Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art

  • 2015 DOC NYC Complete Lineup; Secretary Hillary Clinton to Attend Closing Night World Premiere of ONCE AND FOR ALL

    Once and For All, directed by Michael Epstein and Dyllan McGee The 2015 DOC NYC documentary festival, running November 12 to 19, will include over 200 films and events.  Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton will be in attendance for the Closing Night world premiere of AOL’s MAKERS’ Once and For All, directed by Michael Epstein and Dyllan McGee, about the 1995 Beijing Women’s Conference where then-First Lady Clinton gave a historic address on women’s rights. Director Amy Berg will present her Janis Joplin portrait, Janis: Little Girl Blue, for the festival’s Centerpiece on November 15. These two gala screenings join the previously announced Opening Night film Miss Sharon Jones!, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple. 27 films world premiering at the festival include The Anthropologist, profiling Margaret Mead and Susie Crate; Bluespace, an exploration of water on Earth and Mars; The Sunshine Makers, on psychedelic drug makers; Thank You For Your Service, on veterans coping with PTSD; and the first two episodes of Making a Murderer, a 10-part Netflix series about a high-stakes criminal case in America’s heartland. Among the 15 U.S. premieres are The Fear of 13, on a prisoner’s gripping story; Frackman, on an Australian activist; Lucha Mexico, on Mexican wrestlers; Noma: My Perfect Storm, on the acclaimed Nordic restaurant; and Speed Sisters, on Arab women race car drivers. DOC NYC will welcome over 200 filmmakers and special guests in attendance for Q&As after most screenings. Among the notable visitors expected to appear in person are filmmaker Martin Scorsese for Hitchcock/Truffaut; comedian Gilbert Gottfried for Can We Take a Joke?; poet Sonia Sanchez for BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez; actress Mary Louise Wilson for She’s the Best Thing In It; actor Omar Epps for Daddy Don’t Go; former NSA technical director Bill Binney for A Good American; avant-garde filmmaker and choreographer Yvonne Rainer for Feelings Are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer; and renowned chefs Georges Perrier and Nicholas Elmi for King Georges. The following is a breakdown of programming by section: GALAS Opening Night – MISS SHARON JONES! Dir: Barbara Kopple, US Premiere Two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple follows soul queen Sharon Jones in a year of adversity. In person: Barbara Kopple, subjects Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings Centerpiece – JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE Dir: Amy Berg, NYC Premiere Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil) profiles the rock legend Janis Joplin. FilmRise. In person: Amy Berg Closing Night – ONCE AND FOR ALL Dirs: Michael Epstein, Dyllan McGee, World Premiere The story of the 1995 Beijing Women’s Conference, a watershed event in the global struggle for women’s rights. AOL’s MAKERS. In person: Michael Epstein, Dyllan McGee, subject Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton SPECIAL EVENTS AN ART THAT NATURE MAKES: THE WORK OF ROSAMOND PURCELL Dir: Molly Bernstein, World Premiere Photographer Rosamond Purcell finds unexpected beauty in the overlooked, discarded and decayed. In person: Molly Bernstein, subject Rosamond Purcell. (Preceded by the short film A PASSION OF GOLD AND FIRE, dir: Sebastien Pins, on the retiring head of an apiary school.) HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT Dir: Kent Jones Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and others discuss the influence of Hitchcock and Truffaut’s famous book. Cohen Media Group. In person: Kent Jones, subject Martin Scorsese KEYNOTE: A CONVERSATION WITH JON ALPERT & SHEILA NEVINS Filmmaker Jon Alpert and HBO Documentary Films head Sheila Nevins give a keynote conversation in conjunction with the world premiere of Alpert’s short film MARIELA CASTRO’S MARCH: CUBA’S LGBT REVOLUTION profiling the Cuban Congresswoman who is a tireless champion of LGBT rights in Cuba. HBO Documentary Films. MAKING A MURDERER Dirs: Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos, World Premiere A sneak peek at the first two episodes of a riveting ten-part true crime docu-series. Netflix. In person: Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos TROUBLEMAKERS: THE STORY OF LAND ART Dir: James Crump A group of NYC-based artists abandoned gallery spaces to embrace the expanse of the American Southwest. First Run Features. In person: James Crump, MOCA Director Philippe Vergne + A SURPRISE SCREENING OF A SOON-TO-BE-ANNOUNCED WORLD PREMIERE VIEWFINDERS COMPETITION (distinct directorial visions) THE ANTHROPOLOGIST Dirs: Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, Jeremy Newberger, World Premiere Parallel stories of two female anthropologists: trailblazer Margaret Mead and contemporary Susie Crate. In person: Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, Jeremy Newberger, subjects Mary Catherine Bateson, Susie Crate, Katie Yegorov-Crate BARGE Dir: Ben Powell, NYC Premiere A portrait of characters working on a Mississippi barge headed to New Orleans. In person: Ben Powell BLUESPACE Dir: Ian