Doc Nyc Announces Full Line-Up for Sixth Edition November 12-19, 2015
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DOC NYC ANNOUNCES FULL LINE-UP FOR SIXTH EDITION NOVEMBER 12-19, 2015 Line-Up Includes 27 World Premieres and 15 U.S. Premieres Among Over 200 Films and Events Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton to Present Closing Night World Premiere Once and For All on Nov. 19 Other Special Guests Include Martin Scorsese, Sharon Jones, Ethan Hawke, Sonia Sanchez, Bill Binney, Mary Louise Wilson, Gilbert Gottfried, Yvonne Rainer, Omar Epps, Chefs Georges Perrier and Nicholas Elmi + Acclaimed Documentarians Michael Moore, Barbara Kopple, Amy Berg, Kirby Dick, Alex Gibney, Kim Longinotto, Liz Garbus, Davis Guggenheim, Asif Kapadia, Brett Morgen, Morgan Neville, Stanley Nelson, and Joshua Oppenheimer NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2015 – DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, announced the full line-up for its sixth edition, running November 12-19 at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea’s SVA Theatre and Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas. Continuing the rapid growth of the event, the 2015 festival includes 104 feature-length documentaries and has expanded to showcase over 200 films and events overall. Included are 27 world premieres and 15 U.S. premieres, with more than 200 doc makers and special guests expected in person to present their films. Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton will be in attendance on November 19 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. “This year’s line-up represents the tremendous breadth and depth of documentary making,” said Director of Programming Basil Tsiokos. “The films introduce us to unforgettable characters full of emotion, inspiration and wonder. No matter what your interest – arts, politics, sports, food, music, you name it – we’ve got a film for you.” Tsiokos led the program selection in collaboration with Artistic Director Thom Powers and Executive Director Raphaela Neihausen. The festival is curated in 19 sections that include high profile Galas and Special Events; competition sections Viewfinders (for distinctive directorial visions) and Metropolis (for New York City stories); national and global takes in American Perspectives and International Perspectives; and thematic sections Centerstage (on performers), Fight the Power (on activism), Jock Docs (on sports), and Sonic Cinema (on music). New sections this year are Doc Eat Doc (on food); Modern Family (on diverse relations); The Wild Life (on animals); and Behind the Scenes (on films and filmmaking). Another new initiative is DOC NYC U, focusing on student projects. Remaining sections are Docs Redux, reviving classics; Shorts, representing the upsurge of short-form documentary; the previously announced slate of Short List titles highlighting 15 of the year’s award contenders; and DOC NYC PRO, focusing on panels and masterclasses. The festival’s 27 world premieres are spread throughout the line-up and 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. In the festival’s competition sections, 10 films appear under the Viewfinders section for distinct directorial visions including Motley’s Law, on an American lawyer working in Afghanistan’s courts, and P.S. Jerusalem, a portrait of the contested city; while 10 films play in the Metropolis section dedicated to stories set in New York City including Class Divide, on Chelsea’s changing dynamics between public housing and gentrification, and OXD: One Extraordinary Day, on Elizabeth Streb’s Extreme Action Company. The winner of the Grand Jury Prize in each section receives a one-week qualifying theatrical run at IFC Center and a deliverables package provided by Technicolor-PostWorks New York. 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 festival is particularly pleased that all the filmmakers from this year’s Short List section of awards frontrunners will be present for screenings of their films: Evgeny Afineevsky, Kirby Dick, Liz Garbus, Alex Gibney, Davis Guggenheim, Ethan Hawke, Matthew Heineman, Asif Kapadia, Kim Longinotto, Michael Moore, Brett Morgen, Crystal Moselle, Morgan Neville & Robert Gordon, Stanley Nelson, and Joshua Oppenheimer. Notable documentarians will also be honored at the previously announced Visionaries Tribute Awards event on Nov. 12: Jon Alpert, Barbara Kopple and Frederick Wiseman will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards while Kim Longinotto will receive the Robert and Anne Drew Award for observational filmmaking. Distribution executive Tom Quinn will receive the Leading Light Award for distinguished service to documentary in a role outside filmmaking. The festival is made possible by Leadership Sponsor HBO Documentary Films; Major Sponsors A&E IndieFilms, Netflix; Supporting Sponsor SundanceNow Doc Club; Leading Media Sponsors New York magazine; WNET; Signature Sponsors Chicken & Egg Pictures, Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, Image Nation, Impact Partners, Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, RADiUS-TWC, Technicolor-PostWorks New York. 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, World 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.