Risking execution to create work while imprisoned during China’s Cultural Revolution, Mu Xin demonstrates that great art is born of great struggle. This film is followed by CLAUDE LANZMANN: SPECTRES OF THE SHOAH Doors open at 7:30, event start time is now 8:00. Prior to the film screening, DOC NYC will present the awards for the […]
NYC PREMIERE With no formal education in photography, Kyle Thompson began taking photographs at the age of nineteen after finding interest in nearby abandoned houses. Now, at twenty-two, he is known worldwide for his surreal portraiture. Most recently his work has appeared in galleries in Paris, France. This is his story. This is playing as […]
NORTH AMERICAN Shortly after World War II, over 1,000 paintings were found in a cellar in southern France. The paintings were created by a young Jewish woman named Charlotte Salomon. She painted her turbulent life story in a unique creation called: ‘Life? Or Theater? – A tri color Operetta.’ This is playing as part of […]
When Vivian Maier died in 2009 at age 83, she left behind more than 100,000 negatives of her street photography—images that she’d scarcely shared with anyone. Acquiring a box of her photos at a storage auction, John Maloof became obsessed and set out to tell her story, teaming with collaborator Charlie Siskel. As New York […]
WORLD PREMIERE New Jersey’s WFMU has occupied a unique position as an independent, commercial-free, listener-supported radio station since its inception in the late 1950s. At its heart is the dedicated station manager Ken Freedman, committed to an unstructured, free- form broadcasting model which has won WFMU acclaim as the best—and perhaps weirdest— radio station in […]
WORLD PREMIERE A provocative exploration of the contentious issue of gun control, Jessica Solce’s film profiles two men at opposite ends of the debate: The outspoken Cody Wilson, a radical libertarian anarchist who made headlines by designing “the Liberator,” the first open-source 3D-printable gun; and artist Greg Bokor, who develops an interactive installation consisting of […]
WORLD PREMIERE After Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden meet octogenarian Peter Anton, they become fascinated by a series of elaborate autobiographical collage diaries that the eccentric outsider artist has created, stretching back decades. Becoming enmeshed in his life—as they later learn, like so many before them—the filmmakers help him mount a gallery exhibition for the […]
NYC PREMIERE Last October, when infamous street artist Banksy revealed his New York City residency, he set off a daily scavenger hunt among curious fans, would-be art collectors and, of course, the police. With camera phones at the ready, everyone wanted a piece of his ephemeral works before they were destroyed—or removed for profit. Chris […]
Unexpected environments. A Beautiful Waste (USA, 6 min., Jon Kasbe) explores NYC’s vibrant sewer system, while men reflect on their time living in the tunnels under Lost Vegas (USA, 24 min., Steve Birnbaum). White Blaze (USA, 22 min., Brian Bolster) profiles a trail angel who helps Appalachian Trail hikers. An artist becomes walking artwork to […]
This program demonstrates the bonds of family, even under the most trying circumstances. In Beyond Broken, Vasso, dependent on her family after a brutal attack, turns to art to find the will to go on (USA, 38 min., Andrew Morreale). A grandson realizes his late grandfather’s secret dream of becoming a filmmaker in quicksand (USA, 8 min., Lance […]