Get Email Alerts | Mobile Subscribe Follow Like indieWIRE Network: Search indieWIRE Find In Theaters If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle B Kings of Pastry B My Dog Tulip B- iW Now Check out the complete results of indieWIREʼs 2010 Criticsʼ Poll (more) The Time That Remains A- MORE » News Blogs Festivals Movies Awards News Brand New Doc Fest Coming to NYC Like 93 | by Brian Brooks (April 6, 2010) Filling an extended gaping hole for non-fiction filmmakers and fans that has existed in New York City, a new documentary festival is being launched in downtown Manhattan this fall. Toronto International Film Festival doc programmer Thom Related Articles Powers, IFC Centerʼs John Vanco and Raphaela Neihausen, the new eventʼs executive director, have 1 Academy Awards Announce 10 Scientific and unveiled DOC NYC, the first documentary film festival of Technical Achievement Honorees itʼs kind in the city since filmmaker Gary Pollardʼs Docfest BAFTA Announces Foreign-Language Film effectively closed its doors nearly a decade ago. The trio 2 Nominees already work together on New York Cityʼs ongoing “Stranger Than Fiction” film series for new docs. 3 'King's Speech' and 'Black Swan' Lead BAFTA Long Lists Billing itself as an event “celebrating documentary storytelling across the fields of film, photography, prose, 4 indieWIRE @ Hulu Docs: Sundance radio and other innovative forms,” DOC NYC will hold its Flashback, Part One inaugural edition Wednesday, November 3 - Sunday, An image provided by DOC NYC. November 7 at IFC Center, site of “Stranger Than 5 'Inception' Leads Central Ohio Critics' Awards Fiction.”. Additionally, the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS) will serve as the eventʼs ʻPresenting Partnerʼ along with Tisch School of the Arts. Both the festivalʼs opening and closing night events will take place at NYUʼs Skirball Center for Performing Arts Auditorium. A New York City home is a core aspect of the event, explained Thom Powers, who said that the city itself will be a major plus for established and emerging doc filmmakers because it is at the pinnacle of cultural influence. “Filmmakers can take advantage of New York City as a center of media, publishing, advertising and humanitarian work to bring these films to very influential audiences that you donʼt necessarily get in other cities,” added Powers. While the total size of the program is still being determined, eight films will anchor the festivalʼs documentary competition, which will emphasize world and U.S. premieres. But, Powers said that not all competition films need to be premieres. Additional sidebar sections will focus on specific themes and retrospective programming. Powers added that the festival will include roughly 30 events, ranging from films to conversations to other presentations. Organizers will not have an open call for submissions this year. Individuals interested in suggesting titles are invited to email a one paragraph description of a film to the festival (via their website). “One thing weʼre excited about having is a festival that spotlights the wider nature of documentary storytelling,” Powers - who will serve as the eventʼs Artistic Director - told indieWIRE today. “As a documentary programmer, itʼs exciting when I get to reach outside the world of film and engage with Husband and wife doc duo Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, in Cannes. Image courtesy Stranger Than Fiction. different groups. The significant footprint for us is to cross different documentary fields.” He also said that after premiering at a festival like Toronto or Sundance, docs sometimes have few options for screening in an event later in the year. He hopes DOC NYC will fill some of that gap. “In Toronto there are great docs premiering and they donʼt have great choices sometimes for places afterward, so for some of these Toronto films like ʻVideocracyʼ or ʻColonyʼ that played at Stranger Than Fiction, a Doc NYC can be a great platform to move from Toronto to NYC.” Powers, who will continue to serve as a documentary programmer for the annual Toronto festival in September, said that DOC NYC does not plan to compete with pitching forums at festivals like this monthʼs Hot Docs and Novemberʼs IDFA in Amsterdam. But, he hopes the event will enable filmmakers to navigate the ever evolving distribution landscape with their docs. “Hot Docs and IDFA do what they do very well and theyʼre not a model Iʼm looking to replicate, theyʼre already doing it. Filmmakersʼ Advertise with us strategies for festivals generally are moving away from viewing a festival as a place to sell your film, though that may still be the case for places like Toronto or Sundance, though even there itʼs a tough path,” Powers said, “So what I see are filmmakers using festivals not to reach distributors, but to reach audiences.” Powers continued by emphasizing the need for filmmakers to utilize festivals to generate buzz and identify their audience no matter