It’s virtually DOC NYC season, and when New York’s premiere nonfiction movie pageant returns this November, an eclectic lineup guarantees that there will likely be one thing for documentary lovers of all stripes to get pleasure from.
The pageant, for which IndieWire serves as a Supporting Media Accomplice co-presenting the Worldwide and U.S. Competitors sections, has introduced its essential slate lineup for the 2025 version.
The pageant will open with the U.S. premiere of “Whistle,” Christopher Nelius’ look into the world of aggressive whistling that premiered on the 2025 Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant. The closing night time choice is the New York premiere of Ivy Meerpol’s “Ask E. Jean,” which chronicles the singular life of recommendation columnist-turned-Donald Trump adversary E. Jean Carroll.
Different notable titles embrace “If These Partitions Might Rock,” a documentary about legendary Los Angeles resort and rock and roll hangout the Sundown Marquis that includes the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr; and “King Hamlet,” Elvira Lind’s intimate documentary about her husband Oscar Isaac’s preparation to play Hamlet on the New York stage whereas turning into a father and saying goodbye to his mom.
“On this interval of speedy change, DOC NYC is proud to current a set of movies that talk to pressing world, nationwide, and private issues,” DOC NYC creative director Jaie Laplante stated in a press release. “What binds the filmmakers of this yr’s official choice are their illuminations of shared humanity.”
DOC NYC will happen in-person at New York Metropolis’s IFC Middle, SVA Theater, and Village East by Angelika from November 12-20, with on-line screenings persevering with by way of November 30. Hold studying for the whole essential slate program, with movie descriptions offered by the pageant.
OPENING NIGHT FILM
WHISTLE (US Premiere)
Director: Christopher Nelius
Producers: Camilla Mazzaferro, Louise Smith, Luke Mazzaferro, Al Hicks, Casey Ventura
Prime-rate whistlers collect in Hollywood on the annual Masters of Musical Whistling competitors, hoping not simply to win however to attach.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
ASK E. JEAN (NYC Premiere)
Director: Ivy Meeropol
Producers: Laura Bickford, Annabelle Dunne, Ivy Meeropol
Author E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuits in opposition to Donald Trump reveal the societal hurdles ladies face in confronting predatory males and their lies.
CENTERPIECE FILMS
THE MERCHANTS OF JOY (World Premiere)
Director: Celia Aniskovich
Producers: Celia Aniskovich, Zoe Vock, Arthur Spector, Joshua Davis, Joshuah Bearman
A joyful have a look at the 5 households who dominate NYC’s Christmas tree commerce and whose efforts start months earlier than the primary fir bushes hit the busy sidewalks of the 5 boroughs.
STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! (NYC Premiere)
Administrators: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin
Producers: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin, Karen Ranucci, Diana Cohn, Caren Spruch
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! pursues the information with integrity and dauntlessness, seeing impartial journalism as a serious drive for good.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
BENITA (World Premiere)
Director: Alan Berliner
Producer: Alan Berliner
An unplanned collaboration between two filmmakers that transcends mortality, exploring whimsical and existential questions in addition to the intersection of psychological well being and creativity.
BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL: THE KWAME BRATHWAITE STORY (North American Premiere)
Director: Yemi Bamiro
Producers: Joanna Boateng, Lizzie Gillett, Ian Bonhôte, Andrew Calof
In pictures of celebrities and on a regular basis individuals, Kwame Brathwaite captured the enjoyment and great thing about Black America and popularized the phrase that outlined a motion: Black is Lovely.
MAD HOT BALLROOM (Twentieth Anniversary)
Director: Marilyn Agrelo
Producers: Amy Sewell, Marilyn Agrelo
A Twentieth-anniversary screening of the basic 2005 documentary about NYC public college fifth-graders competing within the extracurricular world of ballroom dancing.
THE TRIAL OF ALEC BALDWIN (World Premiere)
Director: Rory Kennedy
Producers: Rory Kennedy, Mark Bailey, Julia Marchesi
A provocative examination of celeb spectacle and public vitriol surrounding the prosecution of Alec Baldwin over the tragic unintended dying of Halyna Hutchins.
WE MET AT GROSSINGER’S (World Premiere)
Director: Paula Eiselt
Producers: Robert Friedman, Paula Eiselt, Bennett Elliott
A nostalgic, immersive journey by way of the Jewish Catskills, often known as the Borscht Belt, advised by way of the rise and fall of its beloved Grossinger’s Resort and Resort.
U.S. COMPETITION co-presented by IndieWire
MATA HARI (North American Premiere)
Administrators: Joe Beshenkovsky, James A. Smith
Producers: James A. Smith, Joe Beshenkovsky
Star of Nineteen Seventies Hollywood, David Carradine forged his teenage daughter Calista in Mata Hari, an bold epic shot over 20 years, straining their already frayed relationship.
SANTACON (World Premiere)
Director: Seth Porges
Producers: Seth Porges, Michael Garber, Jake DeNicola
Born from the identical minds as Burning Man, the NYC custom of Santacon spreads vacation cheer in essentially the most raucous means conceivable.
SONS OF DETROIT (World Premiere)
Director: Jeremy Xido
Producer: Amanda Burr
Filmmaker Jeremy Xido returns to Detroit and reunites with a long-lost “cousin” in an exploration of race and chosen household.
THOUGHTS & PRAYERS (World Premiere)
Administrators: Zackary Canepari, Jessica Dimmock
Producers: Zackary Canepari, Jessica Dimmock, Claire Learn, Gary Kout
With mass shootings now part of on a regular basis life, America’s response isn’t prevention — it’s preparation, fueling a multi-billion greenback “security and safety” trade.
