascha Ettinger Epstein (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE)
In a remote Australian gold-mining town, a genteel 70-year-old madam struggles to keep the oldest working brothel afloat in this entertaining portrait.
Screening with Sam Ketay’s A Wonderful Place. Octogenarian Norma shares stories while giving a tour of her property atop her John Deere tractor.
SOUFRA
Dir: Thomas Morgan (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Working with a diverse group of Middle Eastern women, Mariam Shaar attempts to expand her catering company, based in a refugee camp near Beirut.
NEW WORLD ORDER
EUROTRUMP
Dirs: Stephen Robert Morse, Nicholas Hampson (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
An in-depth exploration of Geert Wilders, the "Dutch Donald Trump," as the controversial politician seems poised to become the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
INSHA'ALLAH DEMOCRACY
Dir: Mohammed Ali Naqvi (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Following Pakistan's former dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, as he runs for president, the filmmaker questions if democracy is truly possible in Pakistan.
PLAYING GOD
Dir: Karin Jurschick (US PREMIERE)
A candid, complex portrait of compensation assessor Ken Feinberg, a man tasked with putting a dollar value on human lives in the wake of tragedies like 9/11 and Sandy Hook.
RECRUITING FOR JIHAD
Dirs: Adil Khan Farooq, Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen (NYC PREMIERE)
Over several years, a journalist follows a charismatic, outspoken Norwegian missionary as he recruits young converts to Islam, and to fight for ISIS in Syria.
SKY & GROUND
Dirs: Talya Tibbon, Joshua Bennett (WORLD PREMIERE)
A compelling, ground-level immersion into the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, accompanying a large, extended family by foot from Syria to asylum in Germany.
SPIRAL
Dir: Laura Fairrie (US PREMIERE)
An urgent, alarming look at the rise of anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and physical and verbal assaults against Jews throughout Europe, particularly in France.
CENTERSTAGE
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: TODRICK HALL
Dir: Katherine Fairfax Wright (NYC PREMIERE)
American Idol contestant and RuPaul's Drag Race judge Todrick Hall races to complete an autobiographical musical and take the live show on the road to his devoted fans.
GETTING NAKED: A BURLESQUE STORY
Dir: James Lester (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Uncovering New York City's neo-burlesque subculture, this entertaining film offers a lingering look at several sexy denizens of the nightlife scene.
THE PROBLEM WITH APU
Dir: Michael Melamedoff (WORLD PREMIERE)
South Asian-American comedian Hari Kondabolu confronts his long-standing “nemesis,” Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, better known as the Kwik-E-Mart owner on The Simpsons.
REBELS ON POINTE
Dir: Bobbi Jo Hart (NYC PREMIERE)
A globetrotting profile of NYC's beloved Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an all-male dance troupe that fuses camp humor with classical ballet performed in drag.
REPEAT ATTENDERS
Dir: Mark Dooley (WORLD PREMIERE)
An entertaining portrait of musical theatre superfans, for whom shows like Les Miz, Starlight Express and Cats are an obsession, a refuge and a place where they belong.
Screening with Ben Kitnick’s Catskills. An 86-year-old dancer remembers the heyday of the upstate resort community.
SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I'VE GOTTA BE ME
Dir: Sam Pollard (NYC PREMIERE)
A star-studded roster of interviewees (including Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal) pay tribute to the legendary, multi-talented song-and-dance man.
SIGHTED EYES/FEELING HEART
Dir: Tracy Heather Strain (NYC PREMIERE)
A moving account of the life of black playwright, communist, feminist, lesbian and outspoken trailblazer Lorraine Hansberry (A Raisin in the Sun).
STANDING UP
Dir: Jonathan Miller (WORLD PREMIERE)
An Egyptian lawyer, a couch-surfing custodian and an Orthodox Jew walk into a comedy club… and end up starring in a film about three unlikely aspiring stand-up comics.
