DOC NYC RETURNS WITH 13TH EDITION
NOV 9-27, 2022 IN THEATRES AND ONLINE
FULL PROGRAM & SCHEDULE LISTED BELOW
and can also be found here

DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary film festival roars back this year, with in-person events running at IFC Center, SVA Theatre and Cinépolis Chelsea and online through November 27, 2022. There will be more than 110 feature-length documentaries among over 200 films and dozens of events, with filmmakers expected in person at most screenings. Included are 29 World Premieres and 27 US premieres. Twenty-three films in the US Competition, for new American-produced nonfiction films, and the  International Competition, for work from around the globe, make their US or greater premieres. The  Kaleidoscope Competition  for new essayistic and formally adventurous documentaries, continues into its second year, while the festival’s long-standing  Metropolis Competition, showcasing New York stories and personalities, also returns. The festival also includes thematically organized sections that spotlight new films on music, sports, activism, the arts and more.  

Among films making their world premieres, several are complex profiles of notable figures,  including Ellis, on the patriarch of the famed “First Family of Jazz,” Ellis Marsalis; Gumbo Coalition, on national social justice leaders Marc Morial of National Urban League and Janet Murí­aga of UnidosUS;  Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?, a portrait of the Tony-winning actress and singer;  Jeanette Lee Vs., about the pool hall professional famously known as the “Black Widow;”  Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story, the story of the Chinese American photojournalist;  Radical Landscapes, about visionary architect Fabrizio Fiumi;  Robert Irwin: A Desert of Pure Feeling, about the legendary experimental installation artist;  Roberta, an admiring biography of singer Roberta Flack; and  Who is Stan Smith?, the story of the tennis champion and footwear fashion icon.  

The festival’s popular  Sonic Cinema  section of music documentaries includes world premieres of  Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill, about the 1970s folk singer-songwriter; and  The Elephant 6 Recording Co., a look at the psychedelic rock movement from Athens, GA.  

World premieres that bring trenchant explorations of hot topics include  The 50, about a reform program inside California’s dangerously overcrowded state prison system;  1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted a Culture, which examines how and why the word “homosexuality” did not appear in Bible translations until 1946;  Big Fight in Little Chinatown, which maps the existential threats to Chinatowns in some major North American cities;  Lázaro and the Shark: Cuba Under the Surface, about citizen frustrations inside Cuba’s totalitarian regime;  Loan Wolves, the surprising origin story of today’s student debt crisis; and  A Witch Story, about the Salem Witch Trials and their relevance to today.  

Other significant premieres include the North American premiere of  Ithaka, a study of Julian Assange’s father’s fight for his son’s freedom; and the US premieres of  Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On, about the fearless folk singer activist, philanthropist and Oscar-winner;  Casa Susanna, a look at an early chapter of trans identity in the 1950s Catskills;  Kingdom of Dreams, a new limited series on the high stakes of the fashion industry; and  While We Watched, about independent journalism under attack in India.

Short-form content continues to be represented in the festival’s  Shorts Competition  (67 films), Meet the Press Film Festival (15 films) and  DOC NYC U (34 films representing student work from nine NYC schools).

The following is a breakdown of programming by section (for screening details visit  www.docnyc.net):

SPECIAL EVENTS

Opening Night
MAYA AND THE WAVE  (US Premiere)
Director: Stephanie Johnes
Producers: Stephanie Johnes, Jorge Leal
’‹’‹Filmmaker Stephanie Johnes’ thrilling documentary follows world-champion Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira, who battles against monster waves as well as sexism in the male-dominated field of competitive surfing.

Closing Night
THE CONSPIRACY  (World Premiere)
Director: Maxim Pozdorovkin
Producers:  Allison Stern, Caroline Hirsch, Joe Bender, Dan Cogan  
A bold, visually striking animated documentary that traces the origins of the insidious conspiracy theory that Jews have a plot to control the world, and charts how such antisemitic ideas persist today.

Centerpiece Screening
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: WITHOUT A NET  (World Premiere)
Director: Dawn Porter
Producers: Dawn Porter, Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Mark Burnett, Barry Poznick
The world’s most famous circus prepares to remount its flagship show more than a year after an abrupt global shut-down, and performers and crew members face uncertainty as they prepare to return to the stage.

Centerpiece Screening
GUMBO COALITION  (World Premiere)
Director:  Barbara Kopple
Producers: Barbara Kopple, David Cassidy, Williams Cole, Ray Nowosielski
Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple follows two visionary leaders of the AfricanAmerican and Latinx American communities as they fight for racial justice in the Trump – and COVID – era.

