2019 DOC NYC Winner’s Circle Revealed

October 10, 2019

New this year, the DOC NYC Winner’s Circle section was created to highlight films that have won major festival awardsin many cases, from Oscar-qualifying international festivalsbut might fly below the radar of American audiences. Some have been distributed in American art house theaters; others have not. Last year, several international titles that were previously overlooked by prognosticators were selected by the Academy for its Short List of Documentary Features, including CommunionThe Distant Barking of Dogs and The Silence of Others, not to mention Of Fathers and Sons, which played at DOC NYC 2018 and went on to an Oscar nomination. 

“Winner’s Circle is full of hidden gems,” said DOC NYC Director of Programming Basil Tsiokos who oversees the section. “I look forward to our audience discovering why these films were beloved by juries and critics around the world.”

The 2019 Winner’s Circle films are:

ADVOCATE (Film Movement)

Dir: Rachel Leah Jones, Philippe Bellaiche

Winner: DocAviv (Israel), Krakow (Poland), Thessaloniki (Greece)

 

 

COLD CASE HAMMARSKJÖLD (Magnolia Pictures)

Dir: Mads Brügger

Winner: It’s All True (Brazil)

 

 

THE FOURTH KINGDOM (EL CUARTO REINO)

Dir: Adán Aliaga, Alex Lora Cercos

Winner: DocumentaMadrid (Spain)

 

 

HOPE FROZEN

Dir: Pailin Wedel

Winner: Hot Docs (Canada)

 

 

MIDNIGHT FAMILY (1091 Media)

Dir: Luke Lorentzen

Winner: Sheffield (UK), Hong Kong

 

 

MIDNIGHT TRAVELER (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Dir: Hassan Fazili

Winner: Doc Edge (New Zealand)

 

 

SEA OF SHADOWS (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Dir: Richard Ladkani

Winner: Sundance Audience Award