Category Archives: Overviews

On Thursday, November 14, the 4th edition of DOC NYC opens, now the country’s largest nonfiction film festival. It’s my second year with the festival, and my first as Senior Programmer. Over the past several months, I’ve worked with Artistic Director Thom Powers and Executive Director Raphaela Neihausen to put together an expansive selection of some of the most compelling new documentary films for NYC audiences. Over the next two and half weeks leading up to our opening, I’ll be profiling different programming strands here, starting with our Gala presentations. Continue reading →

One of the most senior doc events in the world, DOK Leipzig, founded in 1955 as East Germany’s first independent film festival, is set to kick off its 56th edition this coming Monday, October 28. Running through Sunday, November 3, the festival – which focuses on non-fiction and animation – will screen 187 documentaries, including over 100 new feature docs. With a reputation for German efficiency and a business-focused environment, the event draws a large national film and television industry to participate in its market and professional programs. Its expansive programming tends toward the more esoteric and rigorous, with far fewer films recognizable from elsewhere on the circuit than many other European doc fests. The following presents some of the more intriguing selections in the event’s various competitions and other sections: Continue reading →

The 17th edition of the Czech Republic’s Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, the largest doc event in Central and Eastern Europe, begins today, Thursday, October 24, and runs through next Tuesday, October 29th. Characterized by a youthful, anarchic, and eclectic edge that champions a large number of experimental work, the festival has drawn raves by North American programmers who’ve made the trek to the historic mining town. For the past few years, the event has made an effort to attract greater industry presence, hosting several concurrent programs for professionals, including a producers forum, filmmaker workshops, a film festivals conference, and a market for work from the region. Its public film program includes nearly 70 new feature documentaries in both competitive and non-competitive sections. Were I attending, the following new work is what I’d be most interested in checking out: Continue reading →

One of the largest film events in Portugal, Doclisboa, opens tonight, Thursday, October 24, and wraps up its eleventh edition next Sunday, November 3. In total, nearly 250 films from 40 countries contribute to its impressive line-up, including over 120 feature-length docs. Competition titles vie for €32,500 in cash and services, recognizing both international and Portuguese films, while several non-competition sidebars provide audiences with, among other categories, selections of retrospective, student, and experimental fare in this rigorously curated festival. What follows are some of the features that caught my eye from various sections. Continue reading →

The 8th edition of DocsDF: The International Documentary Film Festival of Mexico City begins tomorrow, Thursday, October 24 and runs through Sunday, November 3. The fest screens more than 130 new and retrospective feature-length and short documentaries for audiences numbering over 30,000. Presenting a broad range of Mexican, Ibero-American, and international work, DocsDF aims to increase non-fiction awareness nationally, presenting Doctober, a touring program, throughout the month to every state of the country. What follows are some highlights from the various sections of the festival: Continue reading →

This Thursday, October 24, sees the start of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs through Saturday, November 2nd. One of several film events to launch in the United Arab Emirates within the past decade, the fest began in 2007 as the Middle East International Film Festival before rebranding to its more geographically specific designation in 2010. This year’s edition, its seventh, promises nearly 100 features and over 70 shorts, representing more than 50 countries, and showing a particular emphasis on work from the Arab world. Among this line-up are 20 feature documentaries reflecting a mix of internationally recognized films from festivals like Cannes, Sundance, Venice, and Tribeca, as well as several premieres.

Abu Dhabi’s Documentary Competition includes more than a dozen films, including a couple of city symphonies: Sherief Elkatsha’s portrait of the Egyptian capital, CAIRO DRIVE; and Kasim Abid’s look at life on the streets of several Arab cities, WHISPERS OF THE CITIES. Geographical locations are also the concern of Francesco Conversano and Nene Grignaffini’s WALLS, a comparison of the territorial borders. Julie Bertuccelli’s SCHOOL OF BABEL (pictured) looks at the learning experiences of a diverse group of young immigrants to France. The personal cost of resistance and revolution is explored in both Hamza Aouni’s EL GORT, an intimate, multiple-year exploration of Tunisia before and after the revolution; and Mohammad Soueid’s HANGING DATES UNDER ALEPPO’S CITADEL, about a Syrian man’s personal stake in the ongoing Syrian uprising.

