WORLD PREMIERE Roberta Flack’s place in music history was assured when she became the first artist to win back-to-back Grammy Awards for Record of the Year with “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (1973) and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (1974). The depth and complexity of her lyrical and thematic choices, as […]
NYC PREMIERE Blues and soul singer Lee Fields’ career spans 50 years, from his early days playing Harlem clubs to stints with Kool & the Gang and Sharon Jones, to inspiring today’s rappers Travis Scott and A$ap Rocky. Despite comparisons to James Brown, Lee is his own man: loving husband, dynamic performer, and oh, that […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Three children from the impoverished Venezuelan district of Las Brisas channel their pain and joy into music as part of a unique, government-sponsored orchestral music program, El Sistema. For ten years, as her native Venezuela gradually collapsed in the background, director Marianela Maldonado followed the students, developing an intimacy that gives their […]
NYC PREMIERE Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) crafts a portrait of the legendary composer Ennio Morricone. With a treasure trove of footage and interviews with directors, screenwriters, musicians, songwriters, critics and collaborators including Hans Zimmer, Bernardo Bertolucci, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, and Bruce Springsteen, the film is an extraordinary tribute to the man and his legacy. […]
WORLD PREMIERE In Santiago de Cuba, rival conga bands scour the sparse marketplace for materials to create show-stopping numbers for the annual Carnival competition. O’Reilly’s film follows young, innovative Lázaro, who is determined to beat “the Shark,” his older and more establishment-favored competitor. Tensions build and tempers flare as the government restrictions and scarcity of […]
NYC PREMIERE The challenges of getting accepted to top colleges for today’s American high schoolers are captured by two Sacramento teachers in a new original musical theater production that speaks to the present moment like nothing else. As schools from Silicon Valley to West Virginia to The Bronx’s Fordham High School for the Arts mount […]
WORLD PREMIERE Patriarch of the famed “First Family of Jazz,” Ellis Marsalis was a master jazz pianist, composer and educator. This intimate documentary delves into the life and career of this music icon, interlaced with rare footage of key moments in US history, and footage of his final live performances. Anecdotes from sons Wynton, Branford, […]
WORLD PREMIERE In the 1990s, cheap rent and big houses in Athens, GA helped incubate bands Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Elf Power, and many more. This psychedelic rock music, often created by non-musicians and recorded on creaky 4-tracks, developed a loyal following who shared cassette tapes and 45s and packed into raucous live […]
NYC PREMIERE A Grammy award-winning music producer talks about his life and history in this animated short. – Dewitt Davis All in-person screening venues provide hearing impaired listening devices upon request with venue management. All guests & staff will be required to comply with our Health & Safety protocols while attending DOC NYC events. For […]
NYC PREMIERE An Ibach piano receives a makeover after surviving an international move and playing for four generations of pianists. – Samah Ali This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Rachel Weinberg. This film contains the following accessibility options for viewers:Closed Captioning for in-person screenings at IFC Center and Cinepolis ChelseaClosed Captioning […]