September 14-20 at IFC Center // Presented by DOC NYC
Created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers and Rhys Thomas, the landmark series Documentary Now! premiered on IFC in 2015. Introduced by Helen Mirren and winkingly posing as a long-running program that stretches back decades, the show has been lovingly paying tribute to documentary classics for three hilarious seasons.
To celebrate Documentary Now!’s newest season (officially known as its 53rd), coming this fall, DOC NYC revisits the show’s most ingenious homages, paired with the films that inspired them, in the week-long festival “Documentary Now…and Forever!,” with nine screenings presented Wednesday, September 14-Tuesday, September 20 at New York City’s IFC Center.
The festival kicks off Wednesday, September 14 with a screening of Les Blank’s BURDEN OF DREAMS (1982), a making-of documentary that follows filmmaker Werner Herzog on the set of Fitzcarraldo, and was the inspiration for the new season’s first episode, ‘Soldier of Illusion,’ starring Alexander Skarsgård.
Other highlights include Chris Hegedus and Frazer Pennebaker of Pennebaker Hegedus Films in person with the documentaries THE WAR ROOM and ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY; a screening of THE BEACHES OF AGNÈS, which inspired the new season’s ‘Trouver Frisson’ episode, Documentary Now!’s tribute to the great Agnès Varda; and more. See the links below for program details and tickets.
Chris Hegedus, director of the documentary THE WAR ROOM and other special guests will join for select screenings.
For fans who can’t make it to the in-person festival at IFC Center, a curated selection of documentaries will also be available on AMC+, AMC Networks’ premium streaming destination, beginning the same day as the week-long festival. Documentary Now! Season 53 will debut with a two-episode premiere on Wednesday, October 19 at 10 PM on IFC, and on AMC+ the same day. New episodes will debut weekly on Wednesdays. AMC+ is the exclusive home of previous seasons of Documentary Now!.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
7:00 PM Burden of Dreams, paired with the World Premiere of Season 53, Episodes 1 & 2 “Soldier of Illusion”
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
7:00 PM The War Room, paired with Season 51, Episode 1 “The Bunker” – Chris Hegedus, co-director of The War Room with DA Pennebaker, and Frazer Pennebaker of Pennebaker Hegedus Films to join for remarks
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
7:00 PM Grey Gardens, paired with Season 50, Episode 1 “Sandy Passage”
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
2:00 PM The Beaches of Agnès, paired with the US Premiere of Season 53, Episode 6 “Trouver Frisson”
7:00 PM Original Cast Album: “Company,” paired with Season 52, Episode 3 “Original Cast Album: Co-Op”– Chris Hegedus of Pennebaker Hegedus Films, to join for remarks
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
2:00 PM The Kid Stays in the Picture, paired with Season 51, Episodes 6 & 7 “Mr. Runner Up,”
7:00 PM The Thin Blue Line, paired with Season 50, Episode 4 “The Eye Doesn’t Lie”
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
7:00 PM Salesman, paired with Season 51, Episode 4 “Globesman”
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
7:00 PM Swimming to Cambodia, paired with Season 51, Episode 3 “Parker Gail’s Location Is Everything”