2018 VIEWFINDERS COMPETITION WINNER NYC PREMIERE This beautiful observational portrait of childhood is set in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on the border between Nepal and India, the birthplace of the Buddha. Director Yuqi Kang reveals the emotional dynamics of five-year-old Hopakuli and his older brother Chorten as these young novice monks attempt to balance […]
In this Special Jury Award winner from Sundance, Bing Liu films his friends Zack and Keire over a decade, capturing their skateboarding antics against the backdrop of their faded, blue-collar Illinois hometown. For all three, the community formed via skateboarding has offered refuge from volatile home lives. As they face the increasing responsibilities and complexity […]
NYC PREMIERE Winner of the Grand Jury Award at the SXSW Film Festival, People’s Republic of Desire explores the phenomenon of China’s live-streaming showrooms, where ordinary people can find legions of fans and financial rewards. Hao Wu profiles two unlikely stars of this online world—a karaoke singer and a rags-to-riches comedian—as they seek fame, fortune […]
Sundance Directing Award winner Sandi Tan weaves a tale of youthful talent, guerilla filmmaking and a decades-long mystery solved. Tan was obsessed with indie film as a teenager growing up in Singapore. Under the tutelage of a mysterious older mentor, Georges, she filmed her original script, Shirkers, during a summer break, only to have Georges […]
This program presents two films appearing in our Short List: Shorts section recognizing some of the top documentary shorts films of the year. THE GIRL AND THE PICTURE DIR: Vanessa Roth 80 years ago, Xia Shuqin witnessed the murder of her family during the Nanjing Massacre. The Girl and the Picture uncovers how an American […]
WORLD PREMIERE Based on Amanda Ripley’s bestselling book, The Smartest Kids in the World follows four American teenagers who go abroad to study in the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, and South Korea – nations that dramatically outperform the US in education. Filmmaker Tracy Droz Tragos was previously on the DOC NYC Short List with her film […]
WORLD PREMIERE Takumi is a Japanese word for artisan, but this term is not thrown around casually. It takes true artisans tens of thousands of hours to master their craft, a staggering investment of time that speaks of a commitment to a way of life. In an age of increasing automation, Clay Jeter’s beautifully lensed […]
Life, animated. Santa Is a Psychedelic Mushroom (USA, 6 min., Matthew Salton) embraces the shamanistic side of Christmas. Music & Clowns (UK, 7 min., Alex Widdowson) are Jamie’s greatest passions. Hiroshima survivor Akiko Takakura receives the spirits of her parents and is haunted by memories during Obon (Germany, 15 min., Andre Hoermann, Anna Samo). A […]
History is made, for better or worse. The Happiness Machine (USA, 24 min., Rebecca B. Blumhagen) profiles philosopher, inventor and farmer, Carl, who grew up a sharecropper on 22 acres in rural Iowa which he now hopes to pass on to his children as a gift of place. Using entirely archival footage, In the Absence […]
The New School’s Documentary Media Studies program provides an opportunity to study documentary filmmaking in a small, tightly focused program. The program culminates in a student documentary festival, Truth Be Told, at the end of each school year, at which certificate students’ films are publicly screened and discussed by the filmmakers and faculty. Certificate holders […]