TRACES OF HOME (World Premiere)
Director: Colette Ghunim
Producers: Sara Maamouri, Dan Rybicky, Capella Fahoome
An American filmmaker, daughter of a Mexican mom and Palestinian father, explores the that means of residence amid a rising tide of anti-immigrant rhetoric.
THE VOYAGE OUT (World Premiere)
Administrators: Barlow Jacobs
Producers: Keetin Mayakara, Barlow Jacobs
Three hunters trek into the breathtaking wild, in search of sport and solutions to a few of life’s greatest questions, together with grappling with mortality and a deeper understanding of self.
WAYUMI (World Premiere)
Director: Andrew Balcof
Producers: Andrew Balcof, David Good, Elius Kim
A heartfelt story of affection, distance, and reconciliation as a son makes an attempt to reunite along with his Indigenous mom residing within the Amazon.
Y VÃN: THE LOST SOUNDS OF SAIGON (World Premiere)
Administrators: Khoa Ha, Victor Velle
Producer: Douglas Emerson
In uncovering the musical genius of her well-known grandfather, a filmmaker discovers an under-examined aspect of Vietnamese historical past.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION co-presented by IndieWire
9-MONTH CONTRACT (US Premiere)
Director: Ketevan Vashagashvili
Producers: Anna Khazaradze, Nino Chichua
In a uncooked, tender portrait of affection and sacrifice below exploitative methods, a Georgian mom turns to surrogacy to financially help her daughter.
AURORA (North American Premiere)
Director: João Vieira Torres
Producer: Marina Meliande
Vivid desires and ghostly visits from his grandmother compel a filmmaker to discover the lives and tragic deaths of the ladies in his household.
EL CANTO DE LAS MANOS (US Premiere)
Director: María Valverde
Producers: Cristina Oliva, María Valverde, Martí Font Isern, Gustavo Dudamel
Partnering with Coro de Manos Blancas, a choir of Deaf Venezuelan performers, famend conductor Gustavo Dudamel phases Beethoven’s Fidelio.
I, POPPY (US Premiere)
Director: Vivek Chaudhary
Producers: Vivek Chaudhary, Xavier Rocher
In japanese Rajasthan’s poppy fields, an activist son and a farmer mom work to free themselves from oppressive circumstances.
IMAGO (US Premiere)
Director: Déni Oumar Pitsaev
Producers: Alexandra Mélot, Anne-Laure Guégan, Géraldine Sprimont
A Chechen filmmaker visits his former neighborhood, now forming a brand new settlement in exile, and ponders the pull of roots versus his private aspirations.
THE LAMA’S SON (North American Premiere)
Director: Kesang Tseten
Producer: Loel Guinness
Because the youthful era strikes out and improvement creeps into Nepal’s Mustang District, an outdated lifestyle is at risk of dying out.
LOSS ADJUSTMENT (US Premiere)
Director: Miguel Calderón
Producer: Andrea Paasch
In a biting examination of exploitation and survival, a Mexican insurance coverage adjuster haunted by corruption finds refuge within the artwork world solely to find its personal deceptions.
ZELENSKY (US Premiere)
Administrators: Yves Jeuland, Lisa Vapné
Producer: Guilaine Chenu
Meet the Volodymyr Zelensky you don’t know, by way of those that knew him earlier than he turned President and led Ukraine’s protection in opposition to Russian aggression.
METROPOLIS COMPETITION
NEW YORK STORIES
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE (World Premiere)
Director: Katie Jacobs
Producer: Henry Hayes
The inspiring story of three feminine artists who defied norms by buying a home collectively in Fifties NYC, prioritizing their artwork over conventional, gender-coded roles.
KING HAMLET (NYC Premiere)
Director: Elvira Lind
Producers: Sara Stockmann, Sofia Sondervan
Throughout a pivotal yr, actor Oscar Isaac experiences the emotional affect of familial generational transitions, all whereas making ready for an intense manufacturing of Hamlet.
MUSEUM OF THE NIGHT (North American Premiere)
Administrators: Fermín Eloy Acosta
Producers: Ramiro Pavón, Pablo Ingercher, Fermín Eloy Acosta
Theater of the Ridiculous was a no-safety-net avant-garde theater firm in early Nineteen Seventies NYC, and Argentine photographer Leonardo Katz was there to seize all of it.
MY SUNNYSIDE (North American Premiere)
Director: Matylda Kawka
Producers: Alicja Gancarz, Anna Wereda
A trans man and a trans lady in NYC make plans to get married whereas pursuing busy careers, elevating youngsters, and navigating their ongoing gender transitions.
THE NUTCRACKER AT WETHERSFIELD (World Premiere)
Director: Anne Sundberg
Producers: Anne Sundberg, Julie Seureau
Pushed by the hope of persevering by way of darkish occasions, ballet dancers discover an revolutionary approach to stage a vacation basic throughout COVID-19 shutdowns.
STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON (NYC Premiere)
Director: Ernie Bustamante
Producers: Maor Azran, Ernie Bustamante, Steven Canals
Sonia Manzano, aka “Maria” on Sesame Avenue, shares her journey from childhood within the Bronx to turning into a trailblazing Latina position mannequin who modified youngsters’s tv.
KALEIDOSCOPE COMPETITION
NEW DOCUMENTARY VISIONS
THE FOUL-MOUTHED GRANNY (World Premiere)
Director: Seung-pyo Hong
Producer: Seung-pyo Hong
A son tenderly recollects caring for his sharp-tongued mom, mixing reminiscence, ritual, and artwork right into a poetic meditation on love, grief, and enduring ties between generations.