Cheney, World Premiere An expedition to two planets: Earth, with its rising seas, and Mars, with the promise of colonization. In person: Ian Cheney A GOOD AMERICAN Dir: Friedrich Moser, North American Premiere A profile of Bill Binney, who went from a NSA insider to a critic of government surveillance. In person: Friedrich Moser, subjects Bill Binney, Kirk Wiebe, Tom Drake I AM SUN MU Dir: Adam Sjöberg, US Premiere After defecting from North Korea, a former propaganda artist applies his craft to satirical political pop art. In person: Adam Sjöberg A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES: PEACEKEEPERS Dirs: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Geeta Gandbhir, US Premiere Three Bangladeshi policewomen serve with the UN peacekeeping mission in post-earthquake Haiti. In person: Geeta Gandbhir MOTLEY’S LAW Dir: Nicole Horanyi, NYC Premiere The only Western lawyer licensed to work in Afghanistan’s courts, Kimberley Motley finds herself at a crossroads. In person: Nicole Horanyi, subject Kimberley Motley NEWMAN Dir: Jon Fox, NYC Premiere A maverick inventor battles against the scientific establishment over a miraculous energy-producing machine. In person: Jon Fox P.S. JERUSALEM Dir: Danae Elon, US Premiere Chronicling three years in Jerusalem with her family, Danae Elon uncovers the city’s tensions. In person: Danae Elon THE SUNSHINE MAKERS Dir: Cosmo Feilding-Mellen, World Premiere A real-life Breaking Bad for the psychedelic set about the unlikely duo at the heart of 1960s drug counterculture. In person: Cosmo Feilding Mellen METROPOLIS COMPETITION (NYC stories) CLASS DIVIDE Dir: Marc Levin, NYC Premiere A look at NYC’s gentrification and growing inequality at the Chelsea intersection of 10th Avenue and 26th Street. HBO Documentary Films. In person: Marc Levin DADDY DON’T GO Dir: Emily Abt, World Premiere Four diverse, disadvantaged NYC fathers struggle to beat the odds and defy the deadbeat dad stereotype. In person: Emily Abt, all subjects THE JAZZ LOFT ACCORDING TO W. EUGENE SMITH Dir: Sara Fishko, NYC Premiere In 1957-65, a former LIFE Magazine photojournalist captured legendary jazz musicians in a Sixth Avenue loft. In person: Sara Fishko LEFT ON PURPOSE Dir: Justin Schein, Co-Dir David Mehlman, NYC Premiere What begins as a portrait of the life of an antiwar radical instead threatens to become an account of his suicide. In person: Justin Schein, David Mehlman THE LOST ARCADE Dir: Kurt Vincent, World Premiere Gentrification threatens the last arcade in NYC, as well as the diverse community that calls it a second home. In person: Kurt Vincent MIRIAM: HOME DELIVERY Dir: Juliet Jordan, World Premiere A profile of a NYC homebirth midwife and her diverse clientele. In person: Juliet Jordan, subject Miriam Schwarzschild MISSING PEOPLE Dir: David Shapiro, NYC Premiere A NYC gallerist, haunted by the unsolved murder of her brother, becomes obsessed with a New Orleans painter. In person: David Shapiro OXD: ONE EXTRAORDINARY DAY Dir: Craig Lowy, World Premiere Elizabeth Streb’s Brooklyn-based Extreme Action Company trains for a breathtaking spectacle in London. In person: Craig Lowy, subject Elizabeth Streb, dancers from the Streb Extreme Action Company TESTED Dir: Curtis Chin, World Premiere Attending NYC’s elite public schools can set students up for the future, but first they have to get in. In person: Curtis Chin. (Preceded by the short film WHY WE STAY, dir: Crystal Kayiza, co-dirs: Pete Quandt, Leroy Farrell, on a South Bronx community fighting gentrification.) TREE MAN Dirs: Jon Reiner, Brad Rothschild, NYC Premiere A Quebecois family man spends five weeks on the streets of NYC selling Christmas trees. In person: Jon Reiner, Brad Rothschild AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES (a spectrum of domestic topics) ABOVE AND BELOW Dir: Nicolas Steiner, NYC Premiere An exploration of outsiders who live in abandoned military bunkers and storm drains in the American West. Oscilloscope Laboratories. In person: Nicolas Steiner AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MICHELLE MAREN Dirs: Michel Negroponte, Michelle Maren, US Premiere An acclaimed filmmaker and his troubled subject craft a captivating portrait of a woman enslaved by past traumas. In person: Michel Negroponte, Michelle Maren DEEP RUN Dir: Hillevi Loven, NYC Premiere Can an affable young transgender man live openly with his true love in the Bible Belt? In person: Hillevi Loven, subject Cole Ray Davis THE FEAR OF 13 Dir: David Sington, North American Premiere A death row prisoner behind bars for more then 20 years reveals the shocking truth behind his case. In person: David Sington LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS Dir: Laurie Kahn, NYC Premiere A look at the vast community around romance fiction, demonstrating why love stories are no trivial matter. In person: Laurie Kahn A NEW HIGH Dirs: Samuel Miron, Stephen Scott Scarpulla, NYC Premiere A group of Seattle addicts attempt to climb Mount Rainier to conquer their demons. In person: Samuel Miron, Stephen Scott Scarpulla SKY LINE Dirs: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Jonny Leahan, World Premiere Egos collide as a group of scientists and entrepreneurs attempt to realize a science-fiction fantasy. FilmBuff. In person: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Jonny