DOCNYC 11th edition (November 11-19, 2020)

[Chris Knipp]

http://www.chrisknipp.com/images/n3y.jpg
DOC NYC 2020

FILMLEAF FESTIVAL COVERAGE THREAD LINK (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39133#post39133)

Film lineup (https://www.docnyc.net/program/)

DOC NYC is the largest documentary film festtival in the US and an important New York festival event. This year is its 11th edition, from Nov. 11-19, 2020, includes films about notable personalities such as John Belushi, Pope Francis, Bill T. Jones, Jamal Khashoggi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Frank Zappa, and others you haven't heard of who may turn out to be more interesting. There are 107 feature documentaries and 200 films and many events. Included will be 23 world premieres, 12 international, or North American premieres and 7 US ones. There will be 57 features, 53% of the total, directed by women. and 36 by BIPOC directors or 34%.

World Premieres at the festival include Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo’s “A La Calle,” Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan,” Sian-Pierre Regis’s “Duty Free,” Noah Hutton’s “In Silico,” Nancy Buirski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,” Jeff Daniels’s “Television Event,” Ilinca Calugareanu’s “A Cops and Robbers Story,” Rosalynde LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz’s “Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters,” and Cheryl Dunn’s “Moments Like This Never Last,” among others.

Below is the lineup. I'll be reviewing a handful of the films, which are being made available virtually to the public, as was the case with the NYFF a while back. Since docs seem to be doing better than features in the pandemic year, this may be a good time to start.

VIEWFINDERS COMPETITION
40 YEARS A PRISONER, Tommy Oliver
A LA CALLE, Nelson G. Navarrete, Maxx Caicedo
ENEMIES OF THE STATE, Sonia Kennebeck
JACINTA, Jessica Earnshaw
LANDFALL, Cecilia Aldarondo
THE MEANING OF HITLER, Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker
SO LATE SO SOON, Daniel Hymanson
STATELESS, Michèle Stephenson
THINGS WE DARE NOT DO, Bruno Santamaría
THROUGH THE NIGHT, Loira Limbal
THE VIEWING BOOTH, Ra’anan Alexandrowicz

METROPOLIS COMPETITION

BLUE CODE OF SILENCE, Magnus Skatvold, Greg Mallozzi
CALENDAR GIRL, Christian D. Bruun
CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T. JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS, Rosalynde LeBlanc, Tom Hurwitz
A COPS AND ROBBERS STORY, Ilinca Calugareanu
DOPE IS DEATH, Mia Donovan
FIVE YEARS NORTH, Zach Ingrasci, Chris Temple
HARLEM RISING: A COMMUNITY CHANGING THE ODDS, Rayner Ramirez
LA MADRINA: THE SAVAGE LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA, Raquel Cepeda
MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST, Cheryl Dunn
WOJNAROWICZ, Chris McKim

WINNER’S CIRCLE
ACASA, MY HOME, Radu Ciorniciuc
BEAUTIFUL SOMETHING LEFT BEHIND, Katrine Philp
INFLUENCE, Richard Poplak, Diana Neille
MAYOR, David Osit
THE REASON I JUMP, Jerry Rothwell
SONGS OF REPRESSION, Estephan Wagner, Marianne Hougen-Moraga
STRAY, Elizabeth Lo
THE WALRUS AND THE WHISTLEBLOWER, Nathalie Bibeau

MASTERS
9TO5: THE STORY OF A MOVEMENT, Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar
CRAZY, NOT INSANE, Alex Gibney
LOVE & STUFF, Judith Helfand
MLK/FBI, Sam Pollard
MY PSYCHEDELIC LOVE STORY, Errol Morris
ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES, Abigail Child
PARIS CALLIGRAMMES, Ulrike Ottinger

AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

CHASING CHILDHOOD, Eden Wurmfeld, Margaret Munzer Loeb
DEAR SANTA, Dana Nachman
THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE, Maria Finitzo
FOR THE LOVE OF RUTLAND, Jennifer Maytorena Taylor
HAMTRAMCK, USA, Justin Feltman, Razi Jafri
THE OIL WAR, David Schisgall
THE PLACE THAT MAKES US, Karla Murthy
RESTAURANT HUSTLE 2020: ALL ON THE LINE, Frank Matson
WOMEN IN BLUE, Deirdre Fishel

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
76 DAYS, Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous
THE LETTER, Maia Lekow, Christopher King
ONCE UPON A TIME IN VENEZUELA, Anabel Rodríguez Ríos
SMOG TOWN, Meng Han
SUMMERWAR, Moritz Schulz
WUHAN WUHAN, Gong Cheng, Yung Chang

