Film Festivals

Do I Sound Gay?

DOC NYC, announced the full line-up for its fifth edition, running November 13-20 at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea’s SVA Theatre and Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas in New York CIty. Representing a dramatic growth from last year’s edition, the 2014 festival will showcase 153 films and events, with over 200 documentary makers and special guests expected in person to present their films to New York City audiences.

The Yes Men Are Revolting

Joining the US premiere of Opening Night Film Do I Sound Gay? as a Gala presentation, is this year’s Closing Night Film, the US premiere of The Yes Men Are Revolting, directed by Laura Nix and The Yes Men. Both films made their debut in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Among the world premieres are the debuts of An Open Secret, an exposé about sexual abuse in Hollywood, by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil, West of Memphis); Still Dreaming, in which the residents of an actors’ retirement home perform Shakespeare, by Hank Rogerson and Jilann Spitzmiller; and Almost There, a portrait of an outsider artist with a surprising past, by Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden.

In addition to an expanded Short List—DOC NYC’s selection of the best docs of the year—and the increase of the festival’s panel series, Doc-A-Thon, by two days, this year’s event debuts four new thematic programming strands: Fight the Power celebrates activism,Centerstage highlights performance, Jock Docs focuses on sports, and Docs Redux revisits classic films.

The following is a breakdown of programming by section:

GALAS

Opening Night: Do I Sound Gay?
Dir: David Thorpe, 2014, US Premiere
After a breakup with his boyfriend, journalist David Thorpe embarks on a hilarious and touching journey of self-discovery, confronting his anxiety about “sounding gay.” In person: David Thorpe

Closing Night: The Yes Men Are Revolting
Dirs: Laura Nix, The Yes Men, 2014, US Premiere
A chronicle of the past five years of pranksters The Yes Men, the infamous activists known for duping the media with their impersonations of corporate shills and government stooges. In person: Laura Nix, The Yes Men

SPECIAL EVENTS – Seven standout films coupled with high-profile conversations with the directors and special guests.

Above and Beyond
Dir: Roberta Grossman, 2014, NYC Premiere
Reveals the hidden history behind the creation of Israel’s air force. International Film Circuit, opens Jan. 30. In person: Producer Nancy Spielberg

Back On Board: Greg Louganis
Dir: Cheryl Furjanic, 2014, NYC Premiere
This strikingly candid profile explores the triumphs and tragedies of Olympian Greg Louganis, considered by many the greatest diver of all time. In person: Cheryl Furjanic, film subject Greg Louganis

Banksy Does New York
Dir: Chris Moukarbel, 2014, NYC Premiere
Last October, when infamous street artist Banksy revealed his New York City residency, he set off a daily scavenger hunt among curious fans, would-be art collectors and, of course, the police. HBO Documentary Films, broadcasts Nov. 17. In person: Chris Moukarbel

Enquiring Minds: The Untold Story of the Man Behind the National Enquirer
Dir: Ric Burns, 2014, NYC Premiere
Serving up a sensational exposé in line with his juicy subject, acclaimed multiple-Emmy Award-winner Ric Burns uncovers the strange history of the National Enquirer and the tabloid’s legendary publisher, Generoso Pope Jr. In person: Ric Burns

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
Dirs: Dave LaMattina & Chad Walker, 2014, NYC Premiere
Sesame Street‘s Big Bird may be one of the world’s most recognizable characters, but far less familiar is Caroll Spinney, the man who has brought to life the yellow-feathered Muppet—as well as the irascible Oscar the Grouch—since 1969. In person: Dave LaMattina & Chad Walker, film subjects Caroll & Debra Spinney

An Open Secret
Dir: Amy Berg, 2014, World Premiere
Every year, thousands of children swarm Hollywood in search of fame, but what they often find under the surface is a deep and disturbing underbelly of manipulation and abuse. In person: Amy Berg

Soul Boys of the Western World
Dir: George Hencken, 2014, NYC Premiere
Spandau Ballet, one of the bands that defined the 1980s, tell their own story, set against a backdrop of evocative period footage, including never-before-seen home movies. In person: George Hencken and all the band members from Spandau Ballet—their first time in New York since 1983!

