DOC NYC is an annual week-long documentary film festival, featuring over 150 films and events. These includes film screenings, live conversations, extended panels and special events. Documentary storytelling is flourishing like never before – encompassing reportage, memoir, history, humor and more. DOC NYC celebrates this cultural phenomenon and encourages its new directions.
DOC NYC takes place at three venues – the IFC Center, the SVA Theatre and Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas. DOC NYC is also an Academy-qualifying festival for short films. DOC NYC’s winning short will qualify for consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.
There is an eight-day lineup of DOC NYC Pro Thursday, November 12-Thursday, November 20 at IFC Center and the Chelsea Bow Tie Cinemas, including two days of master classes exploring the art and craft of documentary, four days of the Insider Conference focused on the business of nonfiction filmmaking, and additional sessions devoted to the art of pitching a project and to first-time filmmakers. The lineup includes five days of breakfast and happy hours with DOC NYC Pro presenters. Attend DOC NYC Pro Events with a Day Pass, Insiders Conference Pass, DOC NYC PRO Pass or All Access Pass.
One highlight is the keynote presentation on November 17, “A CONVERSATION WITH JON ALPERT & SHEILA NEVINS.” Jon Alpert (DCTV) and Sheila Nevins (HBO Documentary Films) present the world premiere of a new documentary short, followed by a keynote conversation and reception co-presented by HBO Documentary Films. In Alpert’s new film, Mariela Castro’s March: Cuba’s LGBT Revolution, Cuban Congresswoman Mariela Castro – daughter of Raúl and niece of Fidel Castro – confronts decades of cultural and institutional homophobia to serve as a tireless champion of the rights of Cuba’s LGBT community. The film is an HBO Documentary Films release. As President of HBO Documentary Films, Sheila Nevins has received 31 Primetime Emmy® Awards, 33 News and Documentary Emmys® and 40 George Foster Peabody Awards. During her tenure, HBO’s critically acclaimed documentaries have gone on to win 25 Academy Awards®, most recently Citizenfour and Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 in 2015. Jon Alpert has produced and directed dozens of acclaimed documentaries, winning 16 Emmy Awards, two Academy Award nominations, four Columbia DuPont Awards, two Overseas Press Club Awards and a Peabody Award. He is the Co-Founder/Co-Executive Director of the Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV). This screening coincides with Alpert receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at DOC NYC’s Visionaries Tribute. His acclaimed film High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell screens as part of Docs Redux this year.
DOC NYC burst upon the scene in 2010 with an inaugural event that was hailed as “ambitious” (New York Times) and “selective but eclectic” (Village Voice). By 2014, DOC NYC had become America’s largest documentary film festival and voted by MovieMaker magazine as one of the “top five coolest documentary film festivals in the world”. Based at the West Village’s IFC Center, Chelsea’s SVA Theater and Bow Tie Chelsea Cinema, the eight-day festival showcases new achievements in documentary film along with panels and conversations. It also seeks to make connections that happen “only in New York.”
In 2014, the festival showcased 150+ films and events, presented by 200+ filmmakers and special guests. Past guests include Jim Carrey, Sarah Polley, Noam Chomsky, Ricki Lake, Michael Moore, Michel Gondry, Errol Morris, Oliver Stone, Jonathan Franzen, Kathleen Hanna, Spandau Ballet, Greil Marcus, Grace Lee Boggs, Bela Fleck, Nat Hentoff, Chuck Workman, and The Mekons. Audience attendees have included Harry Belafonte, Rosario Dawson, Fred Armisen, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Stipe, Martha Stewart, Darren Aronofsky, Cornel West, Naomi Watts, among others.