Leahan THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE Dir: Tom Donahue, World Premiere The stories of several struggling veterans reveal the mental health crisis in the military. In person: Tom Donahue, subjects Kenneth Toone, Dr. Mark Russell, William Rodriguez, Phil Straub, General Loree Sutton, Jake Clark WILHEMINA’S WAR Dir: June Cross, World Premiere An African-American grandmother in the deep South cares for her HIV+ family members. In person: June Cross. (Preceded by the short film OPEN YOUR EYES, dir: Irene Taylor Brodsky, on a blind elderly couple in Nepal.) INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES (a spectrum of global topics) ALL RISE Dirs: Jay Shapiro, Jeffrey Saunders, World Premiere International law students face off in the world’s most prestigious simulated court competition, the Jessup. In person: Jay Shapiro, Jeffrey Saunders, subjects Areej Alragabi, Tomer Tregor THE BABUSHKAS OF CHERNOBYL Dirs: Holly Morris, Anne Bogart, NYC Premiere A profile of elderly women who subsist on their beloved but toxic land in Chernobyl’s radioactive exclusion zone. In person: Holly Morris BOLSHOI BABYLON Dirs: Nick Read, co-dir. Mark Franchetti, NYC Premiere Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet weathers the fallout from the notorious 2013 acid attack on the company’s director Sergei Filin. HBO Documentary Films. In person: Nick Read, Mark Franchetti KINGDOM OF SHADOWS Dir: Bernardo Ruiz A compelling investigation into the human costs of the Mexican drug war on both sides of the border. Participant Media. In person: Bernardo Ruiz ON THE RIM OF THE SKY Dir: Hongjie Xu, US Premiere An isolated Chinese village school becomes a battleground between generations, ideologies and egos. TOCANDO LA LUZ Dir: Jennifer Redfearn, NYC Premiere Three women, united by blindness and a desire for independence, pursue their dreams in modern Cuba. In person: Jennifer Redfearn. (Preceded by the short film THE 100 YEARS SHOW, dir: Alison Klayman, on Cuban-born NYC artist Carmen Herrera.) BEHIND THE SCENES (on films and filmmaking) CLAUDE LANZMANN: SPECTRES OF THE SHOAH Dir: Adam Benzine, NYC Premiere For the first time on camera, the 89-year-old auteur behind Shoah reflects on the challenges he faced to realize his vision. HBO Documentary Films. In person: Adam Benzine, subjects Richard Brody, Stuart Liebman. (Preceded by the short film DREAMING AGAINST THE WORLD, dirs: Timothy Sternberg, Francisco Bello, on Chinese artist Mu Xin.) THE DYING OF THE LIGHT Dir: Peter Flynn, World Premiere A bittersweet ode to the vanishing craft of film projection and a celebration of the men and women in the booth. In person: Peter Flynn HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY Dir: Daniel Raim, North American Premiere A love story and tribute to the unsung talents behind a staggering number of cinema classics. In person: Daniel Raim RAIDERS!: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST FAN FILM EVER MADE Dirs: Jeremy Coon, Tim Skousen, NYC Premiere Three pre-teens set out to pay tribute to their favorite film; it become an obsession lasting three decades. Drafthouse Films. In person: Jeremy Coon,Tim Skousen REEL IN THE CLOSET Dir: Stu Maddux, NYC Premiere An excavation of the hidden history of LGBT lives through a treasure trove of rare home movies. In person: Stu Maddux. (Preceded by the short film ED & PAULINE, dirs: Christian Bruno, Natalija Vekic, on Pauline Kael and Ed Landberg’s art house cinema.) WOMEN HE’S UNDRESSED Dir: Gillian Armstrong, NYC Premiere In Hollywood’s golden age, costume designer Orry-Kelly thrived, but also kept secrets as a gay man. In person: subject Ann Roth CENTERSTAGE (on performers) CAN WE TAKE A JOKE? Dir: Ted Balaker, World Premiere A thought-provoking exploration of outrage culture through the lens of stand-up comedy. In person: Ted Balaker, subjects Greg Lukianoff, Karith Foster, Gilbert Gottfried FEELINGS ARE FACTS: THE LIFE OF YVONNE RAINER Dir: Jack Walsh, NYC Premiere A long-overdue portrait of iconoclast dancer, choreographer and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer. In person: Jack Walsh, subject Yvonne Rainer THE RED UMBRELLA DIARIES Dir: David Kornfield, NYC Premiere Seven diverse sex workers tell their tales at NYC’s Joe’s Pub. In person: producer Audacia Ray SHE’S THE BEST THING IN IT Dir: Ron Nyswaner, NYC Premiere Tony-winning character actor Mary Louise Wilson finds few opportunities on the stage, so turns to teaching. In person: Ron Nyswaner, subject Mary Louise Wilson DOC EAT DOC (on food) CITY OF GOLD Dir: Laura Gabbert, NYC Premiere This portrait of Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold reveals hidden culinary gems of Los Angeles. Sundance Selects. In person: Laura Gabbert, subject Jonathan Gold FOR GRACE Dirs: Kevin Pang, Mark Helenowski, NYC Premiere Recognized with two Michelin stars, chef Curtis Duffy sets grand plans for his new Chicago restaurant, Grace. FilmBuff. In person: Kevin Pang KING GEORGES Dir: Erika Frankel At Philadelphia’s famed French restaurant Le Bec Fin, chef Georges Perrier struggles to stay in business. In person: Erika Frankel, subjects Georges Perrier, Nicholas Elmi THE MISSING INGREDIENT Dir: Michael Sparaga, World Premiere A portrait of two NY restaurants, exploring