VIEWFINDERS – Juried Competition. Ten films notable for their distinct directorial visions.

Almost There
Dirs: Dan Rybicky & Aaron Wickenden, 2014, World Premiere
After the filmmakers meet octogenarian artist Peter Anton, they become enmeshed in his life, helping to stage an exhibition of his work.

Cairo Drive
Dir: Sherief Elkatsha, 2013, NYC Premiere
Shot before, during and after the revolution, this entertaining film explores Cairo from the street level through the perspectives of its drivers.

In Country
Dirs: Mike Attie & Meghan O’Hara, 2014, NYC Premiere
By now, the idea of Civil War re-enactment is familiar, but the subjects of this intriguing film relive the battles of a far more surprising conflict: Vietnam.

Kasamayaki
Dir: Yuki Kokubo, 2014, World Premiere
Following the devastation of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Yuki visits her estranged parents in Kasama, Japan, a rural artist community, in the hopes of making sense of their past.

The Life and Mind of Mark Defriest
Dir: Gabriel London, 2014, NYC Premiere
Sentenced to four years in prison in 1978, Mark DeFriest’s numerous escapes have kept him incarcerated for over three decades.

Meet the Patels
Dirs: Geeta V. Patel & Ravi V. Patel, 2014, NYC Premiere
Nearing 30, first-generation Indian-American Ravi Patel breaks up with his secret, white girlfriend to seek the Indian woman of his parents’ dreams—who should also be named Patel, keeping with tradition. Sundance Selects, opens Mar. 14.

Monsieur Le Président
Dir: Victoria Campbell, 2013, World Premiere
Volunteering in Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake, the filmmaker encounters Gaston, a charming voodoo priest who shows leadership during the emergency.

No Control
Dir: Jessica Solce, 2014, World Premiere
A provocative exploration of the contentious issue of gun control through profiles of two men at opposite ends of the debate.

Song From the Forest
Dir: Michael Obert, 2013, NYC Premiere
An American musicologist who abandoned modern civilization to join an African pygmy tribe brings his son to New York City. Film Collaborative, opens Spring 2015.

The Wound and the Gift
Dir: Linda Hoaglund, 2014, US Premiere
All over the world, people save animals that were bred, abused or sold on the black market, with an impact on both rescuer and rescued.

METROPOLIS – Juried Competition. Nine quintessentially New York stories.

Coming Home
Dir: Viko Nikci, 2014, North American Premiere
Finally released from prison, an innocent man attempts to repair his relationship with his daughter and to confront the man who committed the crime for which he was punished.

The Hand That Feeds
Dirs: Rachel Lears & Robin Blotnick, 2014, NYC Premiere
An Upper East Side “Hot & Crusty” bakery serves as the unlikely setting for an old-fashioned David vs. Goliath story, as service workers demand better working conditions and wages.

Homme Less
Dir: Thomas Wirthensohn, 2014, North American Premiere
From all outside appearances, Mark seems to have the glamorous New York City life that many would envy… but he harbors a secret.

Penthouse North
Dir: Johanna St Michaels, 2014, NYC Premiere
In her heyday, Swedish bombshell Agneta ruled the world from her fabulous Central Park West apartment, but times—and her finances—have changed.

Rubble Kings
Dir: Shan Nicholson, 2014, North American Premiere
Confronting a bankrupt, decaying city and the dashed hopes of the civil rights generation, African-American and Latino teenagers violently took over the streets of 1970s New York.
Rubble Kings screens with the short film The Chaperone (Fraser Munden & Neil Rathbone,14 min.). An action-packed, animated retelling of what happened when a drunken motorcycle gang invaded a 1970s school dance.