LOST FOR WORDS (US Premiere)
Director: Hannah Papacek Harper
Producers: Hannah Papacek Harper, John Archer
Animated by the disappearance of nature phrases from a dictionary, a filmmaker’s reflection on language, creativeness, and conservation considers our transcendental connections.
OMEGA WANTS TO DANCE (North American Premiere)
Director/Producer: Ramon Tort
Fusing speculative fiction with a vibrant documentary archive, a future AI system considers consciousness by way of dance, weaving historical past, philosophy, and ecstatic motion right into a celebration of human expression.
SHIFTING BASELINES (NYC Premiere)
Director: Julien Elie
Producer: Andreas Mendritzki
Within the Texan city of Boca Chica, Elon Musk’s House X annexes the land and skies, upending ecosystems and neighborhood, in a dystopian have a look at what occurs when greed and ego don’t have any seen boundaries.
UNANIMAL (North American Premiere)
Director: Tuva Bjork, Sally Jacobson
Producers: Victor Ede, Melissa Lindgren, Tobias Janson
A thought-provoking interrogation of the entangled, usually contradictory relationship between people and animals, revealing a world the place animals are concurrently revered, instrumentalized, and domesticated.
AMERICAN STORIES
STATES OF BEING IN THE UNION
THE A LIST: 15 STORIES FROM ASIAN AND PACIFIC DIASPORAS (World Premiere)
Director: Eugene Yi
Producers: Eugene Yi, Jada Yuan, Chad Thompson, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Trailblazers from Sandra Oh to Kumail Nanjiani, Connie Chung and extra, replicate with pleasure, humor and sorrow on how they navigate their prismatic identities and discover neighborhood within the face of rising racism.
ARREST THE MIDWIFE (NYC Premiere)
Director: Elaine Epstein
Producers: Elaine Epstein, Robin Hessman
Within the battle for ladies’s bodily autonomy and reproductive rights, Amish and Mennonite communities of upstate New York emerge as sudden fighters.
BEYOND (World Premiere)
Administrators: Asia Johnson, Michael Kleiman
Producers: Asia Johnson, Michael Kleiman
Incarcerated males at Sing Sing Correctional Facility discover their pursuits, concepts, and desires throughout a one-of-a-kind talking symposium.
THE BIG CHEESE (World Premiere)
Director: Sara Joe Wolansky
Producers: Sara Joe Wolansky, James A. Smith
In a witty and wry artisanal basic, an American staff goals to say the highest prize on the Mondial du Fromage cheesemongering competitors in France.
CREEDE U.S.A. (NYC Premiere)
Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman
Producers: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman
A small mining city in Colorado turns into a microcosm for the nation as conflicts develop ever bigger between liberal and conservative neighbors.
LOVE, JOY & POWER: TOOLS FOR LIBERATION (NYC Premiere)
Director: Daresha Kyi
Producer: Trevite Willis, Daresha Kyi
Climb aboard the “Blackest bus in America” with the members of Black Voters Matter, a grassroots group battling voter suppression by way of mobilization forward of the 2020 election.
SAVING ETTING STREET (World Premiere)
Administrators: Dena Fisher, Amy Scott
Producers: Dena Fisher, Amy Scott
Educating development expertise and monetary literacy, a no-nonsense carpenter empowers ladies to rework their lives and revitalize their Baltimore neighborhoods, one home at a time.
THIRD ACT (NYC Premiere)
Administrators: Tadashi Nakamura
Producers: Tadashi Nakamura, Eurie Chung
A personally grounded but traditionally resonant documentary by Tadashi Nakamura explores the pioneering legacy of his father, pioneering filmmaker Robert A. Nakamura.
WHAT WE INHERIT (World Premiere)
Director: Kacim Steets Azouz
Producer: Frederic Bohbot
After discovering enslavers in his lineage, a filmmaker confronts a sophisticated legacy and meets the descendants of these his ancestors held captive.
BIG BLUE
FILMS ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD
THE GARDEN OF MARIA (World Premiere)
Director: Jade Rainho
Producers: Julia Bock, Simone Elias
In a religious and political act, a charismatic Indigenous lady transforms an deserted Brazilian sewer right into a thriving forest, reclaiming ancestral land and knowledge.
THE KEEPER (NYC Premiere)
Director: Jon Bowermaster
Producers: Jon Bowermaster, Carolyn Marks Blackwood
Magnetic river steward John Lipscomb displays on 25 years and 80,000 miles patrolling the Hudson, combating air pollution with grit and poetry.
OUR LAND (Worldwide Premiere)
Director: Orban Wallace
Producers: Becca Wolff, Charlie Phillips, Leo Smith
As activists, landowners, and walkers conflict over entry to nature, the rising motion for the proper to roam exposes deep-rooted, world questions of sophistication, colonialism, and stewardship.
PLAN C FOR CIVILIZATION (World Premiere)
Director: Ben Kalina
Producers: Ben Kalina, Jamila Paksima
The work of photo voltaic geoengineering proponent David Keith exists in a high-stakes terrain the place cutting-edge analysis, environmental activism, public ethics, and world politics collide.
COME AS YOU ARE
STRIVING TO FIND YOUR PLACE
ALWAYS (NYC Premiere)
Director: Deming Chen
Producer: Hansen Lin
In a shocking, unsentimental portrait of a younger poet’s rural childhood, familial hardship and resilience are juxtaposed in opposition to the creative awakening of a rising thoughts.
THE DATING GAME (NYC Premiere)
Director: Violet Du Feng
Producers: Violet Du Feng, Joanna Natasegara, James Costa, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas
In China, with greater than 30 million fewer ladies, males should continuously outdo each other of their bid to discover a spouse. Are courting coaches the reply?