what it means to be an institution. In person: Michael Sparaga, subjects Charles Devigne, Michael Miele, Salvatore Doria NOMA: MY PERFECT STORM Dir: Pierre Deschamps, North American Premiere When the Nordic restaurant Noma loses the title of the world’s best restaurant, its talented chef seeks redemption. Magnolia Pictures. DOCS REDUX (a showcase of classic revivals) GIMME SHELTER (1970) Dirs: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin 45th anniversary screening, in memory of Al Maysles. A portrait of the Rolling Stones becomes a disturbing record of a notorious concert. HIGH ON CRACK STREET: LOST LIVES IN LOWELL (1995) Dirs: Jon Alpert, Maryann DeLeo, Richard Farrell 20th anniversary screening. The documentary that inspired The Fighter focuses on three addicts. In person: Jon Alpert SISTERS IN LAW (2005) Dir: Kim Longinotto 10th anniversary screening. Two fierce and feisty women challenge tradition in Cameroon through their legal work. In person: Kim Longinotto FIGHT THE POWER (on activists) BADDDDD SONIA SANCHEZ Dirs: Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, NYC Premiere A crucial figure in the Black Arts Movement harnesses her gift for words to fuse art and activism over six decades. California Newsreel. In person: Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, subject Sonia Sanchez THE C WORD Dir: Meghan O’Hara, NYC Premiere Oscar-nominated producer Megan O’Hara (Sicko) questions the establishment wisdom around cancer. In person: Meghan O’Hara CIRCLE OF POISON Dirs: Evan Mascagni, Shannon Post, World Premiere A pointed exposé on the global trade in banned pesticides and their impact on health. In person: Evan Mascagni, Shannon Post FRACKMAN Dir: Richard Todd, Co-Dir Jonathon Stack, US Premiere Funny and outspoken Aussie everyman Dayne Pratzky becomes an accidental activist against fracking. In person: Richard Todd, Jonathon Stack, subject Dayne Pratzky THE INVADERS Dir: Prichard Smith, World Premiere Filling in a lost chapter of civil rights history, a look at the generation of radicals that emerged in Memphis in 1967. In person: Prichard Smith (Preceded by the short film EMORY DOUGLAS: THE ART OF THE BLACK PANTHERS, dirs: Dan Covert, Andre Andreev aka “Dress Code,” on art used as a revolutionary weapon.) NO MÁS BÉBES Dir: Renee Tajima-Peña, NYC Premiere A young lawyer fights the medical establishment on behalf of Latina immigrants sterilized without their consent. In person: Renee Tajima-Peña JOCK DOCS (on sports) BOUNCE: HOW THE BALL TAUGHT THE WORLD TO PLAY Dir: Jerome Thelia, NYC Premiere A far-ranging exploration of the universal appeal of play as realized in the ubiquity and versatility of the ball. In person: Jerome Thélia. (Preceded by the short film THE BAD BOY OF BOWLING, dir: Bryan Storkel, on bowling sensation Peter Weber.) GAME FACE Dir: Michiel Thomas, NYC Premiere A transgender Mixed Martial Artist and a gay college basketball player struggle with living openly in the public eye. In person: Michiel Thomas THE GREAT ALONE Dir: Greg Kohs, NYC Premiere Lance Mackey braves the Arctic wilderness for another chance at glory through the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. In person: Greg Kohs, subjects Lance Mackey, sled dog Amp THE LEGEND OF SWEE’ PEA Dir: Benjamin May, World Premiere NYC playground basketball legend Lloyd “Swee’ Pea” Daniels was a top college recruit until a drug bust. In person: Benjamin May LUCHA MEXICO Dirs: Alex Hammond, Ian Markiewicz, US Premiere An entertaining look at Mexico’s Lucha Libre, where masked wrestlers wage a battle between good and evil. In person: Alex Hammond, Ian Markiewicz, subjects Shocker, Jon Strongman SPEED SISTERS Dir: Amber Fares, US Premiere The Middle East’s first all-female Arab race car team overcomes checkpoints and expectations to become role models. In person: Amber Fares, subject Noor Daoud MODERN FAMILY (on diverse relations) ALWAYS TOGETHER Dir: Eva Tomanová, US Premiere A former computer scientist raises his family in the Czech countryside with no modern conveniences or schooling. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD Dir: Sharon Shattuck, NYC Premiere The filmmaker seeks to understand how her parents remained together after her father transitioned to a woman. In person: Sharon Shattuck GAYBY BABY Dir: Maya Newell, NYC Premiere This touching film reveals both the challenges of same-sex parenting and its commonalities with every family. In person: producer Charlotte Mars THE MELTING FAMILY Dir: Nicole Groton, World Premiere This candidly personal film chronicles how one nuclear family grew through seven divorces and remarriages. In person: Nicole Groton OLD FRIENDS Dir: Peter Odabashian, World Premiere An intimate reflection on friendship demonstrates the power of an intentional community. In person: Peter Odabashian, subjects Esther Cohen, Bruce Kitzmeyer, Anne Newman Bacal, Betty Odabashian WITH OR WITHOUT YOU Dir: Hyuckjee Park, North American Premiere Long-widowed from the husband they shared, two women continue to live together decades later. SONIC CINEMA (on music) 13 MILLION VOICES Dir: Janelle Gueits, NYC Premiere Young Cubans and Cuban Americans forge ties against backdrop of Havana’s Peace Without Borders concert. In person: Janelle Gueits HUSTLERS CONVENTION Dir: Mike Todd A rap cousin of Searching