One hundred twenty-four features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 88th Academy Awards®.
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Above and Beyond”
“All Things Must Pass”
“Amy”
“The Armor of Light”
“Ballet 422”
“Batkid Begins”
“Becoming Bulletproof”
“Being Evel”
“Beltracchi – The Art of Forgery”
“Best of Enemies”
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”
“Bolshoi Babylon”
“Brand: A Second Coming”
“A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story”
“Call Me Lucky”
“Cartel Land”
“Censored Voices”
“Champs”
“CodeGirl”
“Coming Home”
“Dark Horse”
“Deli Man”
“Dior and I”
“The Diplomat”
“(Dis)Honesty – The Truth about Lies”
“Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll”
“Dreamcatcher”
“dream/killer”
“Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”
“Eating Happiness”
“Every Last Child”
“Evidence of Harm”
“Farewell to Hollywood”
“Finders Keepers”
“The Forecaster”
“Frame by Frame”
“Gardeners of Eden”
“A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile”
“Godspeed: The Story of Page Jones”
“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
“He Named Me Malala”
“Heart of a Dog”
“Hitchcock/Truffaut”
“How to Change the World”
“Human”
“The Hunting Ground”
“I Am Chris Farley”
“In Jackson Heights”
“In My Father’s House”
“India’s Daughter”
“Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words”
“Iraqi Odyssey”
“Iris”
“Janis: Little Girl Blue”
“Karski & the Lords of Humanity”
“Killing Them Safely”
“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”
“Lambert & Stamp”
“A Lego Brickumentary”
“Listen to Me Marlon”
“Live from New York!”
“The Look of Silence”
“Meet the Patels”
“Meru”
“The Mind of Mark DeFriest”
“Misery Loves Comedy”
“Monkey Kingdom”
“A Murder in the Park”
“My Italian Secret”
“My Voice, My Life”
“1971”
“Of Men and War”
“One Cut, One Life”
“Only the Dead See the End of War”
“The Outrageous Sophie Tucker”
“Peace Officer”
“The Pearl Button”
“Pink & Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer”
“Poached”
“Polyfaces”
“The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers”
“Prophet’s Prey”
“Racing Extinction”
“The Resurrection of Jake the Snake”
“Ride the Thunder – A Vietnam War Story of Victory & Betrayal”
“Rosenwald”
“The Russian Woodpecker”
“Searching for Home: Coming Back from War”
“Seeds of Time”
“Sembene!”
“The Seven Five”
“Seymour: An Introduction”
“Sherpa”
“A Sinner in Mecca”
“Something Better to Come”
“Song from the Forest”
“Song of Lahore”
“Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine”
“Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans”
“Stray Dog”
“Sunshine Superman”
“Sweet Micky for President”
“Tab Hunter Confidential”
“The Tainted Veil”
“Tap World”
“(T)error”
“Thao’s Library”
“Those Who Feel the Fire Burning”
“3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets”
“The Touch of an Angel”
“TransFatty Lives”
“The True Cost”
“Twinsters”
“Very Semi-Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait of New Yorker Cartoonists”
“The Wanted 18”
“We Are Many”
“We Come as Friends”
“We Were Not Just…Bicycle Thieves. Neorealism”
“Welcome to Leith”
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy”
“Where to Invade Next”
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (pictured above)
“The Wolfpack”
Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December.
Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.THE ARMOR OF LIGHT
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124 Documentary Features Submitted For 2015 Oscar Race
One hundred twenty-four features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 88th Academy Awards®.
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Above and Beyond”
“All Things Must Pass”
“Amy”
“The Armor of Light”
“Ballet 422”
“Batkid Begins”
“Becoming Bulletproof”
“Being Evel”
“Beltracchi – The Art of Forgery”
“Best of Enemies”
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”
“Bolshoi Babylon”
“Brand: A Second Coming”
“A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story”
“Call Me Lucky”
“Cartel Land”
“Censored Voices”
“Champs”
“CodeGirl”
“Coming Home”
“Dark Horse”
“Deli Man”
“Dior and I”
“The Diplomat”
“(Dis)Honesty – The Truth about Lies”
“Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll”
“Dreamcatcher”
“dream/killer”
“Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”
“Eating Happiness”
“Every Last Child”
“Evidence of Harm”
“Farewell to Hollywood”
“Finders Keepers”
“The Forecaster”
“Frame by Frame”
“Gardeners of Eden”
“A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile”
“Godspeed: The Story of Page Jones”
“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
“He Named Me Malala”
“Heart of a Dog”
“Hitchcock/Truffaut”
“How to Change the World”
“Human”
“The Hunting Ground”
“I Am Chris Farley”
“In Jackson Heights”
“In My Father’s House”
“India’s Daughter”
“Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words”
“Iraqi Odyssey”
“Iris”
“Janis: Little Girl Blue”
“Karski & the Lords of Humanity”
“Killing Them Safely”
“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”
“Lambert & Stamp”
“A Lego Brickumentary”
“Listen to Me Marlon”
“Live from New York!”
