DOC NYC has announced the lineup for its eleventh edition. “Fifty-seven features (53% of the lineup) are directed or co-directed by women and 36 by BIPOC directors (34% of the feature program),” a press release revealed. Slated to take place November 11 to 19, this year’s event will be digital due to COVID-19.
The fest includes two feature competition lineups: Metropolis and Viewfinders. The former is dedicated to stories set in New York City and the latter boasts “distinct directorial visions.” Five of the 10 titles in the Metropolis section are helmed or co-helmed by women, as are six of the 11 titles screening in the Viewfinders program. That means that, overall, women directed or co-directed films account for 52 percent of features in competition: in 2019 they accounted for 29 percent of features in competition.
This year’s Metropolis Competition program includes Raquel Cepeda’s “La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla,” a portrait of the former first lady of South Bronx’s biggest street gang, and Mia Donovan’s “Dope is Death,” which connects the history of acupuncture in the U.S. to the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords.
Loira Limbal’s “Through the Night” and Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler” are among the films in the Viewfinders Competition. The former offers a look inside a 24-hour childcare center, and the latter is an exploration of Hitler’s influence that “provides insight into the resurgence of white supremacy, antisemitism, and the weaponization of history.”
“In addition to film screenings, DOC NYC’s 2020 edition includes the five-day pre-festival ‘Road Trip,’ October 26-30, a virtual tour on Facebook Live stopping in 10 filmmaking hubs across the United States to showcase local documentary makers and organizations, along with festival films from the area,” the release details. “During the festival itself, conversations with festival filmmakers will take place in daily ‘DOC NYC Live’ events, and festival screenings will also include pre-recorded filmmaker Q&As after the films.” Scheduling and guest details for “Road Trip” and “DOC NYC Live” will be announced at a later date.
Check out all of the women-directed and co-directed features in competition below, and head over to DOC NYC’s website to check out the complete lineup.
VIEWFINDERS COMPETITION
DISTINCT DIRECTORIAL VISIONS
ENEMIES OF THE STATE
Dir/Prod: Sonia Kennebeck
Prod: Ines Hofmann Kanna
Everything is not as it seems for an American family that flees to Canada to protect their hacker son from US government persecution.
JACINTA
Dir/Prod: Jessica Earnshaw
Prod: Holly Meehl, Nimisha Mukerji
After being released from the same prison in which her mother is incarcerated, a woman struggles to break the generational cycle of addiction and trauma.
LANDFALL
Dir/Prod: Cecilia Aldarondo
Prod: Ines Hofmann Kanna
An intimate and lyrical portrait of trauma, resilience, and resistance in Puerto Rico as the island faces new challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane María.
THE MEANING OF HITLER (World Premiere)
Dir/Prod: Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker
Prod: Mike Lerner, Dana O’Keefe
This provocative consideration of the lasting influence and draw of Hitler provides insight into the resurgence of white supremacy, antisemitism, and the weaponization of history.
STATELESS
Dir: Michèle Stephenson
Prod: Lea Marin, Jennifer Holness
After the Dominican Republic strips the citizenship of residents of Haitian descent, attorney Rosa Iris fights to protect the rights of these now stateless people.
THROUGH THE NIGHT
Dir/Prod: Loira Limbal
Prod: Jameka Autry
A 24-hour childcare center proves indispensable for night-shift workers and single parents in this exploration of the personal cost of our modern economy.
METROPOLIS COMPETITION
NEW YORK STORIES
CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T. JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS (World Premiere)
Dir/Prod: Rosalynde LeBlanc, Co-Dir: Tom Hurwitz
Prod: Duana C. Butler
An engrossing examination of dance, love, and loss through the story of Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane’s signature performance piece on the devastation of AIDS. Co-presented by The WNET Group.
A COPS AND ROBBERS STORY (World Premiere)
Dir: Ilinca Calugareanu
Prod: Mara Adina
A decorated NYPD officer’s career is threatened when his political stances lead to revelations about his former life of crime.
DOPE IS DEATH
Dir: Mia Donovan
Prod: Bob Moore
With drugs ravaging New York City in the 1970s, the Young Lords and Black Panthers banded together to champion an alternative detoxification program: acupuncture.
LA MADRINA: THE SAVAGE LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA (World Premiere)
Dir/Prod: Raquel Cepeda
The “first lady” of the Savage Skulls reflects on the pivotal role of women in the 1970s New York City gang and her later shift to community activism.
MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST (World Premiere)
Dir/Prod: Cheryl Dunn
Prod: Michael Karbelinikoff, Suroosh Alvi, Danny Gabai
In post 9/11 New York City, Dash Snow rejected a life of privilege to make his own way as an artist for a too brief but unforgettable time.