for Sugar Man, the film seeks the artist behind the 1973 album Hustlers Convention. In person: Mike Todd I GO BACK HOME – JIMMY SCOTT Dir: Yoon-ha Chang, World Premiere The angelic-voiced jazz singer Jimmy Scott lived in obscurity for decades before making a comeback. In person: Yoon-ha Chang, subject Ralf Kemper MAD TIGER Dirs: Jonathan Yi, Michael Haertlein, World Premiere Meet Peelander-Z and you might just start to believe the Japanese art-punk band’s claims of interstellar origins. In person: Jonathan Yi, Michael Haertlein, subjects Kengo Hioki (Yellow), Kotaro Tsukada (Red) SYL JOHNSON: ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS Dir: Rob Hatch-Miller, NYC Premiere Soul singer Syl Johnson never achieved the success he longed for until hip hop opened up new opportunities. In person: Rob Hatch-Miller THEORY OF OBSCURITY: A FILM ABOUT THE RESIDENTS Dir: Don Hardy, NYC Premiere A profile of the band the Residents, who have maintained anonymity for 40 years behind giant eyeball masks. Film Movement. In person: Don Hardy THE WILD LIFE (on animals) THE CHAMPIONS Dir: Darcy Dennett, NYC Premiere An inspiring chronicle of the efforts to rescue and rehabilitate Michael Vick’s pit bulls. In person: Darcy Dennett HARRY & SNOWMAN Dir: Ron Davis, NYC Premiere Dutch immigrant Harry deLeyer saves a horse from the glue factory and finds a show-jumping champion. In person: Ron Davis HUNTWATCH Dir: Brant Backlund, World Premiere An activist crusades against the cruelty of seal hunting while bringing us closer to the delightful creatures. In person: Brant Backlund TIGER TIGER Dir: George Butler, NYC Premiere One of the world’s top big cat biologists tracks tigers on the dangerous border of India and Bangladesh. In person: George Butler SHORTS PROGRAMS (thematic collections of short documentaries) SHORTS: CONCRETE KINGDOM City life. Lenny and the Rat (dir: Jason Hutt); S – The Musical Shuttle (dirs: Alina Abouelenin, Benjamin Bergmann); Man Under (dir: Paul Stone); Mac Premo – stuffmaker (dir: Bas Berkhout); Super-Unit(s) (dir: Teresa Czepiec). In person: Paul Stone, Jason Hutt, Bas Berkhout, Alina Abouelenin, Benjamin Bergmann SHORTS: EXPRESSIONS Artists and their art. Sideshow of the Absurd (dirs: Tina DiFeliciantonio, Jane C. Wagner); Cindy Sherman: “Untitled Film Stills” (dir: Douglas Sloan); Colors of Life (dir: Goro Ushijima); Artspeak (dir: Bill Claps); Bernice (dir: Kristina Sorge). In person: Tina DiFeliciantonio, Jane C. Wagner, Douglas Sloan, Bill Claps SHORTS: A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS Stories for the whole family. Cone Phones (dir: Heidi Gelover); Little Hero (dirs: Marcus McDougald, Jennifer Medvin); Made of Clay (dir: Fayssal Bin Sahli); AlieNation (dir: Laura Lehmus); Curt (dir: Brendan Hearne); Teen Press (dir: T.C. Johnstone). In person: Heidi Gelover, Jennifer Medvin, Brendan Hearne, T.C. Johnstone SHORTS: FROM THERE TO HERE Experiences in the melting pot. Satellite Baby (dir: Jenny Schweitzer); Resident Alien (dir: Naiara Eizaguirre-Paulos); The Absentees (dir: Tanya Daud); Not So Namaste (dirs: Rita Baghdadi, Jeremiah Hammerling); Marathon (dirs: Theo Rigby, Kate McLean); Going Back Home (dir: Tim O’Donnell); Looking at Time (dir: Brandon Lavoie). In person: Jenny Schweitzer, Rita Baghdadi, Jeremiah Hammerling, Theo Rigby, Kate McLean, Tim O’Donnell, Brandon Lavoie SHORTS: LARGER THAN LIFE Portraits of everyday characters. Tiger Hood (dir: Christopher André Marks); Pink Boy (dir: Eric Rockey); The Reinvention of Normal (dir: Liam Saint-Pierre); Dunk Tank Clowns (dir: Daniel McGuire); Rothman (dir: Nader Sadre); Heavy Fog Tonight (dir: Nathan Reich). In person: Christopher André Marks, Eric Rockey, Liam Saint-Pierre, Daniel McGuire, Nader Sadre, Nathan Reich SHORTS: PASSPORT Take a trip around the world. Boxeadora (dir: Meg Smaker); Worlds on Edge (dirs: Thiago B. Mendonça, Renata Jardim); End of the World (dir: Monika Pawluczuk); Hyena Boys (dir: Tarryn Crossman). In person: Meg Smaker, Thiago B. Mendonça, Monika Pawluczuk, Tarryn Crossman SHORTS: POINTS OF VIEW Tales of yesterday, today and tomorrow. The Clock of the Long Now (dirs: Jimmy Goldblum, Adam Weber); The Typist (dir: Kristine Stolakis); German Shepherd (dir: Nils Bergendal); The 414s (dir: Michael T. Vollmann); Back (dirs: Jenna Belhumeur, Elena Boffetta); I Was Here First (dirs: Katherin Machalek, Adam Golub); The Surrender (dir: Stephen Maing). In person: Jimmy Goldblum, Adam Weber, Kristine Stolakis, Jenna Belhumeur, Elena Boffetta, Katherin Machalek, Adam Golub, Stephen Maing SHORT: PUSHING THE BOUNDS True innovation. What Lies Beneath the Sky (dir: Vladimir de Fontenay); Morgan Green Shaves Her Head Backwards (dir: Morgan Green); María 95 (dir: Josh Polon); Zone Blanche (dir: Gaëlle Cintré); Confessions (dir: Paul Erskine); Le Mur et l’Eau (dir: Alice Fargier). In person: Vladimir de Fontenay, Morgan Green, Josh Polon, Gaëlle Cintré, Paul Erskine

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  • 53rd New York Film Festival Lineup for the Spotlight on Documentary Section Incl. Laura Poitras, Nora Ephron, Ingrid Bergman