The Seven Five
Dir: Tiller Russell, 2014, NYC Premiere
NYPD officer Michael Dowd was at the center of an infamous cop corruption scandal of the early 1990s.

Some Kind of Spark
Dir: Ben Niles, 2014, World Premiere
Illustrating the transformative power not only of music, but of mentorship, this film is an uplifting look at Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program for inner-city youth.

Stop
Dir: Spencer Wolff, 2014, World Premiere
After David Ourlicht was stopped and searched by the NYPD for no discernible reason, he filed a class-action suit against the City of New York, alleging racial profiling in the police department’s stop-and-frisk policy.

Tough Love
Dir: Stephanie Wang-Breal, 2014, NYC Premiere
Having lost custody of their children to Child Protective Services, two parents in New York City and Seattle fight to win back the trust of the courts and reunite their families.

AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES – Nine films present a virtual tour around the United States.

The Age of Love
Dir: Steven Loring, 2014, NYC Premiere
An unprecedented speed-dating event for seniors serves as the backdrop for this alternately poignant and funny look at love among the 70+ set.

All American High Revisited
Dir: Keva Rosenfeld, 2014, NYC Premiere
Thirty years after he profiled the senior class of a typical California high school, the filmmaker revisits several members of the class of 1984 to see how they turned out.

Florence, Arizona
Dir: Andrea B. Scott, 2014, World Premiere
A resonant work of modern Americana, this film paints a rich and often humorous portrait of a cowboy town set in the heart of Arizona’s prison industry.

Grazers: A Cooperative Story
Dirs: Lisa F. Jackson & Sarah Teale, 2014, World Premiere
With interest in farm-to-table food on the rise, a small band of upstate New York farmers sees an opportunity to hold on to their endangered farms by raising and selling grass-fed beef.

Hotline
Dir: Tony Shaff, 2014
Even in our increasingly disconnected digital age, telephone hotlines continue to bring strangers together for a multiplicity of reasons. Gravitas, VOD Nov. 18.

Little White Lie
Dir: Lacey Schwartz, 2014, NYC Premiere
Growing up in an upper-middle-class Jewish household, Lacey Schwartz knew she looked different from the rest of her family, but never suspected the truth.
Little White Lie screens with the short film Mirror Image (Danielle Schwartz, Israel, 11 min.). An attempt to establish the provenance of an Israeli family’s heirloom becomes a debate over language and history.

Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine
Dir: Michele Josue, 2013, NYC Premiere
While the world remembers Matthew Shepard’s death at the hands of homophobic attackers, this poignant film celebrates his life.

A Murder in the Park
Dirs: Shawn Rech & Brandon Kimber, 2014, World Premiere
A college journalism class’s re-examination of a murder case leads to the exoneration of an innocent man… or does it?

Sex and Broadcasting, a film about WFMU
Dir: Tim K. Smith, 2014, World Premiere
A portrait of New Jersey’s WFMU, which has occupied a unique position as an independent, commercial-free, listener-supported radio station since its inception in the late 1950s.

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES – Eight films go globetrotting.

Every Last Child
Dir: Tom Roberts, 2014, World Premiere
After the Taliban bans polio vaccinations and spreads misinformation, Pakistan suffers devastating outbreaks of the disease, prompting strategic problem-solving from the World Health Organization.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
Dir: Mami Sunada, 2013, NYC Premiere
Offering animation fans a rare look inside Japan’s Studio Ghibli, this fascinating film profiles its most famous creators, Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away), and his friendly rival and business partner, Isao Takahata (Pom Poko). GKIDS, opens Nov. 28.

Marmato
Dir: Mark Grieco, 2014, NYC Premiere
Exploring the intersection of economic development, environmental impact and globalization, this is an intimate and richly observed portrait of Marmato, a rural mining town threatened with destruction.

