November 19, 2016

Reaching for Infinity with John Coltrane on Closing Night

  Written by Krystal Grow   “Some people play jazz, some people play reggae or blues. John Coltrane played life.” – Carlos Santana in Chasing Trane   John Coltrane’s music was truly larger than life. Complex and innovative, it was full of ideas about the afterlife, about the worlds that exist beyond our own, and […]

November 18, 2016

The Music That Makes Movies Come to Life

  Written by Eric Shea   For movie buffs and music buffs alike, DOC NYC’s screening of Score gives a brilliant behind the scenes look at how the music from countless classic films comes to life. The film weaves a narrative through the history of movie music, from its humble beginnings with a singular pianist […]

November 18, 2016

At Westbeth, Art is Ageless

  Written by Rebecca DeRosa   Winter at Westbeth premiered at DOC NYC Wednesday night and proves that the soul of an artist doesn’t age and doesn’t die. Australian director Rohan Spong tells the stories of Edith Stephen, Dudley Williams, and Ilsa Gilbert—three New Yorkers who have resided for decades at Westbeth, an affordable housing […]

November 17, 2016

That’s a Wrap!

  Thank you to all the sponsors, filmmakers, staff, volunteers and audiences who made this festival possible. Once again, DOC NYC was an incredible eight-day celebration of nonfiction filmmaking. We look forward to welcoming you back next year. Save the dates: November 9—16, 2017!

November 17, 2016

And the award goes to…

Three juries selected films from each of the festival’s Viewfinders, Metropolis and Shorts sections to recognize for their outstanding achievements in form and content. Festival audiences voted for the DOC NYC Audience Award, and a panel of industry professionals voted to select the winner of this year’s new DOC NYC PRO Pitch Perfect Award. Viewfinders […]

November 17, 2016

Fortitude at the Finish Line

  Written by Megan Scanlon   Life can change in an instant. At any given moment, our worlds can implode. How do we move forward, how can we heal? How do we respond to tragedy, and how does the world respond? Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing investigates these questions as directors Ricki Stern and Annie […]

November 17, 2016

Beekeeping and the Business of Family

  Written by Kate Hoos   Many of us can relate to being caught between two worlds, the old and the new, the past and the present, and the tension between parent and child. Director Diedie Weng explores these dynamics in The Beekeeper and His Son, which made its North American premiere at DOC NYC […]

November 17, 2016

A Modern Day Love Letter to an Analog Writing Machine

  Written by Megan Scanlon   Watching California Typewriter is an immersive experience, and the DOC NYC audience was treated to the film’s NYC premiere last Sunday night. Directed by Doug Nichol, the film is named after a Berkeley, California typewriter repair shop, one of the last vestiges of an analog era, and unfolds the history […]

November 16, 2016

Burning Down Barriers

  Written by Rebecca DeRosa   In a time when 88 percent of the FDNY was white and male, one woman broke the mold to become the very first openly transgender firefighter of New York City. First Lady of NYC, Chirlane McCray, appeared at the world premiere screening of  Woman on Fire, directed by Julie […]

November 16, 2016

Finding Love and Beauty in the Most Unlikely Place

    Written by Rebecca DeRosa   In The Nine, which premiered at DOC NYC on Monday, photographer turned director Katy Grannan turns the lens on a community of people—many of whom are drug addicts, prostitutes, and victims of abuse—living on South 9th St. (the Nine) in Modesto, California. Kiki (a.k.a. Artimise Fairley), the main […]