Director Dawn Porter made the 2013 Short List with her film Gideon’s Army. This year, she’s back at DOC NYC to receive the Robert and Anne Drew Award at the Visionaries Tribute. Her latest film Trapped focuses on two Southern reproductive-health clinics struggling to stay open against a wave of anti-choice legislation. One is Whole Woman’s […]
Director Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Encounters at the End of the World) teams with volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer to travel the world for a meditation volcanoes and their meaning. They make stops in Indonesia, Iceland and even North Korea capturing landscapes that are as stunning as they are forbidding. Looking into a volcano, Herzog observes “a […]
Elephants are among the world’s most magnificent creatures. But the lucrative ivory trade could cause the species to go extinct in our lifetime. The Ivory Game chronicles the battle to save elephants. As suspenseful as any thriller, it follows investigators who risk their own lives, battling armed poachers in the African bush and going undercover […]
James Baldwin left behind notes for an unfinished book about three martyrs of civil rights: Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. Now filmmaker Raoul Peck (Lumumba) draws upon Baldwin’s unseen text and his other writings to craft this stunning film essay that connects their crusades to today. The poetry and precision of […]
Kirsten Johnson has an esteemed career as a documentary cinematographer working with acclaimed directors such as Laura Poitras, Michael Moore and Kirby Dick. Now she draws upon 20 years of footage to construct this globetrotting visual memoir. Her travels take her to Bosnia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Darfur, Liberia and numerous points across the U.S. Cameraperson […]
More than 20 years after the media spectacle of the “trial of the century,” O.J. Simpson continues to fascinate the public. In this expansive, ambitious and provocative project, Ezra Edelman revisits not only the murder of Simpson’s ex-wife and its infamous aftermath, but the story of O.J.’s entire life, before and after. Encompassing America’s complicated […]
Robert Mapplethorpe emerged from the vibrant 1970s New York art scene where he bonded with Patti Smith and partnered with art collector Sam Wagstaff. Mapplethorpe’s photography spanned explicit gay sadomasochistic sex, but also stunning pictures of flowers. In 1989, the year he died of AIDS, he was denounced in Congress by Senator Jesse Helms. Filmmakers […]
Sharon Jones has been called “the female James Brown” for the energy she brings to stage backed by The Dap-Kings. We follow her on an emotional journey as she fights cancer and struggles to mount a comeback show at the Beacon Theater. The story finds its perfect match in director Barbara Kopple, another soulful talent […]
The 2007 murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy is a case study in the vagaries of crime and punishment. Seattle native Amanda Knox was convicted for the crime and spent four years in prison before being exonerated. This gripping, atmospheric film revisits the story with unprecedented access to its key players […]
Two years after American photojournalist James Foley went missing in Syria, the graphic video of his public execution served as the shocking introduction of ISIS to the world. Unwilling to allow his childhood friend to be remembered only by his death, Brian Oakes celebrates Foley’s life through intimate, revealing interviews with family members and friends. […]