TRUE CRIME
COLD BLOODED: THE CLUTTER FAMILY KILLINGS
Dir: Joe Berlinger (SNEAK PREVIEW)
Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger reexamines the infamous 1959 murder of a Kansas family that Truman Capote explored in his landmark nonfiction novel In Cold Blood. (USA, 86 min.)
THE ICONOCLAST
Dir: King Adz (WORLD PREMIERE)
A portrait of a Dutch art connoisseur and descendant of Rembrandt – in truth, a con man who made millions trafficking in forged and stolen art and antiquities.
A MURDER IN MANSFIELD
Dir: Barbara Kopple (WORLD PREMIERE)
Oscar®-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple explores the legacy of the 1989 murder of Noreen Boyle in Mansfield, Ohio and its impact on her family.
WHAT HAUNTS US
Dir: Paige Goldberg Tolmach (NYC PREMIERE)
An investigation into a rash of suicides among the men in the filmmaker's high school graduating class reveals a disturbing cover-up centered around a popular coach.
Screening with Elivia Shaw and Paloma Martinez’s The Shift. Spend an overnight shift with the emergency dispatchers for the city of San Francisco.
WHITE BOY
Dir: Shawn Rech (NYC PREMIERE)
The story of "White Boy Rick," a legend of Detroit’s drug world in the 1980s, still imprisoned for a juvenile offense for the past 30 years.
SCIENCE NONFICTION
THE EXPERIMENTAL CITY
Dir: Chad Freidrichs (NYC PREMIERE)
A fascinating chronicle of an almost successful attempt to build the city of the future by a visionary scientist and futurist comic strip writer in the 1960s.
HAPPENING: A CLEAN ENERGY REVOLUTION
Dir: James Redford (NYC PREMIERE)
Seeking hope for a sustainable tomorrow, filmmaker James Redford crosses the country to chronicle the clean energy revolution already taking place.
HOT GREASE
Dirs: Sam Wainwright Douglas, Paul Lovelace, Jessica Wolfson (WORLD PREMIERE)
A fascinating look at biodiesel, a growing industry with the potential to undercut the dominance of Big Oil—and it all starts with recycled cooking oil.
THE NEW FIRE
Dir: David Schumacher (NYC PREMIERE)
Innovative young nuclear engineers attempt to develop next-generation reactors to provide clean and safe solutions to the world’s future energy needs.
WILD LIFE
DONKEYOTE
Dir: Chico Pereira (NYC PREMIERE)
A 73-year-old Spanish man dreams of walking the Trail of Tears with his donkey and his dog—but getting to America from Spain presents a challenge.
EATING ANIMALS
Dir: Christopher Quinn (NYC PREMIERE)
Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer and produced and narrated by Natalie Portman, this unflinching exposé looks at the devastating costs of our dietary choices.
RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE
Dirs: Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer (WORLD PREMIERE)
This quirky film follows bounty hunters and other colorful Gulf residents as they try to defend Louisiana from the invasive giant swamp rat known as the nutria.
Screening with Olivier Bernier’s A Garbage Story. Over 30 years in the garbage business, Nick has become a bonafide trash connoisseur.
SAMANTHA’S AMAZING ACROCATS
Dir: Jacob Feiring (NYC PREMIERE)
A woman pins her dreams of stardom on a traveling cat circus, but how long can she hold on as debt mounts and success seems elusive?
Screening with Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman’s Nobody Loves Me. High in the Andes, a frog with an unusual appearance is threatened with extinction.
ART & DESIGN
44 PAGES
Dir: Tony Shaff (NYC PREMIERE)
A heartwarming, behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the landmark 70th anniversary issue of beloved children's magazine, Highlights.
BIG TIME
Dir: Kaspar Astrup Schröder (NYC PREMIERE)
A portrait of superstar Danish architect Bjarke Ingels as he takes on his largest project yet, relocating to New York City to create the new 2 World Trade Center.
FIVE SEASONS: THE GARDENS OF PIET OUDOLF
Dir: Thomas Piper (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
A portrait of visionary landscape designer Piet Oudolf, known for public works like the High Line that redefine our conception of gardens as works of art.
