Category Archives: Film Festivals

Metropolis, the second of two feature documentary competitions at next month’s DOC NYC, focuses on New York stories, from crooked cops to teenage immigrants. Continue reading →

Next month’s DOC NYC features three competitions – one for shorts, and two for feature-length films. The following runs down the eight films vying for the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the Viewfinders section, a tightly-curated selection from this year’s program demonstrating distinct directorial visions. Continue reading →

Continuing my section-by-section profile of DOC NYC 2013, coming November 14-21, here’s a closer look at the Special Events Artistic Director Thom Powers has curated. Continue reading →

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 →