Twenty years after it first charmed its way into audiences’ hearts, DOC NYC presents a retrospective screening of Marilyn Agrelo and Amy Sewell’s classic about NYC public school fifth-graders competing in the extracurricular world of ballroom dancing. The filmmakers followed students from a school in each of Bensonhurst, Tribeca, and Washington Heights as they learned about ambition, discipline, respect, and perspective—all to the beats of merengue, rumba, tango, and other rhythms. The film exists as a snapshot of a tolerant and respectful time, with expressions of such values seemingly in much shorter supply today. Some of the students featured in the film, now in their 30s, are expected to attend alongside some of their former teachers. – Jaie Laplante
The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer Marilyn Agrelo, producer/writer Amy Sewell, editor Sabine Krayenbuehl, and film protagonists Yomaira Reynoso (teacher from Washington Heights) and Alejandro Mejia (star student from Washington Heights).
The second screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer Marilyn Agrelo, producer/writer Amy Sewell, and film protagonists Rodney Lopez (dance teacher), Yomaira Reynoso (teacher from Washington Heights), and Victoria Malvagno (teacher from Brooklyn).
All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.
Event details
Saturday, November 15, 2025 4:15 PM
Village East by Angelika
Thursday, November 20, 2025 1:15 PM
IFC Center
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Photographer Kwame Brathwaite, who used his art as activism, captured the joy of Black American life, documenting jazz musicians, celebrities, everyday Harlem scenes, and more—while popularizing the phrase "Black is Beautiful,” amplifying the movement that redefined Black pride. Through interviews with his family and celebrities like Jesse Williams, Gabrielle Union, and Alicia Keys, the film honors this unsung, prolific artist’s profound contribution to photography and culture. - Karen McMullen
The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Yemi Bamiro, producer Joanna Boateng, and film participants Kwame Brathwaite and Robynn Brathwaite.
All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.
WORLD PREMIERE NYC experimental documentary filmmaker Benita Raphan died by suicide during the loneliness of the COVID-19 shutdowns. DOC NYC 2024 Lifetime Achievement filmmaker Alan Berliner, who was her friend and creative advisor, creates a kind of posthumous collaboration with Benita on her final project, using as many of her images, sounds, and words as possible. BENITA is a deep dive into the many complexities of artists’ lives, from the whimsical to core existential questions, and lessons we can learn about the intersection of mental health and creativity. - Jaie Laplante
The first and second screenings will be followed by a Q&A with producer/director/writer/editor Alan Berliner.
All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.
WORLD PREMIERE A provocative examination of celebrity haters, public vitriol, and the toxic price of fame. DOC NYC alumna Rory Kennedy depicts how the tragic accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in 2021 hatched a distressing cottage industry of career-furthering paparazzi and prosecutors maneuvering for payoffs and power. Talented and adored, yet also flawed and prone to explosions of anger, NYC-based Hollywood star Alec Baldwin becomes a lightning rod of envy and online hate as he fights to protect himself and his family from our culture’s revolting empathy gaps. Rory Kennedy’s sober assessment never lets you forget the Hutchins family’s tragedy while walking us through a riveting final act detailing the shocking revelations of Baldwin’s trial in New Mexico. - Jaie Laplante
The first and second screenings will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer Rory Kennedy, writers/producers Mark Bailey and Julia Marchesi, and editor/co-producer Jawad Metni.
All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.
WORLD PREMIERE We Met at Grossinger’s is a dazzling excavation of cultural memory and mythology. Throughout decades of prejudice stifling the integration of Jewish immigrants in America, the Borscht Belt in the Catskills provided an oasis of belonging, and Grossinger’s Resort and Hotel was the crown jewel. The real-life inspiration for the setting of the 1987 classic film Dirty Dancing, Grossinger’s provided both a physical and mental getaway where Jews—and others from marginalized communities—needing a break from NYC could relax. The resort’s growing reputation attracted a wide variety of comedians, athletes, and political figures, including Jackie Robinson and Eleanor Roosevelt. DOC NYC alumna Paula Eiselt resurrects this vanished world with an immersive warmth, providing a timely reminder of the historic richness of Jewish culture and its immeasurable contributions to American life. - Jaie Laplante
The first and second screenings will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer Paula Eiselt and producer Robert Friedman.
All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.