The complete lineup for DOC NYC 2016 has been revealed, and the gender composition of directors is refreshingly even. Women-directed or co-directed 48 of 110 feature films screening at the fest, or 44 percent, coming tantalizingly close to the 50 percent mark, and ranking well above most other major fests.
In 2015, 38 percent of DOC NYC’s feature lineup was women-helmed or co-helmed, and Hillary Clinton appeared at the fest.
While none of the Galas are directed by women, three of the Special Events are: Madeleine Gavin’s “City of Joy,” a portrait of female survivors of violence who band together to create a revolutionary community, Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern’s “Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing,” which explores the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, and Maro Chermayeff — and Jeff Dupre’s — “Soundbreaking: Stories From the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music,” an examination of the history of music, and the greatest musicians of all time.
The influential Short List program, considered a good predictor of which docs will score Oscar noms, features five films directed by women, including Ava DuVernay’s examination of the U.S. prison-industrial complex “13th,” and “Weiner,” an account of controversial NYC politician Anthony Weiner’s scandal-ridden mayoral campaign, co-directed by Elyse Steinberg.
Award-winning documentary director Dawn Porter will be honored at the fest. Her latest film, “Trapped,” also appears on the Short List. The doc explores how abortion providers — and their many patients — are affected by little-known abortion laws in the U.S. that make it difficult for clinics to stay open.
DOC NYC runs from November 10–17. Check out all of the women-directed and co-directed features in the fest’s program below, list courtesy of DOC NYC.
SPECIAL EVENTS
CITY OF JOY
Dir: Madeleine Gavin (World Premiere)
A chronicle of resilience as female survivors of violence create a revolutionary community in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
MARATHON: THE PATRIOTS DAY BOMBING
Dirs: Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern (NYC Premiere)
A powerful look back at the Boston Marathon bombing following the manhunt for the terrorists while survivors contend with the aftermath. Courtesy of HBO Documentary Films.
SOUNDBREAKING: STORIES FROM THE CUTTING EDGE OF RECORDED MUSIC
Dirs: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre (NYC Premiere)
Featuring hundreds of original interviews with some of the most celebrated musicians of all time, two episodes of this eight-part chronicle of the history of music recording will be shown. Courtesy of WNET/PBS.
VIEWFINDERS COMPETITION
THE BEEKEEPER AND HIS SON
Dir: Diedie Weng (North American Premiere)
In a rural village in northern China, a father/son clash echoes the pull of tradition and modernization.
FOREVER PURE
Dir: Maya Zinshtein (NYC Premiere)
Fans turn against an Israeli soccer team when the owner signs two Chechen Muslim players.
GIRL UNBOUND: THE WAR TO BE HER
Dir: Erin Heidenreich (US Premiere)
A young woman represents Pakistan on the national squash team, despite the Taliban’s threats.
THE NINE
Dir: Katy Grannan (NYC Premiere)
Celebrated photographer Katy Grannan reveals a stigmatized world of drifters and hustlers in this exquisite portrait of a ravaged community.
METROPOLIS COMPETITION
ALL THE RAGE (SAVED BY SARNO)
Dirs: Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley, David Beilinson (World Premiere)
A controversial approach to treating back pain prompts a radical rethink of how we approach health care.
BORDERLINE
Dir: Rebbie Ratner (NYC Premiere)
A portrait of a New Yorker living with Borderline Personality Disorder as she seeks self acceptance and recovery.
RIKERS
Prods: Marc Levin, Mark Benjamin, Rolake Bamgbose (World Premiere)
Former detainees of Rikers Island offer searing testimonials about violence and corruption that has plagued the notorious NYC jail for decades. From executive producer Bill Moyers.
WOMAN ON FIRE
Dir: Julie Sokolow (World Premiere)
This profile of courage under fire celebrates NYC’s first openly transgender firefighter.
AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES
95 AND 6 TO GO
Dir: Kimi Takesue (North American Premiere)
In this affectionate portrait, the filmmaker finds an unlikely creative collaborator in her 90-year-old grandfather.
AFTER FIRE
Dir: Brittany Huckabee (World Premiere)
Set in the military outpost of San Antonio, TX, After Fire highlights the challenges faced by women, the fastest growing group of American veterans.
BECOMING MORE VISIBLE
Dir: Pamela French (NYC Premiere)
A spotlight on four diverse young transgender New Yorkers as they contend with family and societal expectations to become their true selves.
BIG SONIA
Dirs: Leah Warshawski, Todd Soliday (NYC Premiere)
A Holocaust survivor with an outsized personality faces her biggest fear: retirement.
CARE
Dir: Deirdre Fishel (NYC Premiere)
Care follows three home caregivers, uncovering the failures of the US eldercare system.
THE PEARL
Dirs: Jessica Dimmock, Christopher LaMarca (NYC Premiere)
An intimate profile of four transgender women who come out for the first time in their later years.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES:
LETTERS FROM BAGHDAD
Dirs: Zeva Oelbaum, Sabine Krayenbühl (North American Premiere)
The story of Gertrude Bell, a fearless adventurer, spy and political powerhouse who helped shape the modern Middle East after World War I.
PLEASE REMEMBER ME
Dir: Qing Zhao (NYC Premiere)
Octogenarians Feng and Lou have been inseparable for over 40 years, but aging and illness threaten their deep bond.
VISITOR’S DAY
Dir: Nicole Opper (NYC Premiere)
Juan Carlos spent years on the streets of Mexico City before finding his way to a unique group home for runaway boys.
TRUE CRIME
BEWARE THE SLENDERMAN
Dir: Irene Taylor Brodsky (NYC Premiere)
A chronicle of the case of a pair of 12-year-old Wisconsin girls who attempted to murder their friend to appease an Internet bogeyman. Courtesy of HBO Documentary Films.
THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH
Dir: Trisha Ziff (NYC Premiere)
The compelling work of a crime-scene photographer speaks to our morbid fascination with death and accidents.
THE PROMISE
Dirs: Marcus Vetter, Karin Steinberger (NYC Premiere)
A brutal double homicide reveals dark family secrets, selfless love, broken promises and the limits of the American justice system.
UNSEEN
Dir: Laura Paglin (NYC Premiere)
The discovery of a serial killer operating in plain sight prompts questions about marginalized lives and criminal justice.
ART & DESIGN
DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE
Dirs: Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm (North American Premiere)
Granting viewers unparalleled, intimate access to the enigmatic auteur, this portrait is an indispensable look at an artist and his process. Courtesy of Janus Films.
KEN DEWEY: THIS IS A TEST
Dir: Sally Williams (World Premiere)
An unheralded yet pivotal figure in the art world of the 1960s and ’70s, Ken Dewey was a visionary artist and iconoclast.
WILD LIFE
FERAL LOVE
Dir: Markie Hancock (NYC Premiere)
When she’s not trudging through the snow to bring kibble to her cherished felines, Dorian plays viola with the New York Philharmonic.
MODERN FAMILY
FOLLOWING SEAS
Dirs: Tyler J. Kelley, Araby Williams (NYC Premiere)
Bob and Nancy Griffith made 20 ocean voyages over two decades, fulfilling a dream of freedom and adventure in their 53-foot sailboat.
THE GUYS NEXT DOOR
Dirs: Amy Geller, Allie Humenuk (NYC Premiere)
A married woman in her forties, with a husband and three children, is also the surrogate mother for her married gay friends’ children.
BEHIND THE SCENES
LE CONCOURS
Dir: Claire Simon (North American Premiere)
Go behind closed doors during the months-long admissions period at France’s most selective film school, La Fémis.
FINDING KUKAN
Dir: Robin Lung (North American Premiere)
A filmmaker begins investigating the production of a lost Oscar®-winning documentary and makes unanticipated discoveries.
VERSUS: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF KEN LOACH
Dir: Louise Osmond (North American Premiere)
During the making of Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winning I, Daniel Blake, filmmaker Louise Ormond (Dark Horse) captures his process.
JOCK DOCS
CHASING THE WIN
Dirs: Laura Sheehy, Chris Ghelfi (NYC Premiere)
When American thoroughbred Kinsale King comes out of nowhere to claim the Dubai World Cup, he and his trainer become instant celebrities.
CHEER UP
Dir: Christy Garland (US Premiere)
It’s not easy being the coach of the Ice Queens, Finland’s worst cheerleading team.
MR. CHIBBS
Dir: Jill Campbell (World Premiere)
Ten years after retirement from a career as a professional athlete, Kenny Anderson finds that basketball is easy, it’s life that’s hard.
SUPERGIRL
Dir: Jessie Auritt (NYC Premiere)
Naomi seems like a typical Orthodox Jewish preteen, but she happens to be the strongest girl in the world.
SWIM TEAM
Dir: Lara Stolman (NYC Premiere)
The Jersey Hammerheads is a competitive swim team made up of a diverse group of teens on the autism spectrum.
FIGHT THE POWER
AGENTS OF CHANGE
Dirs: Frank Dawson, Abby Ginzberg (NYC Premiere)
A revealing history of the battle for black and ethnic studies programs on college campuses.
SONIC CINEMA
THE BALLAD OF FRED HERSCH
Dirs: Carrie Lozano, Charlotte Lagarde (NYC Premiere)
Acclaimed pianist Fred Hersch transforms his darkest hours into an innovative multimedia jazz theatre experience.
L7: PRETEND WE’RE DEAD
Dir: Sarah Price (World Premiere)
Grab your backstage pass and take a visceral immersion into the 1990s with one of its seminal grunge punk bands, L7.
RAVING IRAN
Dir: Susanne Regina Meures (US Premiere)
An unexpected invitation offers a taste of freedom to Iranian underground DJs risking imprisonment for pursuing their passion.
THE WONDERFUL KINGDOM OF PAPA ALAEV
Dirs: Tal Barda, Noam Pinchas (US Premiere)
As the controlling patriarch of a family folk rock group ages, the future of the family business is in jeopardy.
DOCS REDUX
TO BE HEARD (2010)
Dirs: Roland Legiardi-Laura, Edwin Martinez, Deborah Shaffer, Amy Sultan
Free screening co-presented with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. This celebration of great teachers, poetry and self empowerment won DOC NYC’s inaugural Metropolis Jury Prize and Audience Award in 2010.
SHORT LIST
13TH
Dir: Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay (Selma) explores the troubling links between race and incarceration in America. Courtesy of Netflix.
CAMERAPERSON
Dir: Kirsten Johnson
Acclaimed cinematographer Kirsten Johnson constructs a globetrotting memoir that serves as a testimony to the power of image-making. Courtesy of Janus Films.
MISS SHARON JONES!
Dir: Barbara Kopple
Two-time Oscar®-winner Barbara Kopple follows Sharon Jones — “the female James Brown” — as she faces adversity. Courtesy of Starz.
TRAPPED
Dir: Dawn Porter
Dawn Porter, this year’s Robert and Anne Drew Award-winner, tells the story of two Southern reproductive-health clinics struggling to stay open against a wave of restrictive legislation. Courtesy of PBS-Independent Lens and Abramorama.
WEINER
Dirs: Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg
With remarkable inside access, Weiner captures the impact of Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal on his mayoral campaign. Courtesy of IFC Films and Showtime.