INVESTIGATIONS
ASSASSINS, Ryan White
BABY GOD, Hannah Olson
A CRIME ON THE BAYOU, Nancy Buirski
THE DISSIDENT, Bryan Fogel
FINDING YINGYING, Jiayan “Jenny” Shi
THE JUMP, Giedrė Žickytė
KINGS OF CAPITOL HILL, Mor Loushy
MIRACLE FISHING, Miles Hargrove
MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY, Lisa Molomot, Jeff Bemiss
THE MYSTERY OF D.B. COOPER, John Dower
NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY, Philip Carter
‘TIL KINGDOM COME, Maya Zinshtein

FIGHT THE POWER
THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD, Yael Bridge
DOWN A DARK STAIRWELL, Ursula Liang
NASRIN, Jeff Kaufman
SHUT UP SONA, Deepti Gupta
SINCE I BEEN DOWN, Gilda Sheppard
UNAPOLOGETIC, Ashley O’Shay
YOUTH V GOV, Christi Cooper

PORTRAITS
9/11 KIDS, Elizabeth St. Philip
DUTY FREE, Sian-Pierre Regis
FRANCESCO, Evgeny Afineevsky
IN SILICO, Noah Hutton
LESSONS OF LOVE, Malgorzata Goliszewska, Kasia Mateja
MEDICINE MAN: THE STAN BROCK STORY, Paul Michael Angell
NO ORDINARY MAN, Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase Joynt
RED HEAVEN, Lauren DeFilippo, Katherine Gorringe
TRUTH TO POWER: BARBARA LEE SPEAKS FOR ME, Abby Ginzberg
TWO GODS, Zeshawn Ali
]WEED & WINE, Rebecca Richman Cohen

JOCK DOCS
BIG VS SMALL, Minna Dufton
THE LAST OUT, Sami Khan, Michael Gassert
LIFT LIKE A GIRL, Mayye Zayed
OFF THE ROAD, José Permar

BEHIND THE SCENES
BELUSHI, R.J. Cutler
EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF, Mo Scarpelli
TELEVISION EVENT, Jeff Daniels

ARTS & CULTURE
BARE, Aleksandr M. Vinogradov
CRUTCH, Sachi Cunningham, Vayabobo
AN IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT, Jens Meurer
IN & OF ITSELF, Frank Oz
KENNY SCHARF: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, Malia Scharf, Max Basch
LOST IN FACE, Valentin Riedl
MADE YOU LOOK: A TRUE STORY ABOUT FAKE ART, Barry Avrich
ON POINTE, Larissa Bills

SELF PORTRAIT, Katja Høgset, Margreth Olin, Espen Wallin
THE VASULKA EFFECT, Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir

SONIC CINEMA
AMERICAN RAPSTAR, Justin Staple
CROCK OF GOLD: A FEW ROUNDS WITH SHANE MCGOWAN, Julien Temple
ELDER’S CORNER, Siji Awoyinka
IN MY OWN TIME: A PORTRAIT OF KAREN DALTON, Robert Yapkowitz, Richard Peete
LOS HERMANOS/THE BROTHERS, Marcia Jarmel, Ken Schneider
RONNIE’S, Oliver Murray
TINY TIM: KING FOR A DAY, Johan von Sydow
UNIVERSE, Sam Osborn, Nick Capezzera
ZAPPA, Alex Winter

For tickets and the full DOC NYC shorts lineup, visit docnyc.net. or click on the logo below.
http://www.chrisknipp.com/images/DCNY.jpg (https://www.docnyc.net/)

[Chris Knipp]

Reviewed so far:

EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF (Mo Scarpelli 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39134#post39134)

In the Venezuelan Amazon a woman filmmaker shoots cast and crew as a handsome young director makes a film about his alcoholic father, also good looking, starring that father as himself years earlier when he was engaged in illegal gold mining.

76 DAYS (Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39136#post39136)

A documentary about life and death in a Wuhan hospital in the two and a half months of the total lockdown early in 2020 when the outbreak of COVID-19 is being locally contained. This film is terrifying, grim, and intense, but full of humanity as the hospital staff treat patients like beloved family members. However "raw" this is one of the year's notable documentary films.

[Chris Knipp]

Two more DOC NYC reviews:

ACASĂ, MY HOME ( Radu Ciorniciuc 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39139#post39139)

About a Romanian Roma family with nine kds, mostly boys, living off the grid and forced to move to the city. While off the grid, life seems idyllic, and the journalist filmmaker Ciorniciuc follows them with fluidity and grace that's memorable. For a while, it's magic.

9/11 KIDS ( Elizabeth St. Philip 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39140#post39140)

The filmmaker, who is Canadian, revisits half a dozen of the Booker Elementary School student reading class President Bush was sitting in on when he got news that the US had undergone a major terrorist attack: the Twin Towers. Not a great documentary - it doesn't go deep enough - but certainly a vivid little cross section of what it's been like to grow up black in America in the new millennium.