THE GAS STATION ATTENDANT (NYC Premiere)
Director: Karla Murthy
Producers: Karla Murthy, Rajal Pitroda
A daughter movies a portrait of her father, concurrently an embodiment of each immigrant and a novel, difficult man fueled by the ability of his desires.
PAUL (US Premiere)
Director: Denis Côté
Producers: Hany Ouichou, Karine Bélanger, Denis Côté
In an examination of stigma, resilience, and the seek for self-worth, Paul channels his psychological well being struggles into home service for mistresses and on-line rituals of cleansing.
SIREN: THE VOICES OF SHELLEY BEATTIE (World Premiere)
Director: Irene Taylor
Producers: Irene Taylor, Lauren Mueller, Marlee Matlin
A portrait of Deaf bodybuilder Shelley “Siren” Beattie whose beautiful physique was protecting armor in opposition to trauma and alienation.
A THOUSAND COLORS (World Premiere)
Director: Nadia Louis-Desmarchais
Producer: Paola Arriagada-Nunez
A filmmaker makes an attempt to untangle the complicated knot of race and id that lies on the heart of her life.
FIGHT THE POWER
STORIES OF ACTIVISM
THE AGE OF WATER (NYC Premiere)
Administrators: Alfredo Alcántara, Isabel Alcántara Atalaya
Producers: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster, Lindsay Perna
In Mexico, after three women die of leukemia, native ladies uncover radioactive supplies of their water provide and name for justice in opposition to authorities denial.
FREE LEONARD PELTIER (NYC Premiere)
Administrators: Jesse Quick Bull, David France
Producers: David France, Jhane Myers, Paul Mcguire, Fowl Runningwater
After serving a long time in jail for a disputed conviction, American Indian Motion activist Leonard Peltier and a neighborhood of supporters endure a quest for his launch.
MISAN HARRIMAN: SHOOT THE PEOPLE(North American Premiere)
Director: Andy Mundy-Fort
Producer: Wyn Baptiste
An acclaimed photographer of avenue protests ponders the effectiveness of his work, at the same time as his photos provoke palpable worldwide reactions.
NO MERCY (North American Premiere)
Director: Isa Willinger
Producers: Alex Tondowski, Ira Tondowski, Sabine Gruber, Peter Drössler
A cinematic manifesto through which radical ladies filmmakers query the feminine gaze, dismantle cinematic violence, and reclaim movie historical past, reshaping the artwork type with fierce originality.
THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN (NYC Premiere)
Director: Eugene Jarecki
Producers: Kathleen Fournier, Eugene Jarecki
A chronicling of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s years-long struggle for journalistic freedom, from the group’s origins to Assange’s arduous confinement and eventual launch.
TRUE NORTH (NYC Premiere)
Director: Michèle Stephenson
Producer: Leslie Norville
Uncovering the often-overlooked historical past of anti-Black racism in Canada, True North powerfully explores a pivotal pupil rebellion at a Montreal college.
WTO/99 (NYC Premiere)
Director: Ian Bell
Producers: Laura Tatham, Ian Bell, Alex Megaro
A foreboding look again on the 1999 conflict between the not too long ago established World Commerce Group and 40,000 protestors demonstrating in opposition to continued globalization.
GAME FACE CINEMA
THE EMOTION OF SPORT
3000 KM BY BIKE (North American Premiere)
Director: Ivan Vescovo
Producer: Martin Loewenthal
Pursuing a romantic reconciliation, BMX champion Iñaki Mazza finds a deeper understanding of self on an arduous journey from Buenos Aires to Tierra del Fuego.
THE BALLOONISTS (NYC Premiere)
Director: John Dower
Producers: Teddy Leifer, Man Horlock
In 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones defy gravity as they got down to be the primary to circumnavigate the globe in a scorching air balloon.
KINGS OF VENICE (World Premiere)
Administrators: Sveinn Ingimundarson, S.D. Saltarelli
Producers: Sveinn Ingimundarson, S.D. Saltarelli
On Venice Seaside, an eccentric forged of paddle tennis gamers go to bat to defend their turf from a pickleball rebellion.
REGGAE GIRLZ (World Premiere)
Administrators: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Trish Dalton
Producers: Philipp Manderla, Laura Smith
On the countdown to the Ladies’s World Cup, the Reggae Girlz, Jamaica’s soccer staff, face battles on and off the pitch for recognition, respect, and assets.
INVESTIGATIONS co-presented by Selection’s Truthseekers
EXPOSING THE TRUTH
EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU FOR MONEY (NYC Premiere)
Director: Ben McKenzie
Producers: Giorgio Angelini, Ben McKenzie
On the chaotic monetary frontier of our time, actor-turned-author and director Ben McKenzie units out to reveal the loosely regulated world of cryptocurrency.
I DREAMED HIS NAME (NYC Premiere)
Director: Ángela Carabalí
Producers: Sandra Tabares-Duque, Ángela Carabalí
After her long-disappeared father speaks to her in a dream, filmmaker Ángela Carabalí weaves reminiscence, ritual, and historical past right into a poetic meditation on violence, mourning, and therapeutic.
NUNS VS. THE VATICAN (US Premiere)
Director: Lorena Luciano
Producer: Filippo Piscopo
A robust investigation uncovers systemic abuse of nuns and ladies throughout the Catholic church, centered on survivors whose braveness exposes a historical past of violence, silence, and institutional betrayal.