Miss Tibet: Beauty in Exile
Dir: Norah Shapiro, 2014, World Premiere
A Tibetan teenager travels from Minneapolis to India to compete in a most unlikely beauty pageant.

The Return
Dir: Adam Zucker, 2014
How does one claim an identity in a vacuum? Living in Poland, the four young women in this engaging film learned of their Jewish roots after growing up Catholic. Seventh Art Releasing.

A Small Section of the World
Dir: Lesley Chilcott, 2014, NYC Premiere
In equal measures inspiring and endearing, this film spotlights a group of Costa Rican village women who form a coffee-growing collective—despite not knowing the first thing about growing coffee. FilmBuff, opens Dec. 5.
A Small Section of the World screens with the short film Santa Cruz del Islote (Luke Lorentzen, 19 min.). Inhabitants of a remote Colombian island paradise face an uncertain future in changing times.

Vessel
Dir: Diana Whitten, 2014, NYC Premiere
Moved by the plight of desperate women in countries with restrictive reproductive rights, a Dutch physician uses laws governing international waters to bring much-needed abortion and contraceptive services on the high seas.

When People Die They Sing Songs
Dir: Olga Lvoff, 2014, NYC Premiere
Under the watchful eyes of her dutiful daughter Sonia, Regina recalls the Yiddish and French songs of her youth through music therapy sessions following a stroke.
When People Die They Sing Songs screens with the short film The Lion’s Mouth Opens(Lucy Walker, 28 min.). A young woman is about to learn whether she has inherited her father’s incurable, terminal disease.

CENTERSTAGE – New section! Four films put the spotlight on performance.

Capturing Grace
Dir: David Iverson, 2014, NYC Premiere
Recognizing that music and rhythmic activity can help those suffering from Parkinson’s disease achieve greater control of their mobility, two dancers from New York’s Mark Morris Dance Group lead a dance workshop.
Capturing Grace screens with the short film The Astronaut’s Secret (Zach Jankovic, 30 min.). After his 1996 mission in space, astronaut Rich Clifford and NASA kept a secret for 17 years.

The Last Impresario
Dir: Gracie Otto, 2014, NYC Premiere
From The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, producer Michael White has helped bring enduring cultural touchstones to Broadway, London’s West End and the silver screen over the last four decades, but the bon vivant may be the most famous person you’ve never heard of. FilmBuff, opens Dec. 5.

Still Dreaming
Dirs: Hank Rogerson & Jilann Spitzmiller, 2014, World Premiere
Located just outside of Manhattan, the Lillian Booth Actors Home provides a most resonant setting for the staging of a classic play in which nothing is what it seems.

Us, Naked: Trixie & Monkey
Dir: Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander, 2014, World Premiere
A pair of acrobatic burlesque performers attempt to juggle art, love and financial stability in this perceptive portrait.

JOCK DOCS – New section! Five films focused on sports and athletes.

9-Man
Dir: Ursula Liang, 2014
A variant of volleyball developed by Chinese immigrants to America as both an athletic pastime and a social outlet in a time of widespread anti-Chinese sentiment, discrimination and segregation, now serves to unite young men with their culture.

Althea
Dir: Rex Miller, 2014, World Premiere
In the 1950s, long before Arthur Ashe or Venus and Serena Williams, Althea Gibson was the first African-American tennis player to win Grand Slam tournaments.

Hardy
Dir: Natasha Verma, 2014, NYC Premiere
Although Brooklyn’s Heather “The Heat” Hardy has only been boxing for a few years, she’s a world champion in the making—but first she has to be given the chance to prove herself in a sport that has been slow to open its doors to female athletes.

Opposite Field
Dir: Jay Shapiro, 2014, World Premiere
In its nearly 70-year history, the Little League World Series has never hosted a team from Africa. The Ugandan team hopes to change that.

