Short-form documentaries have been booming in recent years thanks to major players such as Netflix, TIME Studios, Field of Vision, POV, MTV, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. DOC NYC’s Short List for Shorts, organized by Shorts Programmer Samah Ali, highlights 12 doc shorts that impress us as the year’s leading awards contenders. […]
This block explores grief and how we grapple with loss. (Total Running Time: 91 MIN) 3:07 | Director: Megan Miller A personal expression of transformation, as a mother turns her grief and silence around a stillbirth into an expression of remembrance. – Elyse Wang (UK, 12 MIN) The Final Touch | Director: Claire Maske A […]
Students in the one-year Documentary Specialization program at Columbia learn to write, film, and narrate the stories of our time, from deadline reporting to profile writing and audio stories. The films completed during the 2020 academic year faced unparalleled obstacles, as students were forbidden from shooting in person, and had to edit remotely. Nevertheless, two […]
US PREMIERE In the early 1970s, the world-class waves of Ireland were uncharted waters for the international surfing community. Amidst the ongoing conflict of the Troubles, pioneers in both Dublin and Belfast transcended political hostilities to host the 1972 Eurosurf championship. This look into the unsung history of the Emerald Isle’s now world-renowned surf scene […]
Presented in three programs, DOC NYC’s Short List for Shorts highlights 12 documentary shorts that impress us as the year’s leading awards contenders. Do Not Split | Director: Anders Hammer 2020 SHORT LIST SHORTS: SPECIAL JURY RECOGONITION In the fall of 2019, a proposed bill allowing the Chinese government to extradite criminal suspects to mainland China escalates […]
WORLD PREMIERE | Iconoclastic historian Andrew Bacevich delivers an anti-colonial critique of US foreign policy in the Middle East, informed by his long career in the Army. While other historians analyze changing presidential administrations, Bacevich sees one long Oil War. There are scant differences between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to the sacrifice of soldiers’ lives. […]
Lord Timothy Bell, founder of the infamous public relations firm Bell Pottinger, rose to prominence from the advertising world to handle PR for political clients ranging from the controversial to the openly amoral. After decades of using weaponized media to influence elections—and subvert democracy—in the United Kingdom, Pinochet’s Chile, and beyond, a new client contributes […]
Runner Up: Audience Award DOC NYC 2020 An intimate, inspiring, and timely portrait of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a true pioneer of American civil rights who was the lone voice in opposition to the authorization of military force after the September 11th attacks. A unique selection of political commentators, activists, politicians, and family members add depth […]
Runner Up: Audience Award DOC NYC 2020 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE | In 1970, off the coast of Cape Cod, Lithuanian sailor Simas Kudirka jumped from his Soviet ship onto a US Coast Guard vessel seeking asylum. Denied refuge by the American crew, Simas was sentenced to a Soviet labor camp for treason, sparking an international cause […]
US PREMIERE | Ukraine has been at war with Russia since 2014. In response, its ultranationalists have organized paramilitary summer camps to prepare children to one day take up arms to defend their homeland. This film follows two campers over a session as uber-patriotic teen Jasmin revels in the military-style maneuvers and gun training, while younger […]