THE PINK PILL: SEX, DRUGS & WHO HAS CONTROL (US Premiere)
Director: Aisling Chin-Yee
Producer: Julie Bristow
An advocate fights to deliver a confirmed feminine sexual want tablet to market, exposing systemic neglect and double requirements in a male-centered medical institution.
THE SECRETS WE BURY (NYC Premiere)
Director: Patricia E. Gillespie
Producer: Jessica Horowitz
A masterclass in suave true-crime storytelling and a gripping exploration of how buried secrets and techniques corrode from inside.
THE STRINGER (NYC Premiere)
Administrators: Bao Nguyen
Producers: Fiona Turner, Terri Lichstein
A half-century after the harrowing {photograph} “Napalm Woman” turned the tide on public perceptions of the Vietnam Battle, questions come up about who was truly behind the digicam.
PORTRAITS
PROFILES OF SINGULAR INDIVIDUALS
BULL’S HEART (North American Premiere)
Director: Eva Stefani
Producer: Vassilis Panagiotakopoulos
A mesmerizing portrait of avant-garde director Dimitris Papaioannou, capturing the dreamlike creation of a surreal stage manufacturing and his singular creative course of.
CAST OF SHADOWS (US Premiere)
Director/Producer: Sami van Ingen
A reconsideration of Robert Flaherty’s cinematic legacy, spotlighting Frances Flaherty’s authorship whereas exposing hidden histories and myths behind Nanook of the North and early documentary.
THE EYES OF GHANA (NYC Premiere)
Director: Ben Proudfoot
Producers: Nana Adwoa Frimpong, Ben Proudfoot, Moses Bwayo, Anita Afonu, Brandon Somerhalder, Ethan Lewis, Vinnie Malhotra
Ghanaian filmmaker Chris Hesse hopes to revive a valuable archive of footage from his time as the non-public cinematographer of Kwame Nkrumah, the nation’s first president.
FARRUQUITO, A FLAMENCO DYNASTY (North American Premiere)
Administrators: Santi Aguado, Reuben Atlas
Producers: Ami Minars, José Velasco, Sara Fernández-Velasco, Santi Aguado, Reuben Atlas
Impressed by love, tragedy, and blood ties, Farruquito and his household spend a long time elevating the artwork of flamenco with staggering operatic ardour.
PARA VIVIR, THE IMPLACABLE TIME OF PABLO MILANÉS (North American Premiere)
Director: Fabien Pisani
Producer: Carlos Sosa, Laura Imperiale, Fabien Pisani
A portrait of Afro-Cuban musician and activist Pablo Milanés, laced along with his extraordinary music, charting his life and profession in opposition to the backdrop of political and cultural modifications.
PRETTY DIRTY (NYC Premiere)
Administrators: Jennifer Ash Rudick, Amanda M. Benchley
Producers: Jennifer Ash Rudick, Amanda M. Benchely, Debi Wisch
Mixing biography, studio observe, and cultural historical past, a blinding portrait of artist Marilyn Minter, whose glamorous, provocative work and fearless feminism formed NYC’s artwork world.
TCB: THE TONI CADE BAMBARA SCHOOL OF ORGANIZING (NYC Premiere)
Administrators: Louis Massiah, Monica Henriquez
Producer: Louis Massiah
A vibrant portrait of creator, editor, and filmmaker Toni Cade Bambara, whose knowledge and fierce dedication to neighborhood organizing provide still-resonant classes for activists.
RESILIENCE
STANDING STRONG IN THE FACE OF TRAUMA
FLOPHOUSE AMERICA (North American Premiere)
Director: Monica Strømdahl
Producers: Beathe Hofseth, Siri Natvik
An unflinching have a look at a boy’s household life in a low-rent motel reveals how poverty and alcoholism form generations, exposing the truth of the damaged American dream.
THE LAST AMBASSADOR (US Premiere)
Director: Natalie Halla
Producers: Peter Drössler, Arash T. Riahi, Sabine Gruber, Natalie Halla
A stirring and emotionally charged story about Afghanistan’s ambassador to Austria who refuses to symbolize the Taliban.
THE LIONS BY THE RIVER TIGRIS (North American Premiere)
Director: Zaradasht Ahmed
Producer: Thorvald Nilsen
After ISIS leaves Mosul in ruins, a household salvages their ancestral residence’s remnants, confronting loss, reminiscence, and not possible decisions whereas trying to find dignity, cultural continuity, and hope.
LOWLAND KIDS (US Premiere)
Director: Sandra Winther
Producers: William Crouse, Lauren Avinoam, Sigrid Dykjaer, Lizzie Gillett, Brendan Naylor
In a robust, human portrait of local weather displacement, two teenagers and their uncle face government-forced resettlement from Louisiana’s disappearing Isle de Jean Charles.
MATABELELAND (North American Premiere)
Director: Nyasha Kadandara
Producer: Sam Soko
Haunted by his father’s homicide amid regime-led massacres, a Zimbabwean man confronts generational trauma and historic violence in a narrative of therapeutic, love, and religious reconciliation.
PALESTINE COMEDY CLUB (Worldwide Premiere)
Director: Alaa Aliabdallah
Producer: Charlotte Knowles
Six Palestinian comedians construct a stand-up scene below occupation, however as violence escalates in the direction of genocide, their humor represents an more and more pressing insistence on their humanity.
A PLACE OF ABSENCE (World Premiere)
Director/Producer: Marialuisa Ernst
A bus caravan of Central American moms courageously seek for their lacking youngsters, whereas a filmmaker and her household grapple with the lingering ache surrounding their beloved uncle’s disappearance.