Top Spin
Dirs: Sara Newens & Mina T. Son, 2014, World Premiere
Three driven teenage athletes attempt to go for Olympic gold in the perpetually popular but underappreciated game of table tennis.

FIGHT THE POWER – New section! Six films celebrate the power of activism.

Brothers of the Black List
Dir: Sean Gallagher, 2014, NYC Premiere
In the fall of 1992, despite efforts to recruit minority students, SUNY Oneonta set off a firestorm of controversy that led to the longest litigated civil-rights case in US history.

Disruption
Dir: Pamela Yates, 2013, NYC Premiere
Recognizing the persistence of income inequality in South America, a group of activist economists join together to offer an alternative path to eliminating poverty.

Divide in Concord
Dir: Kris Kaczor, 2014, NYC Premiere
A feisty octogenarian, concerned about the environmental impact of our disposable culture, is on a mission to ban the local sale of plastic bottled water, facing off against her celebrity publicist-turned-pundit nemesis.

Limited Partnership
Dir: Thomas G. Miller, 2014, NYC Premiere
A poignant portrait of four decades of devotion despite overwhelming odds, this film follows a transnational LGBT couple’s immigration battle.

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry
Dir: Mary Dore, 2014, NYC Premiere
Through a treasure trove of archival material and profiles of several outspoken pioneers of the women’s movement, we revisit the remarkable eruption of activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s that signaled the arrival of modern feminism. International Film Circuit, opens Dec. 5.

Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs and the New South Africa
Dir: Abby Ginzberg, 2014, NYC Premiere
At the height of apartheid, noted South African activist, author and attorney Albie Sachs was driven into exile, yet still faced threats to his life that cost him dearly.

SONIC CINEMA – Six films explore music and musicians.

Béla Fleck: How to Write a Banjo Concerto
Dirs: Béla Fleck and Sascha Paladino, 2014, NYC Premiere
Commissioned to create a first-of-its-kind concerto for the banjo and an 80-piece symphony orchestra, virtuoso musician Béla Fleck faces an intensely personal challenge of collaboration and composition. Argot Pictures, opens Winter 2015.

Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock & Roll
Dir: John Pirozzi, 2014, NYC Premiere
A fascinating exploration of history as reflected through a nation’s popular culture, this film excavates Cambodia’s lost era of American-inflected music. Argot Pictures, opens Spring 2015.

Heaven Adores You
Dir: Nickolas Rossi, 2014, NYC Premiere
An artful tribute to the too-soon departed singer/songwriter Elliott Smith.

Jingle Bell Rocks!
Dir: Mitchell Kezin, 2013, NYC Premiere
An entertaining quest to locate the top twelve strangest holiday songs you’re likely to ever hear, from “Santa Claus Was a Black Man” to “Christmas in Vietnam.” 
Oscilloscope Laboratories.

Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-1990)
Dir: Scott Crawford, 2014, US Premiere
An exploration of the development and evolution of the Washington, DC punk scene, and how it shaped independent music and popular culture in the decade that followed.

Songs for Alexis
Dir: Elvira Lind, 2014, NYC Premiere
Eighteen-year-old hopeless romantic Ryan, a young transgender man, writes songs about his sixteen-year-old girlfriend Alexis as the couple navigates a long distance relationship between Long Island and San Francisco.

DOCS REDUX – New section! Revisit seven past nonfiction favorites, including several films by this year’s DOC NYC Visionaries Tribute recipients.

The Chair
Filmmakers: Drew Associates, 1962
This classic follows the attorney Louis Nizer as he attempts to save prisoner Paul Crump from the electric chair.

David 
Filmmakers: DA Pennebaker & William Ray, 1961
Rare 35mm screening of Drew Associates’ portrait of a jazz trumpeter struggling through drug rehab.

High School
Dir: Frederick Wiseman, 1968
Wiseman’s classic look at an urban Philadelphia high school, capturing interactions between students, teachers, parents and administrators.

