The USA’s biggest documentary festival kicks off today as DOC NYC gets ready to screen over 200 documentaries alongside a slate of industry events. That roster is significant, and one that the documentary scene in Canada should notice: in another year, it may be time to officially call DOC NYC North America’s biggest documentary festival. The programme is over twice the size of next year’s anticipated line-up for Hot Docs and is on par with the roster that previously netted Toronto’s doc event the distinction of being North America’s biggest festival devoted exclusively to docs.
The festivals’ alignment in the calendar year means that Hot Docs should be able to weather the course, falling between Sundance and Tribeca and offering a chance for first quarter premieres to shine. It’s also a key spotlight for Canadian docs, so there’s no reason why the both festivals shouldn’t enjoy some healthy competition. But with the awards race increasingly becoming a key factor in the viability of non-fiction films in a tricky marketplace, DOC NYC’s November berth is key for giving a second wind to docs that premiered at Sundance, Cannes, and TIFF, while launching a full slate of competitors. It might have a Toronto critic feeling festival FOMO: from afar, there’s a lot to look forward to in the year ahead based on what’s debuting south of the border.
Here are some highlights screening at DOC NYC this year. Stay tuned for more coverage from the festival.
Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story
DOC NYC opens with a standout from this year’s Toronto International Film Festival: a remarkable portrait of Irish author Edna O’Brien, which features some of the final words by the writer, who passed away in July 2024 at age 93. Blue Road chronicles O’Brien’s story in cradle to grave fashion, exploring her books and the controversies they ignited for unabashedly foregrounding depictions of women’s sexual agency. Much like director Sinéad O’Shea’s previous doc Pray for Our Sinners, Blue Road fiercely tackles the clutch of the Catholic Church that created such a repressive society. The toll of its might is evident on O’Brien, who displays remarkable openness and vulnerability while sharing her story in intimate confessionals. In a year full of by-the-numbers biopics, Blue Road admirably introduces a generation of audiences to a worthy subject, but also honours O’Brien by situating her life and work within its context to show viewers why her work mattered—and arguably still matters today. Read POV’s review for Blue Road here.
The Shortlist Films
The first stop in any DOC NYC planning calendar is the annual Short List. The sidebar boasts 15 feature films to keep an eye on in the final weeks before the Academy reveals the Oscar shortlists. More often than not, DOC NYC delivers the most reliable forecast of the season. And if the festival keeps up its usual batting average, then Oscar voters might avoid the usual eggs and tomatoes thrown at them. Frontrunners in Short List include daddy-daughter-dance doc Daughters, Palestine-Israel unity show No Other Land, residential school exposé Sugarcane and trans ally road trip Will & Harper. After that, Netflix has a pair of viable contenders in the inspiring epic Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, which really demands the big screen experience and should get a boost with Lucy Walker receiving the Robert and Anne Drew Award for Documentary Excellence at the festival, and Sundance prizewinner The Remarkable Life of Ibelin. (With Daughters and Will & Harper on the streamer’s slate, Netflix could score big on Oscar night.)
Dark horses include docs that are more on the experimental side, like Berlin winner Dahomey, musical essay Soundtrack to a Coup d’État, and archival biopic Frida offer choices that could surprise on nomination day, while the comparatively more conventional Cannes winner Ernest Cole: Lost and Found could bring another biopic to the Academy’s slate. Four other docs offer tough subjects that could strike a chord with the documentary crowd, especially since they’re underdog choices outside the big streamers: #MeToo inquiry Black Box Diaries, Ukrainian war portrait Porcelain War, drag/LGBTQ+ rights profile Queendom, and labour rights fight Union. The wild card may be the toughest subject of all, controversial Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in The Bibi Files.
The Bibi Files
Speaking of Netanyahu, DOC NYC scores the world premiere of the completed version of the documentary after it screened as a work in progress at TIFF. This provocative doc may not change any minds about the love-him-or-hate-him (mostly hate) politician, but The Bibi Files from director Alexis Bloom and producer Alex Gibney offers a hot-button conversation starter. It uses some rare interrogation footage to bear witness to Netanyahu’s crimes as he coasts through a police interrogation about his corruption. It’s a frank—and frankly indisputable—portrait of Netanyahu’s sense of entitlement and evidence of his belief that he’s above the law. The film contextualises how one nation percolated towards the events of the present, and how the prime minister’s invincibility complex adds another get-of-jail-free card to his rap sheet of crimes. Expect to leave the theatre feeling ready to rip that card up. Read POV’s review of the film here.
Yalla Parkour
Stick it to Netanyahu by seeing one of DOC NYC’s films showcasing the resilience of everyday people in Palestine. Among the festival selections spotlighting the plight of the troubled land is the world premiere of Yalla Parkour in the International Competition. This personal film by Areeb Zuaiter explores the director’s connection to Gaza following the death of her Palestinian mother. Zuaiter finds her subject in a young man who insists on emphasizing the presence of the Palestinian people by traversing the ruins and documenting the endurance of Palestinians—even if it means a singular being making a viral video by running, leading, and freestyling on whatever remains.
My Sweet Land
DOC NYC offers all sorts of diplomatic stick-handling this year. Besides Israel-Palestine relations, the festival features My Sweet Land, which is a point of controversy amid the politics of representation—but not in the troubled authorship sense that frequently arises in doc circles. As per Deadline, Jordan withdrew its support for My Sweet Land as the country’s official submission in the Oscar race for Best International Feature citing “diplomatic pressures” from Azerbaijan. The point of content is reportedly due to the film’s inclusion of a character who lives in the village of Artsakh, a territory under dispute by Azerbaijan and Armenia. Even though Jordan backtracked on the International Feature bid, the film will be eligible for Best Documentary Feature in the upcoming Oscar race thanks to its success on the festival circuit, which includes a premiere at Sheffield and a trifecta of wins—Best Arab Documentary, the Audience Award, and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Amman International Film Festival. “Devastating news for our team, that an emotional intimate story of a child’s love for his home and family was banned and silenced,” said director/producer Sareen Hairabedian and producer Azza Hourani in a statement. “As documentary filmmakers, the censorship that we faced, compels us more than ever to share Vrej’s story, which reflects the experiences of countless children around the world today, who deserve to dream freely without the threat of war and conflict.”
