My overview of DOC NYC 2015 continues with Special Events, which offers signature selections with special guests.
Special Events
AN ART THAT NATURE MAKES: THE WORK OF ROSAMOND PURCELL
Director: Molly Bernstein
WORLD PREMIERE
Photographer Rosamond Purcell finds unexpected beauty in the overlooked, discarded and decayed.
Expected to attend: Director Molly Bernstein, Subject Rosamond Purcell
HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT
Director: Kent Jones
Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and others discuss the influence of Truffaut book about Hitchcock, based on a series of extensive conversations about the Master of Suspense’s body of work.
Expected to attend: Director Kent Jones, Subject Martin Scorsese
KEYNOTE: A CONVERSATION WITH JON ALPERT & SHEILA NEVINS
Filmmaker Jon Alpert and HBO Documentary Films head Sheila Nevins give a keynote conversation in conjunction with the world premiere of Alpert’s short film MARIELA CASTRO’S MARCH: CUBA’S LGBT REVOLUTION profiling the Cuban Congresswoman who is a tireless champion of LGBT rights in Cuba.
MAKING A MURDERER
Directors: Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos
WORLD PREMIERE
A sneak peek at the first two episodes of a riveting new ten-part true crime docu-series from Netflix.
Expected to attend: Directors Laura Ricciardi & Moira Demos
THE TIES THAT BIND
Director: Thom Zimny
WORLD PREMIERE
Director Thom Zimny (THE PROMISE: THE MAKING OF DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN) looks at the making of Bruce Springsteen’s pivotal 1980 album THE RIVER.
Expected to attend: Director Thom Zimny
TROUBLEMAKERS: THE STORY OF LAND ART
Director: James Crump
A group of NYC-based artists abandon gallery spaces to embrace the expanse of the American Southwest.
Expected to attend: Director James Crump, MOCA Director Philippe Vergne
VISIONARIES TRIBUTE
DOC NYC’s second annual celebration of documentary creators and influencers. This year’s event honors Barbara Kopple, Frederick Wiseman, and Jon Alpert with Lifetime Achievement Awards; Kim Longinotto with the Robert and Anne Drew Award; and Tom Quinn with the Leading Light Award.
Why You Should Attend:
This year’s Special Events include several films focusing on art and performance, as well as DOC NYC’s first foray into episodic programming, with notable special guests.
Rosamond Purcell is a critically-acclaimed photographer who has produced books in collaboration with Stephen Jay Gould and Ricky Jay, often focusing on natural history. Her work has been exhibited at major museums around the world, and is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The National Academy of Science, and The Victoria and Albert in London.
Kent Jones is the Director of Programming of the New York Film Festival at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Together with special guest Martin Scorsese, he won a Peabody Award for their previous collaboration, 2010’s A LETTER TO ELIA.
Jon Alpert, one of this year’s Visionaries Tribute Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, co-founded Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV) in 1972. As a filmmaker, he is a two-time Oscar nominee in the Best Documentary, Short Subjects category; and a multiple Emmy Award-winner for BAGHDAD ER. DOC NYC will also screen his acclaimed HBO documentary HIGH ON CRACK STREET: LOST LIVES IN LOWELL as part of this year’s Docs Redux section.
Sheila Nevins is the powerhouse behind HBO Documentary Films, which, under her tenure, has won scores of Oscar, Emmy, and Peabody Awards. Beyond MARIELA CASTRO’S MARCH, HBO is represented in this year’s DOC NYC by several other titles, including CLAUDE LANZMANN: SPECTRES OF THE SHOAH, BOLSHOI BABYLON, and CLASS DIVIDE.
I won’t say more about Netflix’s MAKING A MURDERER, except that I personally found it absolutely engrossing, like the best of recent true-crime documentary storytelling. DOC NYC audiences who snag tickets to this preview are going to be happy they get an advance look.
At the end of last week, we announced our surprise screening this year is Thom Zimny’s latest Bruce Springsteen documentary. While the Boss isn’t able to be in attendance, we’re excited to welcome Zimny, an Emmy Award-winner for 2001’s BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND: LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY and a Grammy Award-winner for 2007’s WINGS FOR WHEELS: THE MAKING OF BORN TO RUN.
James Crump, whose directorial debut, BLACK WHITE + GRAY: A PORTRAIT OF SAM WAGSTAFF AND ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, was also focused on art, will be joined at DOC NYC by noted curator Philippe Vergne, the Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, formerly of the Dia Art Foundation in New York City and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
Last year’s Visionaries Tribute assembled a remarkable group of nonfiction creators. This year’s event promises the same and is not to be missed.
More Info:
To purchase tickets, click on the individual titles above, and follow links for ticketing, where available. Or consider purchasing one of DOC NYC’s Pass options for access to a variety of programming.
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