GIVE ME THE BALL!

Amy Goodman “believes that journalism put to its highest use can be the greatest force for good that the world has ever seen,” according to a former colleague in Steal This Story, Please! It’s the reason her show, Democracy Now! is revered for integrity and dauntlessness. DOC NYC alumni Tia Lessin and Carl Deal chase after Goodman as she pursues stories that Western corporate media increasingly finds inconvenient to cover. Along the way, they reveal her personal side, confirming profound empathy behind the iconic persona. Winner, Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Competition, Cleveland International Film Festival.

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal and protagonist Amy Goodman.

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.

NYC PREMIERE Celebrated Iranian actor Pegah Ahangarani weaves together home movies and news broadcasts to construct a vivid portrait of Iran’s modern history in the four decades since the revolution. Now living in exile, Ahangarani clings to hope for the “people who didn’t give up, who rehearsed for the revolution.” This essayistic documentary skillfully fuses the political with the personal. Winner, L'Œil d'or Documentary Award, Cannes Film Festival.



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.

The epicenter of today's human-polar bear clashes in North America grew from the settlement of Churchill, Manitoba, founded in 1931 along polar bear migration routes. North of Churchill, Inuit elder Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons describes a sacred bond of respect between human and bear, and the indignities white men have imposed upon Inuit beliefs and customs. As we witness the grotesque humiliations that these majestic creatures are subjected to by human beings inconvenienced by the bears’ natural instincts, nuisance acquires a new meaning. Winner, U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, Sundance Film Festival.



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.

In 2023, a 16-year-old boy known as Chris was seen on CCTV footage walking on Warsaw’s Gdanski Bridge above the Vistula River. He was never seen again. His father, Daniel, becomes obsessed with trying to understand what happened: Could Chris still be alive, or has the river swept his body far away? Director Michal Marczak (All These Sleepless Nights) creates a haunting portrait of what it means to seek closure and a testament to parental love. Winner, Golden Alexander International Competition Award, Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Michal Marczak and producers Monika Braid and Remi Grellety.

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.

Striking cinematography marks this observant vérité film about men in eastern Maine and their vocation of harvesting wild lobsters (and some big game). For four of these individuals, the traditions of their elders inform their sense of the future, and their outward appearances belie more complex and emotional inner lives. Winner, Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary Film, Zurich Film Festival.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Peter Mueller, producers Noel Paul and Nathan Golon, and protagonists David Cale and Jake Patryn.

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.

In Tehran, a mother of three kills her husband when she can no longer withstand his beatings, and after 14 years in prison, must now either pay her abuser’s family a blood money sum that she cannot afford, or face execution. Caught in the middle are her children, whose paternal grandmother and cousin are bitterly opposed to forgiveness. This tense examination of Iran’s legal system and a shattered family unfolds like a Shakespearean tragedy: Will there ever be an end to the cycle? Winner, Impact Grand Prize, Fipadoc International Documentary Film Festival.

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Tanaz Eshaghian.

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.

Despite political resistance and industry skepticism, Luis Valdez pushes Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, creating iconic works that challenge, celebrate, and expand America’s story. Winner, Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and Festival Favorite Award, 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with writer/director/producer David Alvarado, producers Lauren DeFilippo and Everett Katigbak, and protagonists Luis Valdez and Lou Diamond Phillips.

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.