Feature docs also appear in the festival’s Showcase, a panorama of international films. Several of these are also eligible for the environmentally-themed Our World Competition, including, among others: Douglas Kass’ EMPTYING THE SKIES (pictured), following dedicated activists as they set out to halt illegal poaching that threatens songbirds with extinction; Raoul Peck’s FATAL ASSISTANCE, an exposé on failed humanitarian efforts in post-earthquake Haiti; and Lech Kowalski’s HOLY FIELD HOLY WAR, documenting the struggle between Polish farmers and encroaching fracking.

DOC NYC, NYC’s premier non-fiction event, has just announced the lineup for this year’s festival. The fourth edition of the festival is the largest yet, including 131 total films and panels over the eight days of the festival, which runs from Thursday, November 14 until Thursday, November 21, and includes a special evening of events as a preview the night before the fest’s official launch. Altogether, 72 new feature-length docs, 39 new shorts, and 20 panels will be presented, nearly all accompanied by Q&As with attending filmmakers.

As DOC NYC’s Senior Programmer, I’m excited to share this year’s selections with audiences. I’ll be profiling each section of the festival here in the weeks prior to our opening. For the time being, check out the links below for more information and to purchase tickets, which go on sale today. Continue reading →

The 11th edition of Mexico’s Morelia International Film Festival / Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia begins tomorrow, Friday, October 18. The event is notable in its exclusive focus on Mexican film, including an annual section devoted to local Michoacán work. Nearly two dozen features and 66 shorts will screen before the event comes to a close on Sunday, October 27, of which ten are documentary features, noted below.

Several docs reveal fascinating lives, including: Santiago Esteinou’s THE YEARS OF FIERRO (LOS AÑOS DE FIERRO), on a Mexican man who’s been on death row in the US for over three decades; Edson Jair Caballero Trujillo’s ATEMPA, DREAMS ALONG THE RIVER (ATEMPA, SUEÑOS A ORILLAS DEL RÍO) (pictured), a portrait of a young queer Zapotec, or muxe; Gabriela Obregón’s THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK (EL HOMBRE DETRÁS DE LA MÁSCARA), a look at the legendary El Santo as his son takes to the wrestling ring for the first time; Pablo Tamez Sierra’s REMOTENESS (LEJANÍA), about family secrets in the wake of a tragedy; Roberto Fiesco’s QUEBRANTO, a profile of a trans former child performer and her relationship with her actor mother; Shula Erenberg’s ROSARY (ROSARIO), about a human rights activist whose son was disappeared nearly forty years ago; and Misael Alva Alva’s TOCHI/CONEJO, on a small family from the Sierra Negra and their fears for the future.

Finally, a number of the films are concerned with places as much as people, including: Nuria Ibáñez’s THE BARE ROOM (EL CUARTO DESNUDO), an intimate exploration of a pediatrician’s office in a Mexico City hospital; Adrián Ortiz Maciel’s ELEVATOR (ELEVADOR) (pictured), life as reflected in the microcosm of a residential building; and Alejandro Cárdenas’ OASIS, a portrait of a sanctuary for HIV+ indigenous people in the Yucatán.

The country’s longest-running non-fiction event, the Margaret Mead Film Festival, opens its 37th edition tomorrow, Thursday, October 17, under the theme “See for Yourself.” The festival, known for its ethnographic focus, will present more than two dozen new feature docs, as well as shorts and special events, at its home base, NYC’s American Museum of Natural History, through this Sunday, October 20. Continue reading →

Japan’s Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is the oldest nonfiction event in Asia, established in 1989. Held biennially, this year marks its 13th edition, which begins today, Thursday, October 10 and runs through next Thursday, October 17. In an area of the world with relatively few such dedicated events, the festival offers a special focus on regional and national documentary filmmaking, with supplementary international and retrospective programming. What follows are some brief highlights where possible, as the fest’s website offers only cursory information on the majority of its programming sections. Continue reading →