SONIC CINEMA
MOVIES ABOUT MUSIC
A FREE DAUGHTER OF FREE KYRGYZSTAN (World Premiere)
Director/Producer: Leigh Iacobucci
In a conservative society the place ladies are systemically silenced, a younger singer calls for respect by way of her music movies, defying dying threats to impress a greater future.
FUGS FILM! (World Premiere)
Director/Producer: Chuck Smith
A politically pointed have a look at the Sixties spirit of counterculture as manifested in NYC band The Fugs’ unstable power of protest and creation.
HALF MOON (US Premiere)
Director: Frank Scheffer
Producers: Niek Koppen, Jan de Ruiter
Acclaimed Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh travels the globe sharing stunning music, exploring artwork’s position amid upheaval and displacement in his homeland.
HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT (World Premiere)
Director: Penny Lane
Producers: Gabriel Sedgwick, Julia Lewis
A unusual have a look at the artwork and enterprise of youngsters’s music from The Wiggles to “Child Shark.”
IF THESE WALLS COULD ROCK (World Premiere)
Administrators: Tyler Measom, Craig A. Williams
Producers: Robert Friedman, Tyler Measom, Craig A. Williams, Mike Powers
A go to to The Sundown Marquis, a legendary Los Angeles spot for rock ’n’ roll royalty, particularly within the intercourse, medicine, and unhealthy habits heyday of the ’70s and ‘80s.
VOICES OF CANADA
A showcase of the Canadian titles and administrators which can be represented all through the pageant’s sections. Co-presented by the Consulate Normal of Canada in New York and the Division of Canadian Heritage’s Inventive Export Technique (CES).
Function Movies:
THE EYES OF GHANA
MATABELELAND
PAUL
THE PINK PILL: SEX, DRUGS & WHO HAS CONTROL
SHIFTING BASELINES
TCB: THE TONI CADE BARBARA SCHOOL OF ORGANIZING
A THOUSAND COLORS
TRUE NORTH
WHAT WE INHERIT
Quick Movies:
Burcu’s Angels
The Man within the Rectangle
That Which is Heard
Two Sorts of Folks
A View from Dwelling
SHORTS PROGRAMS
There are 87 shorts taking part within the juried Shorts Competitors, and one episodic (indicated by *), within the following 20 packages:
SHORTS: ARTSCAPES
Six cinematic journeys into the lives and minds of artists, every providing a definite lens on their distinctive artistic course of.
All of the Queens Homes (Dir/Prod: Sean Mowry/Prod: John Vallacchi)
A Colour I Named Blue (Dir/Prod: Sybilla Patrizia/Prod: Mai Hosomura)
George V (Dir/Prods: Dennis Scholl, Dia Kontaxis/Prod: Ed Talavera)
Making Like to a Ghost (Dir/Prod: Rosie Litterick/Dir: Raj Chaudhuri)
PANORAMIC VIEW: Portrait of the Artist Francine Tint (Dir/Prod: Pola Rapaport/Prod: Wolfgang Held)
SHORTS: BECOMING
Bearing witness to rising up and into one’s true self.
Massive Bass (Dir: Drew Dickler/Prods: Nikki F. Heyman, Jennie Kamin, David Sherwin)
Classroom 4 (Dir/Prod: Eden Wurmfeld/Prod: Yael Bridge)
The Fault Line (Dir/Prod: Brydie O’Connor/Prod: Sean Weiner)
SHORTS: BODY & SOUL
Tales of resilience and energy the place prospects lie past the confines of the human type.
Bloodlines, Mississippi (Dir: Crystal Kayiza/Prods: Harri Grace, Paul King)
Boobs (Dir: Nicola Leddy/Prods: Anna Rodgers, Zlata Filipovic)
Embracing Instability (Dir/Prod: Nathan Willis/Prod: Chase Haislip)
Murmurations (Dir/Prod: Xavier Marrades/Prods: Jerome Thelia, Mark Stafford)
One Handed Fighter (Dir: Matthew Meredith/Prod: Leah de Leon)
SHORTS: CREATORS
Visionaries utilizing their creativity to impress, educate, and entertain.
Embodying Pasolini – Legislation of Attraction (Dir/Prod: Jack “Chia-Cheng” Hsu)
La Orquesta (Dir/Prods: Monica Villavicencio, Stephanie Liu)
Rolling Movie, Rocking Historical past, Al Maysles Captures the Beatles (Dir/Prod: Bart Weiss/Prod: Andy Streitfeld)
Ladies Laughing (Dir/Prod: Liza Donnelly/Dir: Kathleen Hughes/Prods: Judith Mizrachy, Nathalie Seaver)
SHORTS: CROSS COUNTRY
Portraits of problem and triumph from communities throughout America, revealing numerous threads of on a regular basis life.
Appalheads (Dir: Scott Faris/Prods: Anna Richardson White, Meg Griffiths)
Arepas En Bici (Dir/Prods: Jonah Moshammer, Brennan McGee/Prod: Connor Haines)
Blood Mates (Dir/Prods: Hayley Ulmer, Sam McCoy)
Educating America (Dir/Prod: Anurima Bhargava/Prod: Alisa Payne)
Trapped (Dir: Mads Engel, Joe Purtell/Prod: Nina Riggio)
SHORTS: DIFFERENT DRUMMERS
Celebrating mavericks and makers boldly pursuing their distinctive paths.
Burcu’s Angels (Dir/Prod: Özgün Gündüz)
Casa Amadeo (Dir/Prod: Ariana Marie Luque)
The Chimney Sweeper (Dir/Prod: Jack Raese)
From Rodeo to Polo: The First HBCU Polo Crew (Dir/Prod: Kendi King)
Voices From the Abyss (Dir: Irving Serrano, Victor Rejón/Prod: Ramon Llaven)
SHORTS: GENERATIONS
Histories, rituals, and hyperlinks that bind households and communities collectively throughout the ages.