Hoop Dreams
Dir: Steve James, 1994
Twentieth anniversary restoration. Two Chicago teens are followed over their four years of high school as they aspire to use their basketball skills to create better futures for their families.

Kings Of Pastry
Dirs: Chris Hegedus & DA Pennebaker, 2009
Sixteen French pastry chefs put their reputations at stake in a prestigious competition.

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Dirs: Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky, 2004
Tenth anniversary. The members of the heavy metal band go through group therapy to save not only the band, but themselves.

Salesman
Dirs: Albert Maysles, David Maysles & Charlotte Zwerin, 1968
This breakthrough documentary follows door-to-door Bible salesmen as they ply their trade from Boston to Chicago to Miami.

MIDNIGHT DOCS – Three films worth staying up late to see.
 
Haunters
Dir: Anthony Morrison, 2014, World Premiere
A Michigan family-run business sets out to create the scariest haunted house in the state.

Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere
Dir: Dave Jannetta, 2014, NYC Premiere
Imagine a This American Life episode devoted to a real-world Twin Peaks, and you might approximate the stranger-than-fiction story of small-town Chadron, Nebraska.

Sex(Ed)
Dir: Brenda Goodman, 2014, NYC Premiere
Revisit the health class of your awkward teenage years in this fun survey of sexual education films. First Run Features, VOD/DVD Feb. 3.

SHORTS PROGRAMS – Six thematic groupings of the best in short nonfiction filmmaking. DOC NYC is now an Academy Awards®-qualifying festival, with this year’s winning short film qualifying for consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category.

Art + Design
Ways of seeing and interacting with the world, ranging from interior design and fonts to artisanal craftwork and custom yarmulkes.

Life + Death
An exploration of beginnings and endings, including the healing power of music, the recording of life’s major moments and the ethics of euthanasia.

Lost + Found
Unexpected discoveries and hidden histories, from secret presidential recordings and the lost payphones of NYC, to fancy cats and the world’s longest yard sale.

Parts + Labor
A series of shorts about making a living, offering portraits of workers and their work—selling pickles, raising buffalo, stuffing animals, cobbling, and casting manhole covers.

Point + Shoot
Views through the photographic lens, focusing on blind creators, unconventional beauty, Warhol history, and war photography.

Show + Tell
Kids offer their perspectives on NYC snow days, middle-school heavy metal, dog shows, and North Dakota’s oil boom.

SHORT LIST – Our newly expanded section offers our picks for awards-season contenders. Last year, nine of our ten selections made that other short list.

The Case Against 8
Dirs: Ben Cotner & Ryan White, 2014
Following the fight for marriage equality all the way to the Supreme Court, as former legal foes, progressive David Boies and ultra-conservative Ted Olson, join forces. HBO Documentary Films.

CITIZENFOUR
Dir: Laura Poitras, 2014
A real-life thriller chronicling how Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the massive covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other intelligence agencies.
RADiUS/Participant Media/HBO Documentary Films, opens Oct 24.

E-Team
Dirs: Katy Chevigny & Ross Kauffman, 2014
A look at the dangerous but life-affirming work performed by the Human Rights Watch Emergency Team, or E-Team, a compelling group of intrepid investigators willing to enter hostile territories to document crimes against humanity that might otherwise go unreported. Netflix.

Finding Vivian Maier
Dirs: John Maloof & Charlie Siskel, 2013
When Vivian Maier died in 2009 at age 83, she left behind more than 100,000 negatives of her street photography—images that she’d scarcely shared with anyone. Sundance Selects.

The Great Invisible
Dir: Margaret Brown, 2014
An examination of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its impact on fishermen, oilmen and survivors. RADiUS/Participant Media, opens Oct. 29.

Happy Valley
Dir: Amir Bar-Lev, 2014
An exploration of the Penn State scandal, focusing on hero worship and the court of public opinion, and their impact on everyday people caught in their wake. Music Box Films, opens Nov. 19.