LARGER THAN LIFE
Dir: Tiffany Bartok (NYC PREMIERE)
An intimate look at the life and death of Kevyn Aucoin, who moved from small town Louisiana to become a legendary makeup artist to supermodels and celebrities.
MADDMAN: THE STEVE MADDEN STORY
Dir: Ben Patterson (NYC PREMIERE)
The rags-to-riches story of designer footwear mogul Steve Madden, who nearly lost everything because of his connections to notorious “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort.
MORE ART UPSTAIRS
Dir: Jody Hassett Sanchez (NYC PREMIERE)
Who gets to decide what is good art? A competition touting the biggest cash prize in the art world finds cultural elitism butting up against Midwest populism.
MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END
Dir: Pablo Bryant (NYC PREMIERE)
Finding it increasingly challenging to publish his subversive art, will controversial political cartoonist Mr. Fish be forced to sell out in order to sell his art?
MODERN FAMILY
6 WEEKS TO MOTHER'S DAY
Dir: Marvin Blunte (WORLD PREMIERE)
In a remote jungle in Thailand, a unique democratic school provides orphans with education and empowerment under the watchful eyes of the woman they call Mother Aew.
AMAZONA
Dir: Clare Weiskopf (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
The director tries to make sense of the elder woman’s decision to leave her children behind to live in the jungle after a family tragedy.
ELISH'S NOTEBOOKS
Dir: Golan Rise (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE)
Discovering a secret cache of journals written for them by their late mother, Elisheva's children confront their complex feelings for their emotionally distant parent.
HARMONY
Dir: Lidia Sheinin (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Battle lines are drawn when an elderly Russian woman finds her comfortable apartment invaded by her family.
Screening with Laura Checkoway’s Edith+Eddie. The love story of America's oldest interracial newlyweds is threatened by a family feud.
LIFE TO COME
Dir: Claudio Capanna (US PREMIERE)
Surrounded by the sounds of machines and doctors in white coats, severely premature twins Eden and Léandro fight for their survival.
LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY AND A CASTLE
Dir: Gustavo Salmerón (NYC PREMIERE)
Spanish actor-turned-director Gustavo Salmerón captures his eccentric, extraordinary mother, who had three dreams: having lots of kids, a monkey and a castle.
PLOT 35
Dir: Eric Caravaca (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
French actor-turned-director Eric Caravaca unearths personal family history in search of his sister Charlotte, who died as a toddler before he was born.
Screening with Matt Sukkar’s Durango. Adolescent brothers cope with loss over a summer in bucolic Colorado.
THANK YOU FOR COMING
Dir: Sara Lamm (NYC PREMIERE)
After learning she was conceived via a sperm donor, Sara becomes a genealogical detective, navigating ancestry databases and DNA tests for clues to his identity.
BEHIND THE SCENES
BLUE VELVET REVISITED
Dir: Peter Braatz (NYC PREMIERE)
Three decades after documenting the filming of David Lynch's Blue Velvet, the director crafts an unconventional yet accessible meditation on the cult classic film.
JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND...
Dir: Chris Smith (NYC PREMIERE)
Offbeat documentarian Chris Smith (American Movie) reveals just how fully Jim Carrey took on the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon.
KING COHEN
Dir: Steve Mitchell (NYC PREMIERE)
A look at the heyday of guerrilla filmmaking through a celebration of the work of maverick filmmaker Larry Cohen, known as “the John Cassavetes of exploitation.”
SAVING BRINTON
Dirs: Andrew Sherburne, Tommy Haines (NYC PREMIERE)
An eccentric collector is on a mission to restore and preserve a cache of early films and cinema memorabilia, the legacy of a pioneering but forgotten Iowa showman.
SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD
Dir: Matt Tyrnauer (US PREMIERE)
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
FIGHT THE POWER
ATOMIC HOMEFRONT
Dir: Rebecca Cammisa (NYC PREMIERE)
A citizens' movement confronts government bureaucracy to uncover the atomic secrets of St. Louis, Missouri in order to keep their families safe.