“The Look of Silence”
“Meet the Patels”
“Meru”
“The Mind of Mark DeFriest”
“Misery Loves Comedy”
“Monkey Kingdom”
“A Murder in the Park”
“My Italian Secret”
“My Voice, My Life”
“1971”
“Of Men and War”
“One Cut, One Life”
“Only the Dead See the End of War”
“The Outrageous Sophie Tucker”
“Peace Officer”
“The Pearl Button”
“Pink & Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer”
“Poached”
“Polyfaces”
“The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers”
“Prophet’s Prey”
“Racing Extinction”
“The Resurrection of Jake the Snake”
“Ride the Thunder – A Vietnam War Story of Victory & Betrayal”
“Rosenwald”
“The Russian Woodpecker”
“Searching for Home: Coming Back from War”
“Seeds of Time”
“Sembene!”
“The Seven Five”
“Seymour: An Introduction”
“Sherpa”
“A Sinner in Mecca”
“Something Better to Come”
“Song from the Forest”
“Song of Lahore”
“Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine”
“Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans”
“Stray Dog”
“Sunshine Superman”
“Sweet Micky for President”
“Tab Hunter Confidential”
“The Tainted Veil”
“Tap World”
“(T)error”
“Thao’s Library”
“Those Who Feel the Fire Burning”
“3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets”
“The Touch of an Angel”
“TransFatty Lives”
“The True Cost”
“Twinsters”
“Very Semi-Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait of New Yorker Cartoonists”
“The Wanted 18”
“We Are Many”
“We Come as Friends”
“We Were Not Just…Bicycle Thieves. Neorealism”
“Welcome to Leith”
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy”
“Where to Invade Next”
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (pictured above)
“The Wolfpack”
Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December.
Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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13th Tallgrass Film Festival Announces Film Lineup; Opens with BAND OF ROBBERS, Closes with WAFFLE STREET
The 13th Tallgrass Film Festival taking place October 14 to 18, 2015, announced the full schedule of 203 films (54 features, 149 short films). Gala selections include the Opening Night film, Adam and Aaron Nees’ comedy BAND OF ROBBERS and the Closing Night selection of Ian and Eshom Nelms’ comedy WAFFLE STREET, bookending Valerie Weiss’ A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET which will screen as the Stubbornly Independent competition winner.
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2015 Hamptons International Film Festival to Open with Paolo Sorrentino’s YOUTH; Unveils Long Island Films + Conflict & Resolution Films
Paolo Sorrentino’s YOUTH will be the Opening Night film of the 2015 Hamptons International Film Festival in Southampton.
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British Dramedy “DOUGH” to Open 2015 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival | TRAILERS
The 35th edition of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival returns to the Bay Area July 23 to August 9, 2015, and will kick off with director Jonathan John Goldschmidt’s DOUGH (pictured above), a British dramedy about an old elderly Jewish baker (Jonathan Pryce) struggling to keep his business afloat until his young Muslim apprentice (Jerome Holder) accidentally drops cannabis in the dough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbSsw_PETLI
The 2015 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival closes with Erez Miller’s EAST JERUSALEM, WEST JERUSALEM, about Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza who sets out to realize his dream of cooperation and dialog between Israelis and Palestinians through music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rODvYehQiXk
The Centerpiece Narrative is MY SHORTEST LOVE AFFAIR, written and directed by Karin Albou, which follows Louisa (Karin Albou)and Charles (Patrick Mimoun), former lovers who, now middle-aged, have crossed paths at an arts festival in Paris. After a night together Louisa winds up pregnant. Together the two try to make their relationship work again.
Following its world premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, THE ARMOR OF LIGHT will screen as the festival’s Centerpiece Documentary. Directed by Abigail Disney, the film follows the journey of Reverend Rob Schenck, a Jewish born evangelical minister who finds the courage to preach about the toll of gun violence in America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V8Oc8J8maQ
In keeping with tradition, to highlight the programming in Berkeley, VERY SEMI-SERIOUS has been selected as the Berkeley Big Night film . Winner of the San Francisco International Film Festival Golden Gate Award for Best Bay Area Documentary, VERY SEMI-SERIOUS (former Bay Area filmmaker Leah Wolchock) is an offbeat meditation on humor, art and the genius of the single panel. The film takes an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at The New Yorker and introduces the cartooning legends and hopefuls who create the iconic cartoons that have inspired, baffled—and occasionally pissed off—all of us for decades.
The festival will open in Palo Alto with Yari and Cary Wolinsky’s RAISE THE ROOF, a look at professor Rick Brown who works with his wife Laura to rebuild a series of now vanished synagogues as they track the labor and love that illuminate these glorious pieces of history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPUwxxidhHM
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT will screen for Bay Area audiences following its World Premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival as the Oakland Opening Night film. PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT offers a rare look into Guggenheim’s world: blending the abstract, the colorful, the surreal and the salacious, to portray a life that was as complex and unpredictable as the artwork Peggy revered and the artists she pushed forward.