Pre-Festival Tribute Screening  (Tuesday, Nov. 8)
THE FIRE WITHIN: REQUIEM FOR KATIA AND MAURICE KRAFFT
Director: Werner Herzog
Producers: Pete Lown, Alexandre Soullier
Werner Herzog brings his distinct perspective to the lives of the French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft.

IDINA MENZEL: WHICH WAY TO THE STAGE?  (World Premiere)
Director:  Anne McCabe
Producers: Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen
Beloved Tony Award ®-winning actress and singer Idina Menzel juggles the challenges of being a working mom with a grueling travel schedule, all while preparing to finally realize her dream: headlining a concert at the world-famous Madison Square Garden in her hometown of New York City.  (Disney+)

THEATER OF THOUGHT  (NYC Premiere)
Director: Werner Herzog
Producer: Ariel Leon Isocovitch  
After traveling the world, Werner Herzog, at age 80, explores the mysteries of the brain through interviews with cutting-edge researchers.

THE VOLCANO: RESCUE FROM WHAKAARI  (NYC Premiere)
Director:  Rory Kennedy
Producers: Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Dallas Brennan Rexer, Mark Bailey, Rory Kennedy  
A riveting retelling of the survivors and rescuers from the 2019 New Zealand White Island volcano disaster. (Netflix)

WHILE WE WATCHED  (US Premiere)
Director: Vinay Shukla
Producers: Vinay Shukla, Khusboo Ranka, Luke Moody
Filmmaker Vinay Shukla gives shape to the melancholy and fear the daily news brings into our screens and lives, in India and all over the world.


US COMPETITION

26.2 TO LIFE  (World Premiere)
Director: Christine Yoo
Producers: Hella Winston, Carolyn Mao, Sara Sluke
Three incarcerated men find purpose through running the world’s most unique marathon: 105 laps around the yard of San Quentin State Prison.

THE 50  (World Premiere)
Director: Brenton Gieser
Producers: Traci Lewis, Brenton Gieser, Estevan Padilla, Audrey Gloeckner, Zena Hanna, Colette Kessler
Fifty men embark on a journey of healing and radical change as the California prison system’s first-ever inmate substance abuse counselors.

1946: THE MISTRANSLATION THAT SHIFTED A CULTURE  (World Premiere)
Director:  Sharon “Rocky” Roggio
Producers:  Sharon “Rocky” Roggio, Jena Serbu
Seeking the origins of homophobia in the Christian church, two LGBTQIA+ activists make a ground-breaking discovery: an erroneous translation of the word “homosexual” in the Bible.

CABIN MUSIC  (World Premiere)
Director: James Carson
Producers: James Carson, Kwesi Collisson, Kerry Gilfillan  
Inspired by his travels and love of nature, a young pianist creates a dynamic new musical form.

CASA SUSANNA  (US Premiere)
Director: Sébastien Lifshitz
Producer: Muriel Meynard
In the sexually repressive atmosphere of the 1950s and early ’60s, a clandestine haven for cross-dressers in a Catskills resort becomes an important early chapter in the history of trans identity. (PBS-American Experience)

COLDWATER KITCHEN  (World Premiere)
Directors: Brian Kaufman, Mark Kurlyandchik
Producers: Steve Byrne, Kathy Kieliszewski, Nicole Avery
In Coldwater, Michigan’s Lakeland Correctional Facility, Chef Jimmy Lee Hill leads a highly regarded program where prisoners find a renewed sense of purpose through the culinary arts.

DEAR THIRTEEN  (World Premiere)
Director: Alexis Neophytides
Producers: Alexis Neophytides, Trina Rodriguez, Alex Murawski
In their own words, this tender, illuminating look into the lives of nine 13-year-olds from around the world reveals who they really are.

DUSTY & STONES  (World Premiere)
Director: Jesse Rudoy
Producer: Melissa Adeyemo
A road trip through the American South, a story of the trials and triumphs of a duo of touring country music singers from the unlikeliest of places’”Swaziland.  

LOAN WOLVES  (World Premiere)
Director: Blake Zeff
Producers: Jake Abraham, Neda Armian, Jeff Hasler, Ron Nyswaner, Blake Zeff
Blake Ziff thoroughly investigates the student debt crisis, leading us on a humorous and informative journey to its unexpected roots. (MSNBC)

LOVE IN THE TIME OF FENTANYL  (US Premiere)
Director: Colin Askey
Producers: Monika Navarro, Robinder Uppal, Marc Serpa Francoeur
With fentanyl overdose deaths at an all-time high in Vancouver, Canada, the Overdose Prevention Society creates a safe injection site to save lives and support their community.