Keep On Keepin’ On
Dir: Alan Hicks, 2014
Celebrating mentorship as much as music, this inspirational and poignant film explores the common bonds between a 92-year-old jazz legend and his 23-year-old protégé. RADiUS.

Last Days in Vietnam
Dir: Rory Kennedy, 2014
In the final weeks of the Vietnam War, with the invasion of Saigon imminent, the White House ordered the evacuation of U.S. citizens—but their South Vietnamese allies flooded onto embassy grounds seeking help. American Experience Films/PBS.

Life Itself
Dir: Steve James, 2014
Acclaimed filmmaker Steve James pays tribute to the late Roger Ebert and to the love of movies. Magnolia Pictures.

Merchants of Doubt
Dir: Robert Kenner, 2014
The director of Food, Inc reveals how corporations affect what we think, exploring the shadow world of experts who stake claims contrary to scientific consensus. Sony Pictures Classics/Participant Media, opens March 6.

The Overnighters
Dir: Jesse Moss, 2014
Pastor Jay Reinke offers newcomers seeking employment the chance to sleep in his church, setting off a controversy within his small North Dakota town and his congregation. Drafthouse Films.

Red Army
Dir: Gabe Polsky, 2014
This emotional look at the Soviet hockey team blends politics, sports and human drama. Sony Pictures Classics, opens Jan. 23.

Rich Hill
Dirs: Tracy Droz Tragos & Andrew Droz Palermo, 2014
With roots in the eponymous, impoverished Missouri town, filmmaker cousins bring a sensitive touch to this richly observed and sublimely shot portrait of three boys. The Orchard.

The Salt of the Earth
Dirs: Wim Wenders & Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, 2014
An insider and outsider’s perspective on photographer Sebastiao Salgado and the nature preserve Instituto Terra. Sony Pictures Classics, opens Apr. 3.

Tales of the Grim Sleeper
Dir: Nick Broomfield, 2014
In one of his finest films, Nick Broomfield digs into a true crime story of a Los Angeles serial killer that raises larger questions about gender, race and class inequalities. HBO Documentary Films, 2015 broadcast.

DOC-A-THON – Newly expanded from four to six days, DOC NYC’s panel and masterclass series for both emerging and established filmmakers offers 24 events, organized by daily themes. All Doc-A-Thon panels take place at the IFC Center.

For the First-Time Filmmaker
Thursday, Nov. 13
Essential information for new filmmakers, with panels on “Mapping Out Your Film,” “Funding,” “Post-Production,” and “Distribution & Outreach.”

All About the Short
Friday, Nov. 14
A focus on short-form storytelling, with panels on “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Short Filmmaking But Were Afraid To Ask,” “Who’s Buying Doc Shorts,” “Shorter Forms for Ever Shorter Attention Spans,” and “Nonfiction Shorts & the Festival Audience.”

Shoot Your Doc
Monday, Nov. 17
A series of masterclasses exploring production, including “Cinematography,” “Producing,” “Music Rights,” and “Casting for Nonfiction.”

Finish Your Doc
Tuesday, Nov. 18
Masterclasses offering critical advice for post-production, including “Editing,” “How to Produce an Award-Winning Archival Documentary,” “Sound Design,” and “Graphics & Animation.”

Fund Your Doc
Wednesday, Nov. 19
Learn who is funding nonfiction and what they’re looking for, with panels on “Lessons on Creative Funding & Audience Building,” “Social-Action Filmmaking,” Pitch Workshop,” and “The ‘Documatrix’ of HBO,” a conversation with HBO Documentary Films’ Sheila Nevins.

Reach Your Audience
Thursday, Nov. 20
Panels illuminating the importance of audience engagement, including “Social-Media Workshop,” “How to Maximize Digital Distribution,” “Documentaries are Narrative,” and “Making a Living as a Documentary Filmmaker.”

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