    Fish Tail / Rabo de Peixe The 53rd New York Film Festival taking place September 25 to October 11, 2015, revealed the complete lineup for the Spotlight on Documentary section. The Spotlight on Documentary section will launch on Sunday, September 27, with a program highlighting episodic, short-form nonfiction, which will include a preview of new work by Laura Poitras, who follows up her Oscar-winning CITIZENFOUR (which had its World Premiere at NYFF last year) with the series Asylum, an intimate look at one of the most revolutionary and controversial thinkers of the digital age, unfolding in episodes. A behind-the-scenes drama, Asylum follows Julian Assange as he publishes classified U.S. State Department cables and eventually seeks political asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The evening will include a preview of episodes from the series, as well as the premiere of new, multi-part work from other acclaimed filmmakers, which will be announced at a later date. This year’s lineup also includes three films centered on iconic figures within the arts: Nora Ephron, Ingrid Bergman, and Jia Zhangke. Everything Is Copy director Jacob Bernstein delivers a vibrant portrait of his mother Nora Ephron, through her own words and the memories of her sisters, colleagues, former spouses, friends, and scenes from her movies. Stig Björkman’s focus in Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words is not on Bergman the star but on Bergman the woman and mother, using excerpts from her letters and diaries (extracts of which are read by Alicia Vikander); memories shared from her children (Pia Lindström and Isabella, Ingrid, and Roberto Rossellini); and clips from Super-8 and 16mm home movies shot by Bergman herself. Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang is the latest film from Brazilian director Walter Salles, who accompanies the director (whose latest, Mountains May Depart, is screening in this year’s NYFF Main Slate) on a visit to his hometown and other locations he has returned to in his vast body of work. NYFF welcomes back director Frederick Wiseman with his 40th feature documentary, In Jackson Heights, which centers around one of New York City’s liveliest and most culturally diverse neighborhoods caught in the crunch of economic “development,” like so many other neighborhoods in the city and around the country. Joaquim Pinto returns to the festival, following his 2013 film What Now? Remind Me (NYFF51), with Fish Tail, co-directed with his husband Nuno Leonel, set in the Azorean island of Rabo de Peixe, where small-scale fishermen introduce the filmmakers to the rhythms of their labor-intensive routines—artisanal traditions that face extinction in the global economy. Politics play a role in several of the selections in the lineup. Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson, who premiered a series of immigration films How Democracy Works at NYFF51, return with their final film on the subject, Immigration Battle. The duo have continued to chronicle the struggle for American immigration reform over the past 16 years, crossing the country numerous times to film politicians and activists on both sides of the issue. The North American Premiere of We Are Alive from Chilean filmmaker Carmen Castillo (her Calle Santa Fe was a selection of the 2007 NYFF) is a documentary essay asking the questions: What comprises political engagement in 2015? Is it still possible to influence the course of events in this world? She structures her film in dialogue with the writings of her late friend Daniel Bensaïd, organizer of the Paris student revolts in May ’68 and France’s leading Trotskyite philosopher. FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS Everything Is Copy Jacob Bernstein, 2015, USA, DCP, 89m Jacob Bernstein’s extremely entertaining film is a tribute to his mother Nora Ephron: Hollywood-raised daughter of screenwriters who grew up to be an ace reporter turned piercingly funny essayist turned novelist/screenwriter/playwright/director. Ephron comes vibrantly alive onscreen via her words; the memories of her sisters, colleagues, former spouses, and many friends; scenes from her movies; and, above all, her own inimitable presence. Watch any given moment of Ephron being her sparkling but caustically witty self (for instance, this response to a scolding talk show host—“You have a soft spot for Julie Nixon, don’t you. See, I don’t…”) and you find it hard to believe that she’s been gone from our midst for three years. Everything Is Copy (Ephron’s motto, inherited from her mother) is a lovingly drawn but frank portrait and, incidentally, a vivid snapshot of an earlier, livelier, bitchier, and funnier moment in New York culture. An HBO Documentary Films release. World Premiere Field of Vision: New Episodic Nonfiction Laura Poitras, USA/Germany, 2015, HDCAM A selection of short-form episodic works, including installments of Asylum, in which Laura Poitras (whose CITIZENFOUR had its world premiere at last year’s NYFF) shadows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as he publishes classified diplomatic cables and seeks asylum in London’s Ecuadorian embassy. World Premiere Fish Tail / Rabo de Peixe (pictured above) Joaquim Pinto & Nuno Leonel, Portugal, 2015, DCP, 103m Portuguese with English subtitles In his 2013 masterpiece What Now? Remind Me (NYFF51), Joaquim Pinto turned a first-person diary about chronic illness into an all-encompassing meditation on what it means to be alive. His latest film, co-directed with his husband Nuno Leonel, pulls off a similar balancing act between intimacy and expansiveness. The setting is the Azorean island of Rabo de Peixe, where small-scale fishermen introduce the filmmakers to the rhythms of their labor-intensive routines, artisanal traditions that face extinction in the global economy. Initially broadcast on Portuguese television in an abbreviated version, this new director’s cut is a tender portrait of a community that, through Pinto’s associative narration, frequently extends into more personal and philosophical realms, contemplating such topics as the value of manual work and the meaning of freedom. Fish Tail is as lovely as it is quietly profound, a film that at once acknowledges and transcends cinema’s long romance with maritime ethnography. North American Premiere Homeland (Iraq Year Zero) Part 1: Before the Fall Part 2: After the Battle Abbas Fahdel, Iraq/France, 2015, DCP, 160m/174m Arabic with English subtitles In February 2002—about a year before the U.S. invasion in 2003—Iraqi filmmaker Abbas Fahdel traveled home from France to capture everyday life as his country prepared for war. He zeroed in on family and friends as they went about their business, with much of the action seen through the eyes of the director’s 12-year-old nephew, Haider. When Fahdel returned in 2003, two weeks after the invasion, daily activities like going to school or shopping at the market had become nearly impossible; many areas of Baghdad had been closed off to ordinary citizens, yet everyone pressed on. The young Haider represents, in various ways, the voice of his people: “They are occupiers and we can’t oppose them. Our country has become like Palestine,” he tells a neighbor. Fahdel’s epic yet intimate film paints a compelling portrait of people simply trying to exist in the midst of constant turmoil, and describes the fine line between life and death that civilians in a war zone must walk from day to day. North American Premiere Immigration Battle Michael Camerini & Shari Robertson, USA, 2015, DCP, 111m Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson have been chronicling the protracted struggle for American immigration reform over the past 16 years, crossing the country numerous times to film politicians and activists on both sides of this great and divisive issue. They gained unprecedented fly-on-the-wall access to the key players in Washington as they rode the momentum toward the passage of a bipartisan bill, only to see it shot down, which meant that they had to begin pushing the boulder back up the hill all over again. Two years ago, NYFF51 screened Camerini and Robertson’s series of immigration films, How Democracy Works, and now we present Immigration Battle, their final film on the subject. The key player this time is Democrat Luis Gutiérrez, the charismatic U.S. Representative for the 4th congressional district of Illinois, who negotiates his way through this political minefield—past an obstructionist majority playing to an anti-immigrant base and a President who has just been dubbed the “Deporter-in-Chief” by the pro-reform community—while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the prize. World Premiere Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words Stig Björkman, Sweden, 2015, DCP, 114m Swedish with English subtitles This is a lovingly crafted film about one of the cinema’s most luminous and enchanting presences, composed from her letters and diaries (extracts of which are read by Alicia Vikander), the memories of her children (Pia Lindström and Isabella, Ingrid, and Roberto Rossellini), and a few close friends and colleagues (including Liv Ullmann and Sigourney Weaver), photographs, and moments from thousands of feet of Super-8 and 16mm footage shot by Bergman herself throughout the years. Stig Björkman’s focus is not on Bergman the star but on Bergman the woman and mother: orphaned at 13, drawn to acting on the stage and then on film, sailing for Hollywood at 24 and then leaving it all behind for a new and different life with Roberto Rossellini. Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words is, finally, a self-portrait of a truly independent woman. A Rialto Pictures release. In Jackson Heights Frederick Wiseman, USA, 2015, DCP, 190m Fred Wiseman’s 40th feature documentary is about Jackson Heights, Queens, one of New York City’s liveliest and most culturally diverse neighborhoods, a thriving and endlessly changing crossroad of styles, cuisines, and languages, and now—like vast portions of our city—caught in the gears of economic “development.” Wiseman’s mastery is as total as it is transparent: his film moves without apparent effort from an LGBT support meeting to a musical street performance to a gathering of Holocaust survivors to a hilarious training class for aspiring taxi drivers to an ace eyebrow-removal specialist at work to the annual Gay Pride parade to a meeting of local businessmen in a beauty parlor to discuss the oncoming economic threat to open-air merchants selling their wares to a meeting of undocumented individuals facing deportation. Wiseman catches the textures of New York life in 2015, the music of our speech, and a vast, emotionally complex, dynamic tapestry is woven before our eyes. A Zipporah Films release. Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang Walter Salles, Brazil/France, 2014, DCP, 99m Mandarin with English subtitles Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles accompanies the prolific Chinese director Jia Zhangke (whose latest, Mountains May Depart, is screening in this year’s Main Slate) on a walk down memory lane, as he revisits his hometown and other locations used in creating his vast body of work. At each location, they visit Jia’s family, friends, and former colleagues, and their conversations range from his mother’s tales of him as a young boy to amusing remembrances of school days and film shoots to memories of his father and the fact that if not for pirated DVDs, much of Jia’s work would go unseen in China. All the roads traveled are part of one journey—the destination of which is Jia’s relationship to his past and to his country. And the confluence of storytelling, intellect, and politics informing all of Jia’s work is brought to light in this lovely, intimate portrait of the artist on his way to the future. North American Premiere Rebel Citizen Pamela Yates, USA, 2015, DCP, 75m Pamela Yates’s new film grew out of her friendship with master cinematographer and fellow activist Haskell Wexler, who’s still going strong at 93. Wexler asked Yates to represent him at a retrospective of his documentary work at this year’s Cinéma du Réel festival in Paris, and she responded by making a film portrait of her mentor and longtime collaborator. Wexler—in an interview with Yates shot by Travis Wilkerson, another comrade-in-arms—speaks with warmth, lucidity, and absolute certitude about his left-wing political beliefs, his craft, and his aesthetics, which are fundamentally one in the same. Rebel Citizen takes us on a revelatory tour of Wexler’s work, and it includes clips from his early documentary The Bus, shot aboard a bus on its way across the country to the 1963 March on Washington, as well as Medium Cool and Underground, his film about the Weatherman co-directed with Emile de Antonio and Mary Lampson. A Skylight Pictures release. World Premiere Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art James Crump, USA, 2015, DCP, 72m The titular troublemakers are the New York–based Land (aka Earth) artists of the 1960s and 70s, who walked away from the reproducible and the commodifiable, migrated to the American Southwest, worked with earth and light and seemingly limitless space, and rethought the question of scale and the relationships between artist, landscape, and viewer. Director James Crump (Black White + Gray) has meticulously constructed Troublemakers from interviews (with Germano Celant, Virginia Dwan, and others), photos and footage of Walter De Maria, Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Nancy Holt, and Charles Ross at work on their astonishing creations: Heizer’s Double Negative, a 1,500-feet long “line” cut between two canyons on Mormon Mesa in Nevada; Holt’s concrete Sun Tunnels, through each of which the sun appears differently according to the season; De Maria’s The Lightning Field in New Mexico; and Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, built on the Great Salt Lake in Utah. A beautiful tribute to a great moment in art. We Are Alive / On est vivants Carmen Castillo, France/Belgium, 2015, DCP, 100m French, Spanish, and Portuguese with English subtitles What comprises political engagement in 2015? Is it still possible to influence the course of events in this world? These are the questions posed by the great Chilean filmmaker Carmen Castillo (her Calle Santa Fe was a selection of the 2007 NYFF) in this new documentary essay. Castillo, herself a one-time MIR militant expelled from Chile by the Pinochet regime, structures her film in dialogue with the writings of her late friend Daniel Bensaïd, organizer of the Paris student revolts in May ’68 and France’s leading Trotskyite philosopher. In Europe and Latin America, Castillo finds the ones who have resisted, from the masked Zapatistas of Chiapas in Mexico to the Water Warriors of Cochabamba in Bolivia, from the Landless Workers movement in Brazil to the striking workers at the Donges refinery in western France to the homeless squatters of Marseille. A mournful premise lays the groundwork for a radiantly hopeful film. North American Premiere The Witness James Solomon, 2015, USA, DCP, 96m On March 13, 1964, in Kew Gardens, Queens, Kitty Genovese was stabbed, raped, robbed, and left to die by a man named Winston Moseley. On March 27, at the urging of Metro editor A.M. Rosenthal, The New York Times published an investigative report asserting that 38 eyewitnesses saw the attack and retreated to their apartments, and the case quickly became a symbol of urban apathy. Genovese’s family lost her twice: once to a murderer and once more to legend, a legend that would be questioned, dismantled, and discredited 40 years later in the very paper that had created it. James Solomon’s quiet, concentrated, and devastating film closely follows the efforts of Genovese’s brother Bill, 16 at the time of Kitty’s death, to track down the people who knew her, loved her, and tried to help her, to arrange a possible meeting with her killer, and to recover the presence of his beloved sister. A Submarine release. 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