BALTIMORE RISING
Dir: Sonja Sohn
Actress Sonja Sohn (HBO’s The Wire) returns to Baltimore in her directorial debut to chronicle the city in the wake of Freddie Gray's death.
MANKILLER
Dir: Valerie Red-Horse Mohl (NYC PREMIERE)
Wilma Mankiller rose from poverty to become the first female chief of the Cherokee nation, battling rampant sexism, political rivals and health challenges.
NOTHING WITHOUT US
Dir: Harriet Hirshorn (NYC PREMIERE)
Female activists, scientists and scholars in the US and Africa demonstrates the vital role that women have played—and continue to play—in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING
Dir: Mila Turajlic (NYC PREMIERE)
A locked door in her family's Belgrade home provides the gateway to understanding the filmmaker's remarkable mother and Serbia’s tumultuous political inheritance.
QUEERCORE: HOW TO PUNK A REVOLUTION
Dir: Yony Leyser (NYC PREMIERE)
Misfits in both the mainstream gay and homophobic punk scenes, Bruce LaBruce and GB Jones invented a radical underground subculture that spread around the world.
UNFRACTURED
Dir: Chanda Chevannes (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE)
Shot over the last year of the historic grassroots fight against fracking in New York state, a raw, intimate look at biologist and activist Sandra Steingraber.
ZERO WEEKS
Dir: Ky Dickens (NYC PREMIERE)
In most countries, workers have paid leave and job security to care for a newborn or family emergency—but not in the US, costing us all a heavy price.
SONIC CINEMA
THE BEATLES, HIPPIES AND HELLS ANGELS: INSIDE THE CRAZY WORLD OF APPLE
Dir: Ben Lewis (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
An entertaining look behind the scenes at Apple Corps, which The Beatles hoped would allow them to spread their countercultural message throughout the world.
BILL FRISELL: A PORTRAIT
Dir: Emma Franz (NYC PREMIERE)
A warm profile of Bill Frisell, a widely inventive guitarist who crosses musical boundaries, featuring Bonnie Raitt, Hal Willner, Paul Simon, Nels Cline, and more.
DAVID BOWIE: THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Dir: Francis Whately (US PREMIERE)
An intimate look at the remarkably creative final years of David Bowie, through the production of his final two albums, and the stage musical, Lazarus.
THE GODFATHERS OF HARDCORE
Dir: Ian McFarland (WORLD PREMIERE)
For over 35 years and still going strong, Agnostic Front's Vinnie Stigma and Roger Miret have been synonymous with the New York punk scene.
HELLO HELLO HELLO : LEE RANALDO : ELECTRIC TRIM
Dir: Fred Riedel (NYC PREMIERE)
Legendary Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo embarks on the recording of a new experimental concept album with a little help from some friends.
ITZHAK
Dir: Alison Chernick (NYC PREMIERE)
Widely considered the greatest living violinist, Itzhak Perlman takes us on a journey through his music and life.
STREETLIGHT HARMONIES
Dir: Brent Wilson (WORLD PREMIERE)
A who's who of musicians trace the evolution of doo wop in the 1950s, from street corners to radio stations all across America.
SHORTS
Shorts: Body Language
On the limits and potential of the human body, exploring dance, tattoos, pro wrestling, meditation and light sensitivity.
Shorts: City Lights
The ups and downs of city living, featuring artists, improv, hard work, boxing and table tennis.
Shorts: Dream Weavers
About fulfilling dreams and reimagining the world, featuring Cuban cigar factory workers, men seeking wives, a mail-order bride and more.
Shorts: The Future is Feminine
Everyday women and girls who inspire, including a housekeeper turned real estate entrepreneur, children’s rights advocate, unlikely athletes and special birthday girl.
Shorts: Justice For All
True crime and the criminal justice system, exploring death row, surveillance, juvenile offenders, police corruption, war criminals and capital punishment.
Shorts: Mother Earth
Protecting the planet, from Standing Rock and anti-fracking activism, to saving orangutans and sea turtles.