On Friday, July 31 at the Castro Theater, the SF Jewish Film Festival will present a day of social justice films, : Take Action: Repairing the World One Film at a Time. The five-film lineup embodies the Jewish value of tikkun olam – which suggests humanity’s shared responsibility to heal, repair and transform the world. This event will screen films in collaboration with local organizations to inspire action on the issues presented in the films: Judith Helfand’s BLUE VINYL (2002); Aviva Kempner’s ROSENWALD; Berkeley based filmmaker Rick Goldsmith’s MIND/GAMES: THE UNQUIET JOURNEY OF CHAMIQUE HOLDSCLAW; Melissa Donovan’s ZEMENE and Dara Bratt’s THE SINGING ABORTIONIST.
PLASTIC MAN: THE ARTFUL LIFE OF JERRY ROSS BARRISH, Directed by William Farley and produced by SFJFF co-founder former SFJFF Director, Janis Plotkin, has been selected for the Local Spotlight. PLASTIC MAN: THE ARTFUL LIFE OF JERRY ROSS BARRISH, follows San Francisco’s best known bail bondsman through his journey of breaking the hardworking Jewish family mold he grew up in, to diving head first into the world of art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlfVO1hbj_k
Other new documentaries by local filmmakers working with Jewish themes, include ED & PAULINE and LOVE & TAXES. ED & PAULINE is a film about cinephiles in love…or not. Christian Bruno’s film tells how film critic Pauline Kael and Ed Landberg transformed a small storefront theater in Berkeley into a church for movie lovers. LOVE & TAXES stars Bay Area icon Josh Kornbluth in a semi-autobiographical comedy about his struggles to make ends meet as he begins a relationship during the “Haiku Tunnel” time in his life. The film is directed by his brother Jacob Kornbluth.
In the Next Wave Spotlight, Kevin Kerslake looks at Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, a man with deep passions and aggressive demons, in AS I AM: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DJ AM. An official selection of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, AS I AM: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DJ AM is an insider’s look into the life of the late, great mash-up pioneer. His incredibly complex personal life was lived under the specter of drug addiction.
Additional Next Wave Films include HOT SUGAR’S COLD WORLD, WHEN I LIVE MY LIFE OVER NEXT AGAIN and DANNY SAY’S. With cameos by Jim Jarmusch and Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, HOT SUGAR’S COLD WORLD is a fly on-the-wall look into the life of Nick Koenig (Hot Sugar) as he creates one-of-a-kind music made entirely out of sounds from the world around him. An aging crooner played by Christopher Walken and his daughter played by Amber Heard star in WHEN I LIVE MY LIFE OVER NEXT AGAIN. A look at the life of Danny Fields, the little known Jewish godfather of punk rock is explored in DANNY SAY’S.
Films about Art include PLASTIC MAN: THE ARTFUL LIFE OF GERRY JERRY ROSS BARRISH, PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT and THE ART DEALER.
PLASTIC MAN: THE ARTFUL LIFE OF GERRY JERRY ROSS BARRISH follows San Francisco’s best known bail bondsman through his journey of breaking the hardworking Jewish family mold he grew up in, to diving head first into the world of art. Produced by SFJFF Founder Janis Plotkin and directed by William Farley.
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT offers a rare look into Guggenheim’s world: blending the abstract, the colorful, the surreal and the salacious, to portray a life that was as complex and unpredictable as the artwork Peggy revered and the artists she pushed forward. The film will screen for Bay Area audiences following its World Premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.
THE ART DEALER is from renowned French director François Margolin (The Flight of the Red Balloon) and follows a Jewish woman who embarks on a journey to recover family paintings stolen by the Nazis. During her investigation, she discovers some family secrets are best kept hidden.
In honor of the 70th Anniversary of the End of the Holocaust WWII, SFJFF will present the following films:
Ordered in April 1945 by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, GERMAN CONCENTRATION CAMPS FACTUAL SURVEY is an official documentary about German atrocities and the concentration camps compiled with footage shot by combat and newsreel cameramen accompanying troops as they liberated occupied Europe. It was to be the film screened in Germany after the fall of the Third Reich – shown to German prisoners of war wherever they were held but it was never shown. Alfred Hitchcock consulted on the editing of the film.
A highly stunning, visual and emotional devastating film IN SILENCE celebrates the musicians whose lives were lost in the Holocaust. The film premiered at the 2014 Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
Hundreds of survivors from the German concentration camps arrive to the harbor of Malmö, Sweden. While they take their first steps in freedom Swedish news photographers film them. EVERY FACE HAS A NAME follows these survivors 70 years later as they watch this archive footage for the very first time and as they discover themselves, they re-experience the emotions from this special day.
An official selection of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, A NAZI LEGACY: WHAT OUR FATHER’S DID is the story of two sons of high-ranking Nazi officials who must come to terms with their fathers’ pasts, with different results in each son.
Before broadcasting on HBO, CLAUDE LANZMANN: SPECTRES OF THE SHOAH will be shown for festival audiences. The film is a documentary portrait of the French iconoclast, Claude Lanzmann, and the making of his masterpiece Shoah.
Immigration in Israel is addressed in MANPOWER, MUSSA and RED LEAVES. In MANPOWER, immigration police officer Meir, returns from a tour to Buchenwald concentration camp, a prize for decorated policemen, to a brutal deportation of African labor immigrants. An official selection of Hot Docs 2015, MUSSA follows a 12 year old boy who has refused to speak since his parents came to Israel from Ethiopia. In Bazi Gete’s RED LEAVES, an Ethiopian immigrant sets out on a journey through his children’s homes after losing his wife.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyRkVcdNQb0
LGBT films include THOSE PEOPLE, PROBATION and DANNY SAYS. On Manhattan’s gilded Upper East Side, a young painter, Charlie, finds the man of his dreams in an older pianist from across the globe. If only Charlie weren’t secretly in love with his own manipulative best friend, Sebastian, who is embroiled in a financial scandal. In the wake of Sebastian’s notoriety, their tight knit group of friends must confront the new realities of adulthood in THOSE PEOPLE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxRw8jV_0aI
In PROBATION TIME the fragile bonds that make up a family are severely tested when our hero is faced with an intense break up and a sister who is fighting “demons”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukGjdU6Kdz8
Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and “culture” of the late 20th century: working for the Doors, Cream, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones. An official selection of SXSW 2015, DANNY SAYS follows Fields from Phi Beta Kappa whiz-kid, to Harvard Law School dropout, to the Warhol Silver Factory, to Director of Publicity at Elektra Records, to “punk pioneer” and beyond.
Other highlights include THE GO GO-GO BOYS: THE INSIDE STORY OF CANNON FILMS (dir. Hila Madalia), an official selection of 2014 Cannes Film Festival, about Menahem Golen and Yoram Globus, who in pursuit of the American Dream turned the Hollywood structure upside down. THE MUSES OF ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER (dir. Asaf Galay) is about the famous Yiddish writer and Nobel Prize winner who wrote with a ‘harem’ of dozens of translators behind him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JngnAk0pKNc
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First Four Documentary Films Selected for 2015 Tallgrass Film Festival | TRAILERS
The first four official films are revealed for the 2015 Tallgrass Film Festival whose subjects truly embody the Stubbornly Independent spirit. These acclaimed documentaries recount engaging stories from around the world, and in Wichita. The first three feature humanitarians, adventurists and innovators in the compelling stories of their trials, tribulations and the up-hill battles they face. The fourth is a sweet and surprising gem that speaks volumes to the talent and perseverance of a local filmmaker with an unconventional and unbending will for the craft of moviemaking.
The 13th annual Tallgrass Film Festival takes place in and around downtown Wichita this October 14-18th.
DOUBLE DIGITS: THE STORY OF A NEIGHBORHOOD MOVIE STAR, USA, 2015, Dir. Justin Johnson (pictured above)
In his tiny “studio” apartment in Wichita, Kansas, inspiring 50-year-old filmmaker Richard ‘R.G.’ Miller directs his cast of dolls and action figures in the weirdest “blockbuster”-style feature films you’ve never seen. His dream audience? More than 9 people. Double Digits explores what it means to be a DIY artist in the 21st century, while delving into the life and creative process of a gifted and truly unique talent. (Johnson and Miller scheduled to attend.) This film will screen as part of the Wichita State University Thursday Night Spotlight and will include the World Premiere of Mr. Miller’s newest short film commissioned for the Tallgrass Film Festival.
https://vimeo.com/128304036
ANGEL OF NANJING, USA/China, 2015, Dir. Jordan Horowitz and Frank L. Ferendo
The Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing is one of the most famous bridges in China. It is also the most popular place in the world to commit suicide. For the past 11 years Chen Si has been patrolling this bridge, looking to provide aid for those who have gone there to end their lives. Incredibly, he has saved over 300 people since he began – nearly one every two weeks. Winner, Best Documentary at Phoenix Film Festival (Filmmaker(s) scheduled to attend.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA93svbHgok
UNBRANDED, USA, 2015, Dir. Phillip Baribeau
Four young men take an unprecedented journey on adopted wild mustangs from the Mexican to the Canadian borders through the backccountry of deserts and mountains. Their goal: To prove the worth of the iconic horses that are the subject of often bitter controversy, as well as their own ability to complete the challenge. As they cover the 3000 miles of often unforgiving landscapes, the riders succumb to the contradictory tensions of camaraderie and rivalry. Winner, Audience Award at 2015 HotDocs Film Festival and 2015 Telluride MountainFilm Festival. Director scheduled to attend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQmmaiWHYHQ
THE ARMOR OF LIGHT, USA, 2015, Dir. Abigail E. Disney and Kathleen Hughes
Abigail Disney’s directorial debut, THE ARMOR OF LIGHT, follows the journey of an Evangelical minister trying to find the courage to preach about the growing toll of gun violence in America. The film tracks Reverend Rob Schenck, anti-abortion activist and fixture on the political far right, who breaks with orthodoxy by questioning whether being pro-gun is consistent with being pro-life. A courageous look at our fractured political culture, and an assertion that it is, indeed, possible for people to come together across deep party lines to find common ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSP0Soy8ACk
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Complete Slate of Films for AFI DOCS 2015 Film Festival
The American Film Institute (AFI) revealed the slate of films for the AFI DOCS 2015 Film Festival, running June 17 to 21 in Washington, DC and Silver Spring, MD. The 13th edition of the festival showcases 81 films representing 25 countries, including four world premieres, three U.S. premieres and four East Coast premieres. AFI DOCS opens with Magnolia Pictures’ BEST OF ENEMIES from director Robert Gordon and Academy Award ®-winning director Morgan Neville and concludes with the HBO documentary film MAVIS! (pictured above) from AFI DOCS alumna Jessica Edwards.
AFI DOCS will recognize Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson (THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION) as its 2015 Charles Guggenheim honoree at the National Archives’ William G. McGowan Theater on June 19.
Spotlight Screenings include THE ARMOR OF LIGHT (DIR Abigail Disney), THE DIPLOMAT (DIR David Holbrooke), the world premiere of FIRST AND 17 (DIR Brad Horn) and MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED (DIR Greg Whiteley). Panel discussions or extended Q&As with special guests will follow each Spotlight Screening.
This year’s AFI DOCS program also includes two Special Screenings. The world premiere of Discovery’s RISE: THE PROMISE OF MY BROTHER’S KEEPER (pictured above) (DIR Dawn Porter) screens at the Newseum on June 18. SALAM NEIGHBOR (DIRS Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci) coincides with World Refugee Day with a world premiere screening on June 20.
Additional films from notable documentarians include IN TRANSIT (DIR Albert Maysles, Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Ben Wu and David Usui), the East Coast premiere of STEVE JOBS: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE (DIR Alex Gibney) and THE LOOK OF SILENCE from AFI DOCS alumnus Joshua Oppenheimer.
“Audiences will see the most renowned documentary films of the year, all of which will inspire, inform and entertain,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director of AFI DOCS. “This year’s slate celebrates documentary filmmaking while providing a launch pad for meaningful dialogue between audience members, filmmakers and policy leaders.”
AFI DOCS will offer additional programs for festival filmmakers as a way to connect with film industry and policy leaders. The festival will also include a two-day Filmmaker Conference open to the documentary filmmaking community at-large. Details will be announced in the coming weeks.
AFI DOCS 2015 DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL PROGRAM
OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHT, SPECIAL AND SPOTLIGHT SCREENINGS
Wednesday, June 17
OPENING NIGHT: BEST OF ENEMIES: DIRS Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon. USA.
In the summer of 1968, the media landscape changed forever when ABC hired two politically opposed intellectuals — Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr. — to debate the issues of the day on live television. The directors will be in attendance for a discussion and Q&A following the film.
Thursday, June 18
SPECIAL SCREENING: RISE: THE PROMISE OF MY BROTHER’S KEEPER: DIR Dawn Porter. USA.
Discovery Channel’s documentary film about President Obama’s challenge to implement a community-level cradle-to-college-and-career strategy for young people, including boys and young men of color, to ensure they can reach their full potential. World premiere.
Friday, June 19
THE CHARLES GUGGENHEIM SYMPOSIUM: The Charles Guggenheim Symposium honors the legacy of the late four-time Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Charles Guggenheim. This year, the free Symposium pays tribute to pioneering documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson. AFI DOCS is proud to present Nelson’s latest documentary THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION as part of the 2015 program. The Symposium includes a conversation with Nelson moderated by The Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday and a series of excerpts from his work. Nelson’s films include Emmy Award®-nominated THE BLACK PRESS: SOLDIERS WITHOUT SWORDS (1999), Emmy Award®-winning THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL (2003), BEYOND BROWN: PURSUING THE PROMISE (2004), JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLES TEMPLE (2006), Emmy Award®-winning FREEDOM RIDERS (2011) and FREEDOM SUMMER (2014).
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING: MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED: DIR Greg Whiteley. USA.
The American education system has remained virtually unchanged for more than 100 years. In today’s highly competitive age of information and technology, experimental schools such as San Diego’s High Tech High aim to change that.
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING: THE DIPLOMAT: DIR David Holbrooke. USA.
The son of the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke unflinchingly examines the career of his brash and talented father, whose life had global reach and unquestioned historical impact.
Saturday, June 20
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING: FIRST AND 17: DIR Brad Horn. USA.
Da’Shawn Hand, the top-ranked high school football recruit of 2013, navigates the pressures of being aggressively pursued by more than 90 colleges. World premiere.
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING: THE ARMOR OF LIGHT: DIR Abigail Disney. USA.
Abigail Disney’s directorial debut follows a prominent evangelical Christian leader who begins to reconsider his moral and political assumptions about gun rights after a major tragedy hits close to home.
SPECIAL SCREENING: SALAM NEIGHBOR: DIRS Chris Temple, Zach Ingrasci. USA/Jordan.
A film team spends one month living in Jordan’s Syrian Za’tari refugee camp to uncover the personal stories behind a rapidly growing global crisis. World premiere.
Sunday, June 21
CLOSING NIGHT: MAVIS!: DIR Jessica Edwards. USA.
Mavis Staples, the legendary gospel and R&B singer, has been making music for more than 60 years. From her roots in Chicago with the family group The Staple Singers, led by her father, Roebuck “Pops” Staples, to her award-winning work as a solo artist, MAVIS! traces the life and career of a remarkable woman with an unstoppable voice. The director will be in attendance for a discussion and Q&A following the film.
FEATURE FILM SELECTIONS:
3 ½ MINUTES, TEN BULLETS: DIR Marc Silver. USA. The 2012 murder of African-American teen Jordan Davis by a middle-aged white man, following an argument over loud music, sparked a national debate about Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law.
ALL THINGS MUST PASS: (pictured above) DIR Colin Hanks. USA. Explore the rise and fall of Tower Records in this fascinating account of the iconic titan of the music business, which closed its doors in 2006. East Coast premiere.
ALTHEA: DIR Rex Miller. USA. Tennis great Althea Gibson rose from the tough streets of Harlem to become the first athlete of color to win Wimbledon. Rex Miller’s documentary tells the story of a strong and resilient champion.
AMONG THE BELIEVERS: DIRS Hemal Trivedi, Mohammed Ali Naqvi. Pakistan. Within Pakistan’s borders, a violent clash of ideologies between radical Muslim extremists and moderates is shaping the path of the country’s future.
ATTACKING THE DEVIL: HAROLD EVANS AND THE LAST NAZI WAR CRIME: DIRS Jacqui Morris, David Morris. UK/Canada. Sunday Times editor Sir Harold Evans uses his newspaper to shed light on the harmful effects of the drug thalidomide during the late 1960s and early ‘70s. U.S. premiere.
THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION: DIR Stanley Nelson. USA. Director Stanley Nelson offers a fascinating account of activist group the Black Panthers and its place in America’s history.
CARTEL LAND: DIR Matthew Heineman. USA/Mexico. A citizen vigilante group in Mexico fights back against the encroaching drug cartels, which have brought widespread fear, violence and corruption to the area for years. The Washington Post Film Strand.
THE CHINESE MAYOR: DIR Hao Zhou. China. Mayor Geng Yanbo has ambitious plans to refurbish and develop the Chinese city of Datong, but progress comes with a price
CITY OF GOLD: DIR Laura Gabbert. USA. Join Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold as he ventures off the beaten path in search of the most adventurous cuisine that Los Angeles has to offer and enjoy the fascinating personal stories that are often served up for dessert.
CODE: DEBUGGING THE GENDER GAP: DIR Robin Hauser Reynolds. USA. Though computer science touches every aspect of life, women are barely represented in a coding community urgently seeking millions of skilled workers. CODE asks, “Why?”
DRONE: DIR Tonje Hessen Schei. Norway. Drone technology has been a highly controversial issue in recent years as it has come to define the modern War on Terror.
DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON: DIR Douglas Tirola. USA. Take a fascinating look into the history of National Lampoon, the hilariously twisted, profane and influential humor magazine that launched an astounding number of successful comedy careers.
FRAME BY FRAME: DIRS Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli. USA. Four photojournalists in Afghanistan work to re-establish a free press after years of oppression under the Taliban regime. The Washington Post Film Strand.
FRESH DRESSED: DIR Sacha Jenkins. USA. This fun and colorful history of hip-hop fashion looks at how the fresh trends that were born on urban streets found their way into mainstream America.
FROM THIS DAY FORWARD: DIR Sharon Shattuck. USA. Filmmaker Sharon Shattuck explores her father’s gender identity struggles and how her parents have remained married through it all.
HOT TYPE: 150 YEARS OF THE NATION: DIR Barbara Kopple. USA. Two-time Oscar® winner Barbara Kopple tracks the iconic progressive weekly The Nation from its 1865 founding by abolitionist Republicans to present-day challenges facing print media of all stripes.
HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO: DIR Alexandra Shiva. USA. As they prepare for their first formal dance, a high-functioning co-ed group of autistic teenagers learns the intricacies of social interaction.
I WANT TO BE A KING: DIR Mehdi Ganji. Iran. Abbas runs a B&B-like tourist destination out of his Iranian home, but with the success of his business, his plans grow increasingly ambitious and outlandish. U.S. premiere.
INDIA’S DAUGHTER: DIR Leslee Udwin. UK/INDIA. INDIA’S DAUGHTER tells the tragic story of a 2012 gang rape and murder of a medical student and presents a searing indictment of the culture of misogyny behind the assault.
IN TRANSIT: DIRS Albert Maysles, Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Ben Wu, David Usua. USA. Legendary documentary pioneer Albert Maysles captures a cross-section of people in transitional stages of life as they journey across America by train.
KING GEORGES: DIR Erika Frankel. USA. Take a look behind the scenes of five-star French restaurant Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia, run by its famously demanding owner and chef, Georges Perrier.
LARRY KRAMER IN LOVE & ANGER: (pictured above) DIR Jean Carlomusto. USA. A portrait of outspoken writer and AIDS activist Larry Kramer, one of the most fiery, passionate, complicated and fascinating people you will ever get to know.
LISTEN TO ME MARLON: DIR Stevan Riley. UK. Drawing on hundreds of hours of previously unheard personal audio recordings, filmmaker Stevan Riley lets actor Marlon Brando tell his extraordinary life’s journey from beyond the grave.
THE LOOK OF SILENCE: DIR Joshua Oppenheimer. Denmark/Indonesia/Norway/Finland/UK. In his follow-up to THE ACT OF KILLING, director Joshua Oppenheimer continues to unearth the ghosts of Indonesia’s violent past, shifting his focus from the perpetrators to those left in the aftermath.
LOVE MARRIAGE IN KABUL: DIR Amin Palangi. Australia. In Afghanistan, Abdul and Fatemeh have fallen in love and wish to marry, but their voices in the matter all but disappear within the complex negotiations and exchanges of money that must occur between the two extended families before an agreement can be made.
OF MEN AND WAR: DIR Laurent Bécue-Renard. France. The devastating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on returning American combat soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are explored in this essential testimony documented by French filmmaker Laurent Bécue-Renard over the course of five years.
OUT TO WIN: DIR Malcolm Ingram. USA/Canada. The world of professional sports has long been dogged by a reputation of homophobia, steeped in the fear that openly gay players provide a potential “distraction” to the other teammates. However, times are changing.
PEACE OFFICER: DIRS Scott Christopherson, Brad Barber. USA. A former Utah sheriff investigates the increased militarization of police forces following the death of his son-in-law during a police standoff.
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT: DIR Lisa Immordino Vreeland. USA. Born into New York’s prominent Guggenheim family, Peggy Guggenheim made her own mark as one of the premier art collectors and exhibitors of her day.
A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON: DIR Les Blank. USA. Unseen for more than 40 years, Les Blank’s portrait of singer-songwriter Leon Russell is a brilliantly freewheeling and poetic film experience ready for rediscovery. East Coast premiere.
PROPHET’S PREY: DIR Amy Berg. USA. Filmmaker Amy Berg examines the alarming allegations surrounding the rogue polygamist religious sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and its incarcerated leader, Warren Jeffs.
RADICAL GRACE: DIR Rebecca Parrish. USA. When you hear the words “feminist,” “activism” and “politics,” Catholic nuns are not usually the first thing that come to mind. However, this group of nuns is turning tradition on its ear. U.S. premiere.
REQUIEM FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM: DIRS Peter Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, Jared P. Scott. USA. Noam Chomsky offers a riveting discourse on income inequality and its devastating effects, which threaten to erode democracy itself.
REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD: AMERICAN SPRING 2014: DIRS Nick Doob, Shari Cookson. USA. During the spring of 2014, more than 8,000 individuals lost their lives to gun violence in the United States. REQUIEM focuses on these gun tragedies, weaving a series of vignettes from police footage, 911 calls and social media. East Coast premiere.
THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER: DIR Chad Gracia. UK. Was Chernobyl really an accident? Ukrainian artist Fedor Alexandrovich investigates an unusual conspiracy theory behind the infamous disaster. East Coast premiere.
STEVE JOBS: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE: DIR Alex Gibney. USA. Alex Gibney takes a candid and critical look at Steve Jobs, the iconic visionary behind Apple Inc., whose impact helped define the tech industry. East Coast premiere.
THE STORM MAKERS: DIR Guillaume Suon. Cambodia/France. Through revealing interviews with victims and perpetrators, filmmaker Guillaume Suon exposes the human-trafficking industry in Cambodia that ensnares tens of thousands of victims annually.
THE THREE HIKERS: DIR Natalie Avital. USA. In 2009, when American hikers Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal mistakenly wandered off the beaten path near Iraq’s poorly marked border with Iran, they quickly experienced the draconian consequences of their error. World premiere. The Washington Post Film Strand.
TYKE ELEPHANT OUTLAW: DIR Stefan Moore, Susan Lambert. Australia. After years of mistreatment, Tyke the circus elephant goes on a rampage in this tragic and unforgettable tale of performing-animal abuse.
UNCERTAIN: DIRS Anna Sandilands, Ewan McNicol. USA. Stunningly beautiful and disarmingly funny, UNCERTAIN delivers a portrait of the literal and figurative troubled waters of Uncertain, Texas, a 94-resident town on the brink of extinction.
VERY SEMI-SERIOUS: DIR Leah Wolchok. USA. This fascinating, funny film explores the history and process of The New Yorker’s iconic cartoons through the lens of its cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff.
WELCOME TO LEITH: DIRS Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker. USA. When notorious white supremacist Craig Cobb decides to settle in Leith, North Dakota, the townspeople work together to evict their unwanted neighbor.
WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?: DIR Liz Garbus. USA. Nina Simone trained as a classical pianist but evolved into one of jazz music’s most beloved and complex figures. Lending her voice to the civil rights movement, Simone battled demons that ultimately drove her into a self-imposed exile.
THE WOLFPACK: DIR Crystal Moselle. USA. Tucked inside an apartment in Manhattan’s Lower East Side live the Angulo siblings, a tight-knit group who have barely left home due to the overbearing hand of their father. They spend countless hours re-creating scenes from their favorite movies, which have shaped their view of the outside world.