All God’s Children
One doc that’s sure to be a hot talking point at the festival is the latest film from director Ondi Timoner (Last Flight Home). All God’s Children offers a provocative, tough, and frank snapshot of efforts to repair community divides in New York City. The film observes Rabbi Rachel Timoner (the director’s sister) of Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn as she joins forces with Reverend Dr. Robert Waterman of Antioch Baptist Church with an eye for uniting their communities. Tensions arise when “deed thefts” displace Black residents from their BedStuy homes with some Jewish landlords or property grabbers getting the blame. The events explode rifts percolating between these groups of New Yorkers. The partnership invites members of both congregations to gather and have some overdue conversations. But the aim is to ultimately combat anti-Semitism and racism through shared curiosity. Rabbi Timoner and Revered Waterman hope that their parishioners will take a leap of faith and recognize that there’s more that unites them than divides them. This is a tough, but ultimately rewarding doc that should provide a guide for some turbulent years ahead.
Voices of Canada Docs
DOC NYC’s Voices of Canada spotlight offers a quartet of feature documentaries bearing the maple leaf. This year, they’re all portraits with a beat in their step and illustrate how music and poetry shape identities both personal and collective. Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, directed by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, offers an animated and archival portrait of the trans soul singer who broke ground on the Toronto music scene, while Laurie Townshend shares poet and activist Staceyann Chin’s deeply personal study of what it means to be both a mother and a daughter in A Mother Apart. Disco’s Revenge, directed by Omar Majeed and Peter Mishara, argues that the musical movement that got the world dancing never died and, in fact, lives on stronger than ever. Meanwhile, Born to Be Wild: The Story of Steppenwolf, directed by Oliver Schwehm, gets its North American premiere at DOC NYC for its look back at the band that helped fuel the soundtrack of a generation with its iconic track from Easy Rider. The sidebar also includes a bunch of Canadian short docs, including Hot Docs award winner Am I the Skinniest Person You’ve Ever Seen?, directed by Eisha Marjara; Blood Mess, directed by Megan Wennberg; and Power of the Walk, directed by Rob Viscardis.
Eyes on the Prize III
The late Henry Hampton’s 1987 documentary series Eyes on the Prize scored several Emmys, a Peabody Award, and an Oscar nomination while delivering a now-canonical portrait of the American civil rights movement. Its eight episodes span U.S. history from 1954 to 1965, recounting the violent murders of Black Americans like Emmett Till and Medgar Evers, along with breakthrough movements like sit-ins, freedom rides, and the Selma march. The second series cover ’65 to ’85 and spans events like the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Attica prison riot, while unpacking the impact of the civil rights movement. The influential series gets a timely addition that debuts at DOC NYC as director Asako Gladsjo continues the story. The latest instalment of Eyes on the Prize fills the gap and brings the story to the present. The series Hampton’s study of the push-and-pull of progress as it situates gains like the Obama administration within the Black Lives Matter movement and the larger historical movement to consider a history of activism and resilience.
Farming the Revolution
Winner of Best International Feature at Hot Docs, Farming the Revolution delivers a provocative story of workers’ rights. Director Nistha Jain and co-director Akash Basumatari observe the movement that began in 2020 as Punjabi farmer Gurbaz Sangha began a protest Delhi in opposition to new farming laws that promised to threaten the livelihoods of hard-working independent farmers who feed a populous nation. The doc offers top tier cinema vérité filmmaking as it captures the swelling show of solidarity between workers and their families as the movement grows and grows, enduring even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when questions of cost, access, and food scarcity underscored the need to keep farmers working. The film’s Hot Docs prize makes it eligible in the Oscars’ documentary race as well.
The carceral system on trial
Two doc series at this year’s festival offer distinctive but complementary inquiries into America’s prison industrial complex. Debra Granik’s Sundance doc Conbody vs. Everybody follows the efforts of Coss Marte and his mission to improve the lives of formerly incarcerated men through his “Conbody” gym, which teaches New Yorkers how to tone their bodies using the fitness routine that sustained him in his prison cell. Meanwhile, the festival presents the world premiere of the ever-prolific Dawn Porter’s The Sing Sing Chronicles. The series observes the relationship between reporter Dan Slepian and Sing Sing inmate Jon-Adrian Velazquez as the former investigates the latter’s quest to clear his name of a crime he didn’t commit, but one that landed him a sentence of 25 years to life. Both series mark provocative character-driven considerations of a system that delivers little justice.
Mistress Dispeller
And last but not least, the best documentary to premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival is a must-see for prying eyes in New York. Elisabeth Lo delivers a stunner of an observational documentary that invites audiences to be a complicit conspirator in a high stakes study of a love triangle. The film introduces Teacher Wang, who is something like a unique fusion of private detective and marriage counsellor who, at the request of a spouse suspicious of infidelity, infiltrates a marriage to uncover a husband’s affair, befriend his mistress, and resolve the matter. What’s truly remarkable—not just for Lo, but for all parties—is that the film gains access to each player in the love triangle and affords their stories equal weight. It’s a jaw-on-the-floor observation of unbearable intimacy, openness, and hunger in our shared desire for connection. If you love documentaries, and love talking about documentaries, this one’s for you! Read more about Mistress Dispeller here.
