The festival celebrates the power of nonfiction storytelling with hundreds of film screenings, panels and special events, bringing together leading documentary filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences for one of the year’s premier celebrations of documentary cinema. The festival returns to theaters across New York City while continuing to offer online screenings nationwide, with filmmakers expected to attend screenings and participate in conversations throughout the festival. DOC NYC will feature new work from Directors and Producers including Barbara Kopple, Kate Davis & David Heilbroner, Joe Berlinger, Colin Farrell, Rachel Fleit, Sophie Fiennes, James Longley, Nanette Burstein, Matthew Heineman, Zackary Drucker, Fisher Stevens, Jason Bateman, Miguel Eek, Sigrid Dyekjær, Ina Fichman, Alex Gibney, Trevor Birney, Frank Marshall, Sinead O’Shea, Kellen Quinn, Luke Lorentzen, Taraji P. Henson, Barry Avrich, Miriam Shor, and many more.
Some highlights from this year’s festival include:
Some highlights from this year’s festival include:
- Opening Night: The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs, directed by Èlia Gasull Balada and Matteo Norzi
- Closing Night: Totality, directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner
- Centerpiece Films: UNION CITY, directed by Barbara Kopple
- Special Presentations: Joe Berlinger’s Primetime Preacher$, produced by Jason Bateman, exploring the rise and scandals of televangelists Jerry Falwell, Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart; Palace of Gold, produced by Fisher Stevens, examining a controversial Hare Krishna commune; Colin Farrell-produced The Slightest Touch, following Farrell and his close friend Emma Fogarty on a journey shaped by friendship and a rare genetic disorder; Pretenders, a portrait of Chrissie Hynde; and Sophie Fiennes’ The Pervert’s Guide to Utopias, featuring philosopher Slavoj Žižek.
- Notable Personalities & Cultural Icons: New documentaries spotlighting Megan Rapinoe (Rapinoe), Darlene Love (Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been), Frida Kahlo (Frida: The Girl Just Doesn’t Go Away), MAD magazine founder Harvey Kurtzman (The MAD World of Harvey Kurtzman), three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson (Robert Richardson: The White Devil), and writer Siri Hustvedt.
The festival will also honor the below at the Visionaries Luncheon on 11/11:
- Lifetime Achievement Award — Alex Gibney, Oscar-winning filmmaker (Musk; Taxi to the Dark Side)
- Lifetime Achievement Award — JT Takagi, veteran sound recordist, filmmaker, and executive director of Third World Newsreel
- Robert and Anne Drew Award for Documentary Excellence — Stephen Maing, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, cinematographer, and editor based in New York City. His most recent film, The Great Experiment (co-directed with Eric Daniel Metzgar), is a poetic portrait of America during the first Trump administration. His other films include Union (co-directed with Brett Story), Crime + Punishment, High Tech, Low Life, and The Surrender.
- Leading Light Award — Raney Aronson-Rath, Oscar-winning producer and a leading voice in documentary filmmaking and distribution, serving as editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE, PBS’ flagship investigative journalism documentary series.