Shorts: The New Normal
America, before and after 11/8/16, exploring the Trump campaign, a divided electorate, immigration anxiety, fake news and disturbing parallels to past regimes.
Shorts: Recorded Memory
The past looms large in these affecting stories about confronting family relationships, reckoning with career decisions, remembering trauma and more.
Shorts: Strange But True
Quirky real life stories exploring insomnia, dreams, fetishes, first love, conspiracy theories and psychic abilities.
Shorts: Surviving the System
Finding oneself in and out of the criminal justice system, in stories about a police traffic stop that escalates into violence and a restaurant offering former prisoners a second chance.
DOC NYC U
DOC NYC U: THE NEW SCHOOL SHOWCASE
Selections from The New School’s Documentary Media Studies program, featuring a tap dancer, migratory birds, New York life, selfies and a yodeling punk singer destined for greatness.
DOC NYC U: NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY SHOWCASE
NYFA selections profile a Hiroshima orphan, a Central Park mainstay, a wolf rescuer, a persecuted journalist and a lost city.
DOC NYC U: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SHOWCASE
NYU’s NewsDoc offerings explore a controversial Tibetan boarding school program in China and the growing popularity of taxi driving as a career for women in India.
DOC NYC U: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SHOWCASE
Work from Columbia Journalism School’s Documentary Project profiles deportation fears under Trump, a drug crisis in the Muslim community and adult illiteracy.
DOC NYC U: SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS SHOWCASE
SVA’s SocDoc program presents profiles of artists, musicians, designers, a vintage barbershop, broken hearts and Native American activism.
SHORT LIST
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL
Dir: Steve James
Steve James (Hoop Dreams) profiles a small, family-run Chinatown bank—the only financial institution indicted following the 2008 financial crisis. Courtesy of PBS Distribution.
THE B-SIDE: ELSA DORFMAN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir: Errol Morris
DOC NYC’s Visionaries Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Errol Morris (The Fog of War) profiles legendary large-format photographer Elsa Dorfman. Courtesy of NEON/Netflix.
CHASING CORAL
Dir: Jeff Orlowski
Following his acclaimed film Chasing Ice, director Jeff Orlowski sets out to chronicle the environmental devastation happening to the world’s coral reefs. Courtesy of Netflix.
CITY OF GHOSTS
Dir: Matthew Heineman
Anonymous Syrian citizen journalists risk their lives to stand up against ISIS and report the truth about the Syrian conflict. Courtesy of Amazon Studios/A&E IndieFilms/IFC Films.
DINA
Dirs: Antonio Santini, Dan Sickles
An unforgettable couple, both on the autism spectrum, navigate the complexities of sex and romance in this Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning film. Courtesy of The Orchard.
FACES PLACES
Dirs: Agnès Varda, JR
French New Wave legend Agnès Varda and acclaimed photographer JR travel the French countryside, celebrating ordinary people through extraordinary photo murals. Courtesy of Cohen Media Group.
THE FINAL YEAR
Dir: Greg Barker (NYC PREMIERE)
Greg Barker gives an unprecedented look at the shaping of US foreign policy by following key members of outgoing US President Barack Obama’s administration. Courtesy of Motto Pictures/Passion Pictures.
THE FORCE
Dir: Peter Nicks
An immersion into the beleaguered Oakland Police Department as it attempts to reform its scandal-ridden image. Courtesy of Kino Lorber/PBS Independent Lens.
ICARUS
Dir: Bryan Fogel
An unexpected exposé of a complex doping operation at the heart of Russia’s Olympics program. Courtesy of Netflix.
JANE
Dir: Brett Morgen
Brett Morgen (On the Ropes) reconstitutes 50-year-old National Geographic footage into a poetic look at primatologist Jane Goodall. Courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films.
KEDI
Dir: Ceyda Torun
This infectious portrait captures Istanbul through the eyes of its colorful street cats. Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories/YouTube Red.
ONE OF US
Dirs: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
This year's Visionaries Tribute honorees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp) penetrate the insular world of New York’s Hasidic community. Courtesy of Netflix.
