Meet the Press Film Festival at DOC NYC

Celebrating its sixth year and following editions in DC and Los Angeles, the Meet the Press Film Festival moves to New York City in 2022 to partner with DOC NYC. With its annual festival of short documentaries, Meet the Press is bridging the gap between political journalism and film through a leading showcase of the year’s best issue-based short documentaries. 

Following each of this year’s six programming tracks, filmmakers had in-depth conversations moderated by NBC News correspondents and anchors, including Meet the Press Moderator and NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd; NBC News Chief Washington Correspondent and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell; Host of MSNBC’s Symone Symone Sanders; NBC News NOW Anchor, Stay Tuned Co-Host and NBC News Correspondent Savannah Sellers; and Co-Host of Stay Tuned and NBC News Studios head of documentary Molly O’Brien.

This year’s lineup included:

CHANGING THE SYSTEM

Changes in views over judicial accountability, drug-related crimes and systemic racism are at the root of these films, which examine how gaps in the criminal justice system can leave people behind bars for years. Screening followed by a Q&A with filmmakers.

Buy Tickets

CHANGING THE SYSTEM

Directed by Sosena Solomon

WORLD PREMIERE A freshman Philadelphia city councilman brings police to the table to reduce traffic stops by 30 percent, reducing interactions between officers and people of color.


Directed by Rebecca Richman Cohen, Rebecca Richman Cohen, Rebecca Richman Cohen

WORLD PREMIERE California Judge Aaron Persky was recalled in 2018 after his decision in the infamous Brock Turner assault case, raising questions about accountability.


Directed by Kyle Thrash, Haley Elizabeth Anderson, Kyle Thrash, Haley Elizabeth Anderson, Kyle Thrash, Haley Elizabeth Anderson

Michael Thompson, the longest serving non-violent offender in Michigan history, reaches for a chance at freedom after 25 years in prison.


MY HOME, MY LAND

Three stories about land, laws and traditions, that show us the meaning of home. Screening followed by a Q&A with filmmakers and NBC News NOW Anchor and NBC News Correspondent Savannah Sellers.

Buy Tickets

MY HOME, MY LAND

Directed by Matthew Kwiecinski, Christine Nguyen

WORLD PREMIERE A family in Texas grapples with their decision to move out of the state to keep their transgender teenage son, Noah, safe.


Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi, Shaandiin Tome

NYC PREMIERE A girl and her community prepare for her Ihuk, the once-dormant coming of age ceremony of the Karuk tribe of Northern California.


Directed by Christian Cargill

Heart Valley follows a day in the life of Welsh shepherd Wilf Davies, whose connection to nature provokes questions about what we should truly value.


PIONEERING WOMEN

Martha Mitchell and Sally Schmitt should be household names; one stood up to a president and the other helped launch the most famous restaurant in America. These films tell the stories of women who lived life on their own terms. Screening followed by a Q&A with filmmakers and NBC News Chief Washington Correspondent Andrea Mitchell.

Buy Tickets

PIONEERING WOMEN

Directed by Ben Proudfoot, Ben Proudfoot, Ben Proudfoot

NYC PREMIERE Sally Schmitt, founder of the legendary restaurant The French Laundry, tells her story as a pioneering chef of California cuisine.


Directed by Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy, Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy, Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy

She was once as famous as Jackie O. And then she tried to take down a President. The Martha Mitchell Effect is an archival documentary portrait of the unlikeliest of whistleblowers: Martha Mitchell.


SEEKING REFUGE, FINDING HOME

Kivu, Hong Kong, Milwaukee — people move across the globe, seeking shelter from violence and oppression. These films tell the stories of migrants from the Balkans, Iraq, China and Congo, as they resettle in cities around the world. Screening followed by a Q&A with filmmakers.

Buy Tickets

SEEKING REFUGE, FINDING HOME

Directed by Cynthia Wade, Sharon Liese

NYC PREMIERE Flags at the largest American flag factory in the country are stitched by refugees and immigrants whose stories redefine what it is to be American.


Directed by Olivia Martin-McGuire

A grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong parallels his granddaughter’s participation in protests as she faces pressure to escape Hong Kong.


Directed by Amy Bench, Amy Bench

Separated from family by a bombing, 14-year-old Mugeni traverses the globe to reunite with her lost relatives and lift up the Banyamulenge people.


THE WIN: WHEN ATHLETES SHAKE THE WORLD

Sports open the doors for stories untold. In Cleveland, a city reconsiders the meaning of a century-old mascot, and in New York, a stereotype is reformed by the electric performance of one player. Screening followed by a Q&A with ‘Meet the Press’ Moderator Chuck Todd.

Buy Tickets

THE WIN: WHEN ATHLETES SHAKE THE WORLD

Directed by Frank Chi

In a hostile time for Asian Americans, the revisiting of an unlikely athlete’s story gives hope and shatters stereotypes on sport’s biggest stage.


Directed by Lance Edmands

NYC PREMIERE The legacy of Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American to play professional baseball and inspired Cleveland to name their team “The Indians,” is reexamined.


WHEN SHE STANDS HER GROUND

What happens when “universal” rights are tested by women? In Alabama, Brittany Smith’s case calls into question the purpose of “stand your ground” laws. And in Russia, activist Anastasia Shevchenko pays a heavy price for standing up to President Vladimir Putin. Screening followed by a Q&A with filmmakers and ‘Meet the Press’ Moderator Chuck Todd.

Buy Tickets

WHEN SHE STANDS HER GROUND

Directed by Sarah McCarthy

NYC PREMIERE Russian activist Anastasia Shevchenko comes to grips with the loss of her daughter after two years of house arrest for speaking out against the government.


Directed by Ryan White

Unfolding in real time by focusing on the experience of one women on trial for murder, the film is a layered examination of gender, the American south, domestic and sexual violence and the failures of our criminal justice system.