THE YES MEN ARE REVOLTING: DIRS Laura Nix, The Yes Men. USA. The prankster activists known as The Yes Men are at it again. Traveling the globe posing as corporate and government spokesmen, the mischievous pair stages elaborate stunts designed to draw attention to the issue of climate change.
SHORT FILM SELECTIONS:
THE 414S: THE ORIGINAL TEENAGE HACKERS: DIR Michael T. Vollmann. USA. When a group of teenagers began testing their hacking skills in 1983, they started a firestorm by stumbling into a national laboratory’s computer system.
ALLEN & ALINEA: DIR Daniel Addelson. USA. In his home kitchen, Allen tackles the complicated recipes from Alinea, a high-end restaurant. In the process, he unlocks his own creativity and confidence.
BODY TEAM 12: DIR David Darg. Liberia. It’s perhaps the most dangerous job in the world: collecting dead bodies from Ebola-stricken villages.
BORN TO BE MILD: DIR Andy Oxley. UK. Members of the Dull Men’s Club explain their non-threatening passions (mailboxes, traffic circles, bricks, milk bottles) without shame and without judgment.
COBBLER: DIR Madelon Vroom. UK. A feisty artisan seems poised to be the last shoemaker in his family — until his inexperienced son joins the business, triggering a lively dialogue.
COMIC BOOK HEAVEN: DIR E.J. McLeavey-Fisher. USA. A long-standing comic book store in Queens prepares to close its doors for good.
A CONVERSATION WITH MY BLACK SON: DIRS Blair Foster, Geeta Gandbhir. USA. A group of racially diverse parents discuss the importance of having a conversation with their young black sons about racism and interacting with the police.
CROOKED CANDY: DIR Andrew Rodgers. USA. An adult collector shows off his illegal Kinder Egg collection, the egg-shaped chocolate candies banned in the U.S.
DEAR ARAUCARIA: DIR Matt Houghton. UK. When the creator of a long-running newspaper crossword is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he begins leaving a cryptic message within the puzzles.
GIOVANNI AND THE WATER BALLET: DIR Astrid Bussink. Netherlands. Ten-year-old Giovanni is the only boy trying out for the synchronized swimming team.
HANGAR B: DIR Thomas Beug. USA. A group of men, some in their eighties and nineties, stays active working at a hangar at Floyd Bennett Airfield in Brooklyn, restoring old planes.
KATSUO-BUSHI: DIR Yu Nakajima. Japan. Japanese cuisine’s umami flavor depends upon dried, smoked and fermented tuna. While most processors have industrialized production, the finest artisans continue to use age-old methods.
THE LAND: DIR Erin Davis. USA. A radical European playspace for children encourages independence and risk-taking.
LAST REEL: DIR Steven Bognar. USA. With the arrival of new technological advances, Ohio’s Little Art Theatre prepares to say goodbye to 35mm movie prints.
LETTING YOU GO: DIR Kim Faber. Netherlands. This delicate film explores one woman’s heartbreaking decision to self-euthanize.
LOSERS, A FILM ABOUT LOSS: DIR Arianne Hinz. Netherlands. Three young people share their different stories of loss: a stuffed animal, a fencing tournament and a loved one.
MEND AND MAKE DO: DIR Bexie Bush. UK. As Lyn looks back on her past, her imagination brings to life her treasured memories in the shape of her most familiar belongings.
MIDNIGHT THREE & SIX: DIR Joe Callander. USA. As Lyn looks back on her past, her imagination brings to life her treasured memories in the shape of her most familiar belongings.
OBJECT: DIR Paulina Skibińska. Poland. A Polish rescue team dives into the freezing depths to retrieve a mysterious object hidden beneath the ice.
SANDORKRAUT: DIRS Emily Lobsenz, Ann Husaini. USA. A “fermentation fetishist” blends his ritualistic culinary process with his own personal feelings on eating, living and mortality.
SLEEPERS’ BEAT: DIR Anastasia Kirillova. Russian Federation/UK. The romance of the rails is beautifully captured in this meditative look at the workers on long-distance Russian trains who sleep to its rhythmic beat.
A STRONG BEAT: DIR Daniel Addelson. USA. A man receives a heart transplant and then falls in love in a most unexpected way.
THE TIMEKEEPER: DIR Katherine Wells. USA. How long is one second? Demetrios Matsakis keeps the official time for the U.S. by measuring fractions of a nanosecond with cutting-edge atomic clocks.
WATERLILIES: DIR Tanya Doyle. Ireland. Irish lasses in their sixties learn to swim for the very first time while discussing their marriages, children and interests.
A WEE NIGHT IN: DIR Stuart Edwards. Scotland. An elderly Scottish couple enjoys an evening at home together, delighting in all the wee things that make life special.
WHO STOLE THE RUBY SLIPPERS? DIR Theodore James. USA. The investigation of the theft of one of the iconic pairs of ruby slippers from THE WIZARD OF OZ from the Judy Garland Museum.
WOMEN IN SINK: DIR Iris Zaki. Israel/UK. In this charming film, the director converses with Arab and Jewish women as she washes their hair, revealing a nuanced portrait of contemporary Israel.