Category Archives: Overviews

The 27th edition of the world’s premier nonfiction event, IDFA, begins this Wednesday, November 19, and presents approximately 175 new feature documentaries, plus dozens of retrospective screenings, shorts, transmedia, and more, before it wraps up on Sunday, November 30. I’ve greatly enjoyed traveling to Amsterdam for this event in the past, but will unfortunately be missing it again this year. The fest’s programming traditionally travels widely over the next year, so doc lovers should be sure to keep an eye out for the highlights noted below. Given IDFA’s size, I’ve split them up into two posts – competitions today, followed by the non-competitive sections tomorrow: Continue reading →

Five additional shorts are part of DOC NYC, screening before feature presentations: Continue reading →

DOC NYC‘s sixth of six shorts programs turns the focus on young boys: Continue reading →

Doc-A-Thon, DOC NYC‘s panel series, wraps up with a series of panels on the critical topic of audience engagement. All of the following Day 6 panel sessions take place between 10:30am-5:00pm at the IFC Center on the closing day of the festival, Thursday, November 20: Continue reading →

The penultimate day of Doc-A-Thon, DOC NYC‘s panel series, focuses on the current state of nonfiction funding. All of the following Day 5 panel sessions take place between 10:30am-5:00pm at the IFC Center on Wednesday, November 19: Continue reading →

Tonight, Wednesday, November 12 sees the opening of the 17th edition of the Montreal International Documentary Festival, more familiar as RIDM, with the world premiere of Kim Nguyen’s THE EMPIRE OF SCENTS (LE NEZ), an exploration of the sense of smell, inspired by a sommelier’s book. The fest closes on Sunday, November 23 with Nicolas Wadimoff’s SPARTANS, a profile of a suburban Marseille MMA and the school he runs. Between these two films, RIDM will screen over sixty new and recent nonfiction features, plus shorts and new media projects. While the simultaneous presentation of DOC NYC on the festival calendar makes it impossible for me to attend, here are the titles that caught my attention: Continue reading →

Photography is at the center of the fifth of six DOC NYC shorts programs: Continue reading →

The fourth of six DOC NYC shorts programs puts work in the spotlight: Continue reading →

DOC NYC‘s daily panel series, Doc-A-Thon, continues with masterclasses focused around postproduction essentials. All of the following Day 4 panel sessions take place between 10:30am-5:00pm at the IFC Center on Tuesday, November 18: Continue reading →

DOC NYC is pleased to announced a late-breaking addition to this year’s Special Events section: The World Premiere of Marjorie Sturm’s THE CULT OF JT LEROY

DOC NYC Program Description

THE CULT OF JT LEROY
Director: Marjorie Sturm
WORLD PREMIERE
JT LeRoy burst onto the literary scene in the late 1990s, attracting a devoted following through stark tales of poverty, abuse and underage prostitution in books like Sarah and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. His was a rags-to-riches story, with his own tortured life inspiring his writing—or so he claimed. Drawn into LeRoy’s inner circle before the truth came to light, director Marjorie Sturm was misled like many others. Through intimate interviews with many close to the tarnished figure, she attempts to untangle what really happened, and in the process explores how this deception called into question not only the value of LeRoy’s writing absent authenticity, but our culture’s complicity within the author’s seductive cult of personality.
Expected to attend: Marjorie Sturm and special guests from the film

Why You Should Attend:
In DOC NYC’s five-year history, there’s never been a film added to the lineup this late, so you know it takes a special kind of film and topic to break with precedent. First-time documentary feature director Sturm has been working on this project for several years, and we’re excited to host its debut with three opportunities to see the film!

More Info:
To purchase tickets, click here and follow links for ticketing; or check out the new options for Passes.