The Boys and the Bees (Dir/Prod: Arielle Knight)
Demise Training (Dir/Prod: Yuxuan Ethan Wu)
Hear (Dir: Malakye Zaayin Tsosie/Prod: Kaitlyn Sanchez)
The Time My Grandmother Was Held Hostage by Financial institution Robbers (Dir/Prod: Rosella Tursi/Prod: Christine Champagne)
What Does the Mud Whisper? (Dir: Dea Tcholokava/Prod: Irina Gelashvili)
SHORTS: GET UP, STAND UP
Preventing the ability, one good story at a time.
Additionally Resisters (Dir/Prod: Christina D. Bartson)
Survival With Hire (Dirs: Katie Heiserman, Elana Meyers/Prod: Zazie Ray-Trapido)
The Good Combat: Armen vs Guilani (Dir/Prod: Amelia Hanibelsz/Prod: Ilana Diamant)
The Lengthy Stroll: The Story of the Bharat Jodo Yatra (Dir/Prod: Shruti Ganguly/Prods: Sumir Ganguly, Prashant Chari, Savio Joseph)
SHORTS: GOTHAM
New York Metropolis shorts that exemplify the grit, grace and groove of our nice metropolis.
All the time Tracy (Dir/Prod: Meron Tebeje)
The New Yorker Theater: A Talbot Legacy (Dir/Prod: Sergio Maza/Prods: Maria Politano, Cara Yeates)
The Petal Pusher (Dir/Prod: David Abel/Prod: Mark Chesak)
Underground Sounds: The New Thousand Story (Dir/Prod: Emma Keatley/Prod: Owen Kepshire)
SHORTS: HEARTBEATS
Celebrating affairs of the guts and love in all of its wondrous kinds.
Maintain Me Shut (Dir/Prods: Aurora Brachman, LaTajh Simmons-Weaver)
I Wished to Hear Your Voice (Dir: James Pellerito/Prod: David Barba)
Murewa (Dir: Ché Scott-Heron Newton/Prod: Matt Houghton)
Sundown and the Mockingbird (Dir/Prod: Jyllian Gunther/Prod: Kali Holloway)
Two Sorts of Folks (Dir: Evan Luchkow)
SHORTS: HIDDEN HISTORIES
Discover the untold histories of individuals and communities whose unknown tales exemplify resilience, self-determination, and braveness.
Being Seen Makes Us Joyful (Dir/Prod: Charlotte Levin/Dir: Ava Newman)
Free Joan Little (Dir: Yoruba Richen/Prod: Christalyn Hampton)
A Image of My Father (Dir/Prods: Jon Miller, Zach Russo)
Sakhee – A Portrait of the Kinner Group in Hinterland India (Dir/Prod: Udit Nijhawan)
SHORTS: LET’S PLAY
There’s extra to those sports activities and hobbies than simply enjoyable and video games.
Alice (Dir: Gabriel Novis/Prods: Mayra Faour Auad, Gabrielle Auad)
Barra Brava (Dir/Prods: RJ Sanchez/Dirs: Eduardo Giralt Brun, Pedro Valtierra Anza/Prods: Doug Riggs, Stuart McIntyre, Alli Maxwell, David Kohan)
Destined to be Queen (Dir/Prod: Olivia Zimmerman/Prods: Alex Laviola, Jonathas Nazareth)
It’s Our Ball (Dir: David Morrison/Prods: Judy T. Marcelline, Penny Edmiston)
We Beg to Differ (Dir/Prod: Ruairi Bradley/Prods: Thomas Purdy)
SHORTS: LOOK UP
Look as much as the horizon…or simply above your head. What do you see in your future?
The Fanciers (Dir/Prod: Theo McInnes/Prod: Harry Zundel)
Flying Like a Fowl (Dir/Prod: Hanyun Zhang/Prod: Yi “Chris” Yuan)
Grit (Dir/Prod: Johannes Kroemer/Dir: Vanina Feldsztein)
Elevate Woman (Dir: Marcin Modzelewski/Prods: Jerzy Kapuściński, Ewa Jastrzębska, Magdalena Tomanek)
Seventeen (Dir/Prod: Ajuán Isaac-George)
SHORTS: ON THE OTHER SIDE
Perseverance within the face of unsure futures, and what awaits on the opposite aspect.
Island Prepared (Dir/Prod: Cece King/Prods: Elsa Hana Chung, Camilla Marchese González)
Different Life (Dirs: Tom Tennant, Theo Tennant/Prod: Alice Hughes)
The Non secular Advisor (Dir: Joel Fendelman/Prod: James Chase Sanchez)
That Which is Heard (Dir: Ken Pham/Prod: Kirthiga Rajanayagam)
SHORTS: A PLACE LIKE THIS
Exploring the locations we stay in, and which stay in us.
Farfour: A Battle Diary from Gaza (Dir/Prod: Ahmed Deeb/Dir: Moaz Hosni)
In Seascale (Dir: Bofei Wan/Prod: Siyun Wang)
Inhabitants (Dirs: Charline Lefrançois, Florian Geisseler/Prod: Michael Karrer)
The Recollections of Others (Dir/Prods: Pauline Vermare, Marc Lesser)
Save Flat Prime (Dir: Bia Jurema/Prod: Sydney Wolstein)
Sundown Over America (Dir: Matías Rojas Valencia/Prods: Françoise Nieto-Fong, Tomas Gerlach Mora)
SHORTS: SHE STORIES
Tales of intimacy, energy, and self-determination, made by and about ladies.