WHO IS STAN SMITH?  (World Premiere)
Director: Danny Lee
Producers: Philip Byron, Danny Lee, Rebecca Halpern
A lyrical and emotional adventure through time and pop culture, charting the extraordinary life of Stan Smith, the tennis legend and his namesake sneaker that has graced the feet of everyone from John Lennon to Jay-Z.  


INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

AFRICAN MOOT  (US Premiere)
Director: Shameela Seedat
Producers:  Shameela Seedat, Francois Verster, Don Edkins, Tiny Mungwe, Juha Lopponen,  Venla Hellstedt
The best and brightest young law students from across the African continent come together to show off their legal knowledge and oratory skills in the annual African Human Rights Moot Court Competition.

BIG FIGHT IN LITTLE CHINATOWN  (World Premiere)
Director:  Karen Cho
Producer:  Bob Moore
After the pandemic and harmful city redevelopment plans, Chinatowns in New York, Montreal and Vancouver resist by innovating new ways to keep their culture and communities thriving.  

CHILDREN OF LAS BRISAS  (North American Premiere)
Director:  Marianela Maldonado
Producers:  Luisa De La Ville, Luc Martin-Gousset, Andy Glynne
Three children in a Venezuela in economic collapse channel their pain and joy into classical music as part of a unique government-sponsored program, El Sistema.

CLOSED CIRCUIT  (International Premiere)
Director:  Tal Inbar
Producers:  Tal Becher, Yoav Zeevi, Omri Uzrad, Nancy Spielberg
Through the sharing of memories, Arab and Jewish survivors of a 2016 Tel Aviv terrorist attack confront unthinkable trauma.  

DESTINY  (World Premiere)
Director: Yaser Talebi
Producers: Elaheh Nobakht, Yaser Talebi
After the death of her mother, 18-year-old Sahar takes care of her mentally disabled father in an isolated village in Iran while dreaming of university, volleyball and Instagram.

FATI’S CHOICE  (North American Premiere)
Director: Fatimah Dadzie
Producers: Hamid Yakub, Tiny Mungwe
’‹’‹After surviving a perilous migration to Europe, a Ghanaian mother returns to her village to reunite with her children, meeting disdain from her family and neighbors.

GIRL GANG  (US Premiere)
Director:  Susanne Regina Meures
Producers:  Christian Frei
German teen Leonie and her parents seize the economic opportunities of  social media fame, but at what cost?

THE HAMLET SYNDROME  (North American Premiere)
Directors:  Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski
Producers:  Magdalena Kaminksa, Agata Szymanska
A group of young eastern Ukrainian actors create a unique stage production of  Hamlet, through which they process their own personal experiences of the war with Russia.

THE HERMIT OF TREIG  (US Premiere)
Director:  Lizzie MackEnzie
Producer:  Naomi Spiro
A spirited elderly hermit and a young filmmaker forge a 10-year friendship, as the hermit navigates his declining health and questions his ability to continue living in the wilderness.

HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND  (US Premiere)
Director: Marusya Syroechkovskaya
Producers: Ksenia Gapchenko, Mario Adamson
A grunge love story between a suicidal 16-year-old Russian girl and a fellow lost soul, filmed over 12 years under the shadow of Putin’s regime.

ITHAKA  (North American Premiere)
Director: Ben Lawrence
Producers:  Gabriel Shipton, Adrian Devant
An emotional tale of the personal as political as Julian Assange’s father, John Shipton, campaigns to free his son from unforgiving political and carceral systems.

LíZARO AND THE SHARK: CUBA UNDER THE SURFACE  (World Premiere)
Director: William Sobourin O’Reilly
Producer:  Bryan Bailey
Among rival conga bands in Santiago de Cuba, tensions build and tempers flare as marketplace realities and political frustrations come to bear on one of the world’s poorest Carnivals.


METROPOLIS COMPETITION
NEW YORK STORIES

FRAGMENTS OF PARADISE  (NYC Premiere)
Director: KD Davison
Producers:  KD Davison, Elyse Frenchman, Leanne Cherundolo, Matthew O. Henderson
The story of the legendary godfather of avant-garde cinema, Jonas Mekas, is told largely through his own words, revealing his dedication to the transformative power of independent film.

IN SEARCH OF BENGALI HARLEM  (NYC Premiere)
Directors: Vivek Bald, Alaudin Ullah