Documentary filmmakers have increasingly become a source of breaking news (e.g. Laura Poitras on Edward Snowden; The Invisible War on sex abuse in the military). What does that mean for the news business—and for filmmakers who don’t always think of themselves as journalists? Impact Partners co-founder Dan Cogan leads a conversation with filmmakers Andrew Jarecki (Capturing […]
NYC PREMIERE Based on a magazine essay written by best-selling novelist Jonathan Franzen for The New Yorker, Emptying the Skies chronicles the rampant poaching of migratory songbirds in southern Europe. Songbird populations have been drastically declining in Europe for decades, and a number of species face extinction imminently. The film follows an intrepid squad of […]
Errol Morris has no shortage of ideas, opinions and obsessions. They find expression in his films, books, New York Times blog posts and on Twitter. Returning to DOC NYC with his new film The Unknown Known (after screening Tabloid in the festival’s first year), Morris sits for an extended conversation that could go anywhere. Moderated by […]
US PREMIERE A mysterious nanny, who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that were hidden in storage lockers and discovered decades later, is now considered among the 20th century’s greatest photographers. Maier’s strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never before seen photographs, films, and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her. An […]
WORLD PREMIERE The world of Leonardo da Vinci is brought to life by acclaimed BAFTA winning actor Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, In the Loop) in a unique 3D documentary hybrid based on the artist’s private journals. The film re-creates the mindscape and ideas of mankind’s greatest polymath. Capaldi narrates passages from the journals, capturing the […]
WORLD PREMIERE Director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) applies his playful imagination to animating a series of conversations with the esteemed linguist, philosopher, political commentator and activist Noam Chomsky. At the heart of these talks is Chomsky’s theory of the emergence of language. In this intellectual feast, Gondry uses drawings to make […]
NYC PREMIERE Before his untimely death last year, composer Marvin Hamlisch was a triple-threat in the worlds of music, film and theatre. A Juilliard prodigy, he developed into a hit-maker, creating instant classics like “The Way We Were” and the score for “A Chorus Line,” winning every major award—Pulitzer, Tony, Grammy, Emmy and Oscar. His […]
The day before the festival officially begins, meet the filmmakers behind some of this year’s most impressive documentaries, chosen for the DOC NYC Short List. Often docs are discussed for their subject matter. This panel will focus on the artistry of doc-making, moderated by programmer Thom Powers, with the makers of 20 Feet From Stardom, […]
The never-broadcast prologue to Oliver Stone’s epic, ten-hour Showtime series The Untold History of the United States (“I cannot recommend it highly enough,” enthused The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald) deepens the provocative filmmaker’s exploration of how the United States became an empire. Focusing on events in the lead-up to World War II, this two-hour segment applies […]
NYC PREMIERE Chuck Workman is best known for creating unforgettable Oscar montage sequences, including the “In Memoriam” segments. In What is Cinema? he demonstrates his command of cinematic language, creating a visual essay out of clips from films that pushed the boundaries of the art form. He weaves in new interviews with eclectic filmmakers from […]