THE CORD

WORLD PREMIERE In the wake of Suez Canal closures, American-owned Gulf Oil pivots to Ireland, opening a massive new terminal on Whiddy Island. As geopolitical tensions ease, the financial benefits begin to wane, and a disastrous terminal explosion scars the community for years to come. Featuring first-person archival captured by locals, Whiddy is a meditation on the power of big business in small-town communities. - Brandon Harrison

Whiddy is one of 10 nominated films in DOC NYC’s inaugural Archival Storytelling Competition, developed in collaboration with Archival Producers Alliance and co-presented by Footage.Net, Fox Archives, and Global ImageWorks. To see the list of other nominated films, click here.

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Adrian McCarthy, co-director/editor Brenda Morrissey, and producer Maria Horgan.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE A new “gold rush” shifts Europe’s focus to the large lithium reserves of Bolivia. Using breathtaking cinematography, filmmaker Jens Schanze observes, over six years, the complex web of European colonialism’s extractive nature and the fight of Bolivia’s laborers toward autonomy and justice. Through multiple perspectives and sawing through layers of bureaucracy, Schanze seeks to answer one basic question: why does the West always need to perpetrate cycles of colonialism in order to build itself a better future? - Bedatri D. Choudhury

The first and seconding screenings will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer Jens Schanze.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

US PREMIERE A sister and a brother, two Iranians amid the vastness of the American landscape and the tumultuous history of their homeland. The visceral and cerebral Into the Jaws of the Ogre tackles all this and more, poetically and musically, while benefiting its protagonist: an Iranian punk singer and rebel. Tender yet sprawling, the film is a portrait of a country in upheaval and a paean of love from a sister to her brother. - Murtada Elfadl

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Mahsa Karampour and protagonist Siavash Karampour.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

US PREMIERE A chronicle of the life of an ordinary French farm boy from the age of 8 to 18, Gabin perceptively tackles the growing up process head-on, beautifully showcasing how someone becomes able to make decisions, face responsibilities, and find their purpose. Filmmaker Maxence Voiseux's patient lens is attuned to the joys and vexes of everyday existence as well as the larger questions of maturing and moving on. - Murtada Elfadl

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer Cécile Lestrade.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Three music creators find inspiration in the natural world and the enduring allure of folk songs in this lyrical exploration of the creative process. Filmed at sites of luminous beauty, Dryads immerses us in the spaces where music takes shape. Intimate conversations offer glimpses into the artists’ intentions, while music, silence, and natural sounds create a rich soundscape. This poetic yet accessible film invites us to experience musical creation uniquely and engagingly. - Karen McMullen

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Miguel Eek.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.