RISK
Dir: Laura Poitras
Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) creates a complex portrait of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and his team. Courtesy of NEON/Showtime Documentary Films.
STEP
Dir: Amanda Lipitz
The inaugural class of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women strives for success both academically and through its fierce step dancing team. Courtesy of Fox Searchlight.
STRONG ISLAND
Dir: Yance Ford
Yance Ford explores the long-lasting impact on his African-American family of his brother’s murder, killed by a white man who was never punished for his crime. Courtesy of Netflix.
Tickets:
Tickets for all screenings are now on sale to the public. Tickets for all DOC NYC films and events are available online at docnyc.net. In-person tickets are available in advance starting October 25 at the IFC Center box office, 323 Sixth Ave. (at West 3rd St.); during the festival, in-person tickets are available for all screenings at any DOC NYC venue box office.
Ticket prices: Opening night screening of The Final Year and closing night screening of Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars – $30. Regular screenings – $19 adults, $17 seniors/children, $16 IFC Center members. Short List, DOC NYC U and screenings that start before 5pm Monday-Friday – all tickets $12.
Passes:
DOC NYC offers several festival passes for audiences eager to enhance their DOC NYC experience: An All Access Pass is available for $750, giving audiences a chance to explore the full range of the festival's expansive offerings, including all films, panels and events.
- A DOC NYC PRO Pass, giving access to the eight-day lineup of panels, masterclasses and programming for filmmakers and industry professionals, plus access to the PRO Lounge, daily breakfasts and happy hours, weekday matinee screenings and additional free film screening invitations during the festival, is also on offer this year for $350.
- DOC NYC PRO: First Half Pass or Second Half Pass offer the same benefits as the PRO pass, but are valid only for November 9-12 or November 13-16, respectively, for $200.
- A limited number of Day Passes for each of the individual days of DOC NYC PRO, granting access to that day’s PRO events as well as use of the PRO lounge for the day, including breakfast and happy hour, are also available for $75.
- A Viewfinders Pass, offering eight tickets to screenings of films in the Viewfinders Competition, along with a weekend coffee hour with filmmakers and festival programmers, is available for $99.
- A Ten-Ticket Package, redeemable for ten admissions to festival screenings, is available for $160.
All types of passes can be purchased online atwww.docnyc.net/passes; in-person pass sales are available starting October 25 at the IFC Center box office. Additional details about pass benefits and use are available on the festival's website.
SPONSORS
The festival is made possible by Major Sponsors A&E IndieFilms, Amazon Studios, HBO Documentary Films, History Films, Netflix; Supporting Sponsors Discovery, ImageNation Abu Dhabi, National Geographic Documentary Films, Showtime Documentary Films; Leading Media Sponsors New York magazine, WNET; Signature Sponsors Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Participant Media, Technicolor PostWorks NY, The Yard.
Additional support comes from Event Sponsors Chicago Media Project, Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, Ford Foundation | JustFilms, Fox, Rothschild LLP, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, Impact Partners, MTV, NEON, The Orchard, POND5, Sundance Now, SVA MFA Social Documentary Film, Vulcan Productions.
Friends of the Festival include Agile Ticketing, Blue Point Brewing, Bluecoat Gin, Brooklyn Roasting Company, Essentia, Few Spirits, Fox Searchlight, Kickstarter, Kino Lorber, Posteritati, ScreeningRoom, Variant, Writers Guild of America East, Wheelhouse Creative and Zico.
DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, takes place over 8 days in November; the eighth edition will be held November 9-16, 2017 at New York’s IFC Center, Cinepolis Chelsea and the SVA Theatre. The 2017 festival showcases over 250 films and events with more than 350 filmmakers and special guests appearing in person. In addition to premiering feature-length and short documentaries, the festival’s highlights also include DOC NYC PRO—a series of in-depth panels and master classes—and the Visionaries Tribute awards ceremony that honors major figures in the field of nonfiction film. DOC NYC is produced by the IFC Center. www.docnyc.net |
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