[Chris Knipp]

MAYOR (David Osit 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39168#post39168)

Osit is an American who followed around Musa Hamid the Christian mayor of Ramallah, the de facto capital of Palestine, for a couple of years and this is the subtle and impressive result. It reps a careful examination of the pains of living under the oppressive occupation of Israel while trying to maintain your dignity. A dozen international festivals and several big documentary awards.

Coming online Dec. 2.

[Chris Knipp]

CROCK OF GOLD: A FEW ROUNDS WITH SHANE MACGOWAN (Julien Temple 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39175#post39175)

This winner of the jury prize at San Sebastien, where it premiered, is a work of art, with all its artisanal-seeming framing of historic and family footage, and a portrait of the raucous, gifted, self-destructive yet life-affirming lead singer and songwriter Shane MacGowan of the Celtic punk band The Pogues, whose unique and haunting sound you'll get to know here, if you don't know it already. Much about Irish history too. Great music doc.

[Chris Knipp]

LINKS TO THE REVIEWS:
76 Days (Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39136#post39136)
9/11 Kids (Elizabeth St. Philip 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39140#post39140)
Acasă, My Home (Radu Ciorniciuc 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39134#post39134)
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (Julien Temple 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39175#post39175)
El Father Plays Himself (Mo Scarpelli 2020) (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?4894-Docnyc-2020&p=39175#post39175)
Mayor (David Osit 2020)

[Chris Knipp]

http://www.chrisknipp.com/images/O6.jpg

MTV DOCUMENTARY FILMS TO OFFER ACCLAIMED DOC
FREE VIRTUALLY VIA ART HOUSE CINEMAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 23rd.
FIRST OF ITS KIND INITIATIVE COMMEMORATES ONE-UEAR ANNIVERSARY OF WUHAN'S COVID-19 LOCKDOWN;
MTV DOCUMENTARY FILMS TO DONATE TO ALL PARTICIPATING THEATERS

the goal is to commemorate this historical date and support art house theaters that have struggled through the past year of temporary closures and disruptions. Patrons will have the opportunity to watch 76 days for free on this day via virtual cinema with mtv documentary films donating $5 per viewing to the respective theaters (click here for a list of participating theaters). The free viewing day follows a hugely successful virtual cinema release of the film that began on december 4, 2020.

The film is a raw and emotional look at the struggles of the people of wuhan in the earliest days of the covid-19 outbreak. Directed by new york filmmaker wu and two china-based journalists, chen and “anonymous,” who took enormous personal risks to film at four different hospitals, 76 days world-premiered at the 2020 toronto international film festival, where it topped indiewire’s critics poll as best documentary of the festival, and has since garnered major film festival awards and further critical acclaim, including being named one of the best films of the year by the washington post, chicago tribune, the hollywood reporter and indiewire.

“after almost a year of profound challenges in the cinematic exhibition field, i am thrilled to see distributors like mtv documentary films stepping up to support the essential work done by community-based art houses," said makenzie peecook, who works with art house convergence, a network of independent cinemas to whom the film is being offered for free virtual cinema screenings.

“the covid-19 pandemic has impacted almost everyone on this planet, in ways big and small, since its initial outbreak in wuhan,” added filmmaker hao wu. “we made 76 days to honor frontline medical workers worldwide, and to remind viewers everywhere never to forget the pain and struggles of this pandemic. We are so grateful that mtv documentary films and independent theaters across the country are creating this opportunity on the first anniversary of wuhan’s lockdown. My co-directors and i hope that watching this film provides a reason for optimism and that by working together, we can leave this nightmare behind.”

“as the anniversary of wuhan's lockdown approaches, we’re proud to make 76 days – the pre-eminent look at the pandemic from day one – available through this unique opportunity and do our small part in helping theaters who have been decimated during this time,” said mtv documentary films co-heads nina l. Diaz and liza burnett fefferman.

On january 23rd, 2020, china locked down wuhan, a city of 11 million, to combat the emerging covid-19 outbreak. Set deep inside the frontlines of the crisis, 76 days tells indelible human stories at the center of this pandemic—from a woman begging in vain to bid a final farewell to her father, a grandfather with dementia searching for his way home, a couple anxious to meet their newborn, to a nurse determined to return personal items to families of the deceased. These intimate stories bear witness to the death and rebirth of a city under a 76-day lockdown, and to the compassion and human resilience that persists in times of profound tragedy.

Directed by hao wu, weixi chen and “anonymous,” 76 days was produced by hao wu and jean tsien. The film was written and edited by hao wu and shot by anonymous and weixi chen. Executive producers are sheila nevins, bryn mooser, geralyn white dreyfous, naja pham lockwood, jamie chen and roberto grande.

www.76daysfilm.com/watch (https://www.76daysfilm.com/watch)