Chilapa Woman (Dir/Prod: Juana Lotero López/Prod: Daniel Sánchez)
The First Occasions (Dirs: Giulia Cosentino, Perla Sardella/Prods: Margot Mecca, Matteo Tortone)
Swim Sistas (Dir: Catherine Pleasure White/Prods: Anais Ferrato, Oriane Decide)
That Evening (Dir/Prod: Hoda Sobhani/Prod: Elle Toussi)
This Aspect of Salina (Dir/Prod: Lynne Sachs)
SHORTS: TRUTH TO POWER
Ladies of a sure age fearlessly confront company polluters poisoning our land and water with toxins.
Sallie’s Ashes (Dir/Prod: Brennan Robideaux/Prods: Daniel Junge, Allison Bohl DeHart)
Vs. Goliath: Most cancers Alley* (Dir/Prod: Nate Birnbaum/Dir: Sam Eilertsen/Prods: Pulkit Datta, Maggie Lemere)
SHORTS: VANTAGE POINT
Unusual tales from distinctive views.
Divers (Dir/Prod: Geordie Wooden)
A View from Dwelling (Dir/Prod: Mingzhe Zhou/Prod: Yiqian Zhang)
Wainitai: Discovering Your self (Dir: Pablo García Vizcarra/Prod: Ariana Galvez Sanchez)
The place Do Birds Go When It Rains (Dir/Prod: Juan Sebastian Sisa)
Who Was Right here? (Dir/Prod: Evi Stamou)
SHORTS: WE BELONG TOGETHER
Discovering energy in neighborhood and friendship.
The Confidantes (Dir/Prod: Robin Chen)
Exodus (Dir/Prod: Nimco Sheikhaden/Prod: Sara Chishti)
La Liga (Dirs: MacPherson Christopher, Paul Rosenfeld/Prod: Tik Root)
SHORTS: WHAT’S NEXT?
Unsure futures and shifting horizons, asking: what now and what’s subsequent?
Down North (Dirs: David Dominguez, Paul Overstrom/Prod: Amanda McDonnell)
Photographs From Tuvalu (Dir: Dylan Werkman/Prods: Janneke Doolaard, Harmen Jalvingh)
The Man within the Rectangle (Dir: Ali Heraize/Prod: Hannah Yang)
The Return (Dir/Prod: Jeremy S. Levine/Prods: Andrew Phillips, Poh Si Teng, Trudy Mercadal, Carson Stiles, Kely Maloney)
PARTNER EVENTS
HIGH HORSE: THE BLACK COWBOY (co-presented by NBCUniversal, Peacock, and Monkeypaw Productions)
NBCUniversal, Common Tv Various Studio, and Monkeypaw Productions co-present the World Premiere screening of Peacock’s new three-part documentary Excessive Horse: The Black Cowboy. Trip into the world of the Black Cowboy legacy — a cultural reckoning showcasing their picture, their tradition, and their deep ties to the land.
IN THE MAKING (co-presented by Firelight Media)
Season 4 of American Masters and Firelight Media’s In The Making collection follows artists on their approach to turning into masters of their disciplines. This season will embrace:
Aliah Irvine & Kēhau Kapua’a: Kūkulu (Dir/Prod: Aukai Ligairi/Prods: Robinder Uppal, Terra Debold)
Alsarah: The Sonic Historian (Dir/Prod: Roopa Gogineni/Dir: Wael Gzoly)
Ani Liu: Eye Coronary heart Womb (Dir/Prod: Miao Wang/Prod: Damon Smith)
Cindy Tran: From Right here to Right here (Dir/Prod: Xinyan Yu)
Hannah Mayree: Songs of Reclamation (Dir/Prod: Ebony Marie Bailey/Prod: Alyssa Mopia)
Lani B. Supreme: Legacy (Dir/Prod: Sabaah Folayan/Prod: Chloe Campion)
Stankface Standing Soldier: The Rise of Mato Wayuhi (Dir: Josiah W. Jones/Prods: Blake Brown, Jeremy Charles)
Warren King: King of Cardboard (Dir/Prod: Curtis Chin/Prod: Adam Wolman)
NOT ANOTHER FILM ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST!?!? (co-presented by The Misplaced Shtetl Museum)
DOC NYC and The Misplaced Shtetl Museum current the NY Premiere of Extinguished Lives, a hybrid documentary brief analyzing a little-known story of the Holocaust by bullets—the homicide of Lithuanian Jews by Nazis and their native collaborators within the forests surrounding lots of of shtetls. Based mostly on survivor testimony, the movie follows a younger lady who should select between staying along with her household or saving herself. Following the movie, a panel moderated by DOC NYC Govt Director Raphaela Neihausen will focus on the necessity (or not) for Holocaust movies in 2025. Panelists embrace Extinguished Lives director Roberta Grossman, The Misplaced Shtetl Museum Director of Training Dr. Jolanta Mickute, filmmaker Denis Dobrovna (The Penalties of Fact), and Exhibit Designer Büke Kumyol (RAA).
WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS YOU (co-presented by South Asian Home)
Within the wake of private loss, an sudden sisterhood unites an bold New York healthcare employee with a spirited lady from a nomadic tribe in India. Filmed over seven years, this documentary brief is a deeply private East-meets-West story of mutual therapeutic. The place the Mild Enters You reveals how the sufferings and joys of the human expertise blur borders and bounds, international locations and caste. This particular presentation will function a Q&A with administrators Matt Alesevich and Hemal Trivedi, moderated by DOC NYC Director of Particular Tasks Thom Powers.