which route to distribution is ultimately utilized. The new event on the fall festival circuit will be up against other European doc festivals that are taking place at the same time this year, including Doc/Fest in Sheffield (Nov. 3 - 7) and CPH:DOX in Copenhagen (Nov 4 - 14). As for other concurrent U.S. fests, Denverʼs international festival is set for November 3rd - 14th this year and AFI Fest is set for November 4th - 11th. “Of the overlap with Sheffield, Powers notes that heʼs had conversations with and has high admiration for Sheffieldʼs leadership team, including Heather Croall and Hussain Currimbhoy, and argues that the nonfiction world is big enough for both festivals,” filmmaker and blogger AJ Schnack reported today, continuing, “He added that heʼd love for the fests to share titles and have filmmakers travel to both.” DOC NYCʼs advisory board includes two-time Academy Award-winner Barbara Kopple, author Nelson George, cartoonist Joe Sacco, Cara Mertes of the Sundance Documentary Development Fund, Ruby Lerner of Creative Capital, and Philipp Engelhorn of Cinereach. Popular Today “DOC NYC will fill an important void in New York City and will be a cornerstone for documentary storytellers from all over the world to 1 For Your Consideration: Early 2011 Oscar showcase premieres, hold panels and give audiences the thrill of discovery,” said Vanco, who will serve as the festʼs Managing Director, Predictions in a statement about the new event. “Weʼre creating a festival that will curate people as much as work, creating a space for the worldʼs leading thinkers, activists, creators, and celebrities to come together for dialogue, inspiration, and incubation of ideas.” 2 Meet the 2011 Sundance Filmmakers | 'The Ledge' Director Matthew Chapman [For more information about the DOC NYC, visit their website.] 3 'King's Speech' and 'Black Swan' Lead BAFTA Long Lists —the full press release is listed on page two— 4 Academy Awards Announce 10 Scientific and Technical Achievement Honorees Which among these New 5 Tracking The Oscar Precursors: A Complete York City-themed Guide To Award Season documentaries is your favorite? "Bill Cunningham New York" (Press, 2010) "The Cruise" (Miller, 1998) "Dark Days" (Singer, 2000) "The Gates" (Ferrera, Maysles, 2005) "Gay Sex in the '70s" (Lovett, 2005) "Mad Hot Ballroom" (Agrelo, 2005) "Man On Wire" (Marsh, 2008) "New York: A Documentary Film" (Burns, 1999) "Paris is Burning" (Livingston, 1990) Other.... vote Read & React: Brand New Doc Fest Coming to NYC Watch more free documentaries (1 of 2) Next Page › Sign up for indieWIRE Email & Alerts >> Like 93 | Share COMMENTS tully says on April 6, 2010 at 3:06pm 1 Ooh, another new fest that is proudly playing the World/US premiere game. We so need another one of those! dylan says on April 6, 2010 at 8:08pm Personally, Iʼm delighted. Film festivals bring films to audiences, and NYC is ground zero for documentary film 2 fans. This is a good idea. LEAVE A COMMENT ! Movie Listings for Nov. 5-11 Published: November 4, 2010 Film Series DOC NYC (Friday through Tuesday) This ambitious new festival of nonfiction films grows out of the Stranger Than Fiction series at the IFC Center and includes a wide range of work across many different genres, from the concert documentary (D. A. Pennebaker’s 1973 David Bowie film, “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars,” screening Saturday at midnight) to the diary film (Josh Freed’s “Five Weddings and a Felony,” filmed with a Flip camera and screening Saturday and Tuesday). A tribute to Kevin Brownlow, the British filmmaker who will be receiving an honorary Oscar at the next ceremonies, samples both his documentaries on silent film history (“Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces” and “Garbo,” both on Friday) and his historical dramatizations (“It Happened Here” and “Winstanley,” screening on Sunday); Errol Morris will be present Sunday to introduce his new documentary, “Tabloid,” about a former beauty queen accused of abducting a young Mormon missionary. Daylong symposia on Friday and Saturday focus on issues creative, financial and legal. Events will be held in four locations: IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, at Third Street; New York University’s Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South; the university’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place, at Washington Square South; and Ziegfeld Theater, 141 West 54th Street. (212) 924-7771, docnyc.net; most tickets are $16. (Dave Kehr) A version of this schedule appeared in print on November 5, 2010, on page C22 of the New York edition.! POV - Blog . DOC NYC: Now Through Tuesday, November 9 | PBS 1/7/11 10:05 AM DOC NYC: Now Through Tuesday, November 9 Ladies and gents, there's a new festival in town. Last night the inaugural edition of DOC NYC kicked off in a big way, featuring Werner Herzog and his breathtaking 3-D documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams.