EXCLUSIVE: DC/DOX, the distinguished documentary movie competition within the nation’s capital, in the present day introduced the complete slate for its third version.
The cinematic occasion will embrace a dozen world premieres together with The Final Class, a documentary about former Secretary of Labor – and ardent Trump opponent – Robert Reich; the intercourse trafficking documentary The Proper Observe, directed by Shareen Anderson; A Savage Artwork: The Life & Cartoons Of Pat Oliphant, a movie concerning the famed political cartoonist directed by Invoice Banowsky, and Immutable, a characteristic on the Washington City Debate League directed by Charlie Sadoff and Gabriel London.
As beforehand introduced (and reported by Deadline), DC/DOX will kick off with the world premiere of Steal This Story, Please!, a documentary about Democracy Now! host and writer Amy Goodman, directed by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin.
DC/DOX, operating June 12-15, boasts a slate of 59 options and 35 shorts from greater than two dozen international locations. Scroll for the complete lineup.
The competition unfolds in a Washington the place President Trump broadcasts head spinning insurance policies every day, like his new proposal to impose a 100% tariff on films filmed abroad after which imported to the U.S. Ostensibly, that’s meant to fortify Hollywood, however on the similar time the administration has slashed funding to organizations that straight assist filmmakers and movie festivals.
“This yr’s DC/DOX lineup is a robust reminder of documentary movie’s distinctive skill to light up the world round us—its magnificence, its heartbreak, and its complexity,” mentioned DC/DOX co-founder and competition director Sky Sitney. “At a time when so many forces are working to render sure tales invisible—be it the pressures of a quickly altering trade or suppression from the very best ranges of political energy—these movies boldly insist on bringing reality into the sunshine. From uncovering ignored realities to reframing narratives we thought we understood, they exemplify the urgency and artistry of the shape. We will’t await audiences to expertise them.”
‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’
CPH:DOX
Many documentaries within the DC/DOX lineup are certain to issue within the subsequent Oscar race:
- 2000 Meters to Andriivka, Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov’s observe as much as the Oscar-winning 20 Days in Mariupol.
- The Excellent Neighbor, directed by Geeta Gandhir, winner of the prize for documentary directing at Sundance.
- Apocalypse within the Tropics, Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa’s observe as much as her Oscar-nominated The Fringe of Democracy.
- Predators, David Osit’s expose on the NBC crime present To Catch a Predator.
- Come See Me within the Good Mild, directed by Ryan White, which Apple TV+ lately acquired.
- River of Grass, director Sam Wortzel’s “lyrical ode to the Florida Everglades.”
- Coexistence, My Ass!, director Amber Fares’s award-winning documentary about Israeli comic Noam Shuster Eliassi, who advocates for full equality between Palestinians and Israelis.
- Sally, the Nationwide Geographic documentary concerning the late astronaut Sally Journey, directed by Cristina Costantini.
- Seeds, directed by Brittany Shyne, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at Sundance.
- Holding Liat, directed by Brandon Kramer, a movie a few lady kidnapped within the October 7 Hamas sneak assault on Israel. It gained the highest prize for documentary on the Berlin Movie Pageant.
Barbara Walters
Ida Mae Astute/Disney Normal Leisure Content material/Getty Photos
DC/DOX will display Barbara Walters: Inform Me All the pieces, a movie concerning the late pioneering newswoman, directed by Jackie Jesko. The documentary holds its world premiere simply earlier than DC/DOX at Tribeca Pageant.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Photos
Amongst different intriguing titles are Deepfaking Sam Altman, a movie concerning the OpenAI CEO. Director Adam Bhala Lough, pissed off in his makes an attempt to interview the actual Altman, chats with a digital facsimile of the tech mogul as a substitute.
DC/DOX will host the world premieres of the shorts Coach, Edge Of Dawn, La Orquesta, To Your Arms, And Vs. Goliath: Appalachia, the worldwide premiere of the brief A Coloration I Named Blue, the North American premiere of Elevate Woman, and the U.S. premiere of Into The Darkish.
In a press release, DC/DOX co-founder Jamie Shor commented, “As we collect within the nation’s capital for our third version, DC/DOX kicks off one other implausible yr in a metropolis that’s as very important for documentary movie as it’s for politics, and this yr’s slate is a robust reminder that artwork and engagement do go hand in hand.”
DC/DOX 2025 PROGRAM
Signature Screenings
Opening Evening Screening: Thursday, June 12
STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!: DIRS Carl Deal and Tia Lessin. PRODS Karen Ranucci, Tia Lessin, and Carl Deal. USA.
Amy Goodman’s private story, her heat and radical spirit, and her completely fearless reporting are interwoven with the monumental occasions she has coated over many years, spotlighting the important position of journalism in shaping our understanding of reality—and in compelling motion at a time when unbiased journalism is below assault.
World Premiere.
‘The Alabama Answer’
HBO Documentary Movies
Centerpiece Screening: Friday, June 13
THE ALABAMA SOLUTION: DIRS Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman. PRODS Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman. USA.
Incarcerated males defy the percentages to show a cover-up in America’s deadliest jail system.
Courtesy of HBO.
Closing Evening Screening: Saturday, June 14
BODYGUARD OF LIES: DIR Dan Krauss. PRODS Alex Gibney, Brad Hebert, Ahmad Sharifi, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Susan Zirinsky, and Terence Improper. USA.
By means of surprising testimonies from authorities insiders, confidential paperwork, and personal audio recordings from the very best stage of the navy, BODYGUARD OF LIES exposes the tangled net of deception fed to the American public by the U.S. authorities throughout its 20-year conflict in Afghanistan.
Courtesy of See It Now Studios / Paramount+.
Highlight Screening: Sunday, June 15
STATE OF FIRSTS: DIR Chase Joynt. PRODS Jenna Kelly and Justin Lacob. USA.
A portrait of Sarah McBride’s historic run to turn out to be the primary trans member of Congress, the backlash that ensues, and her combat for change amidst intensifying political extremism.
Options
2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA: DIR Mstyslav Chernov. PRODS Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, and Raney Aronson-Rath. Ukraine.
Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of closely fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. However the farther they advance by means of their destroyed homeland, the extra they notice that this conflict could by no means finish.
Courtesy of PBS FRONTLINE, AP.
ANDY KAUFMAN IS ME: DIR Clay Tweel. PRODS Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz, Ross Dinerstein, and Shannon E. Riggs. USA.
With never-before-heard audio tapes and distinctive insights from these inside his inside circle, ANDY KAUFMAN IS ME gives an enchanting view contained in the thoughts of enigmatic performer Andy Kaufman.
Courtesy of Fifth Season.
ANY PROBLEM IS NO PROBLEM: DIRS Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink. PRODS Robyn Kopp and Kate McLean. USA.
In a high-stakes race for the way forward for the web, three visionary web3 startups battle for funding at Demo Day, hoping to safe their place within the tech world’s most prestigious incubator.
East Coast Premiere.
APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS: DIR Petra Costa. PRODS Petra Costa and Alessandra Orofino. Brazil.
When does a democracy finish, and a theocracy start? APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS investigates the more and more highly effective grip that religion leaders maintain over politics in Brazil. Weaving previous and current, it holds up an uncanny mirror to the remainder of the world.
Courtesy of Netflix.
ARREST THE MIDWIFE: DIR Elaine Epstein. PROD Robin Hessman. USA.
The arrest of trusted midwives ignites an surprising rebel, as Amish and Mennonite girls break from custom and emerge as fierce political activists — becoming a member of the broader combat for reproductive justice.
Courtesy of ITVS.
BABY DOE: DIR Jessica Earnshaw. PROD Holly Meehl Chapman. USA.
After new forensic proof emerges, a churchgoing mom of three in Ohio is arrested for homicide many years after abandoning a baby she says was stillborn.
BARBARA WALTERS TELL ME EVERYTHING: DIR Jackie Jesko. PRODS Marcella Steingart, Jackie Jesko, Sara Bernstein, and Meredith Kaulfers. USA.
In a profession that reshaped American journalism, Barbara Walters’ daring and trailblazing journey is revealed on this uncooked and intimate documentary, exploring her exceptional legacy by means of her personal phrases. Courtesy of ABC Information.
COEXISTENCE, MY ASS!: DIR Amber Fares. PRODS Amber Fares, Rachel Leah Jones, and Valérie Montmartin. USA, France.
Shot over 5 tumultuous years, COEXISTENCE, MY ASS! follows Israeli activist-comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi as she creates a comedy present of the identical title, tracing her private, skilled, and political journey alongside the area’s regular deterioration.
COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT: DIR Ryan White. PRODS Jessica Hargrave, Ryan White, Tig Notaro, and Stef Willen. USA.
On this unexpectedly humorous and joyful love story, poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley navigate life and mortality within the face of an incurable analysis.
CREEDE U.S.A.: DIR Kahane Corn Cooperman. PRODS Innbo Shim and Kahane Corn Cooperman. USA.
Creede, a distant Colorado mining city nestled at 9,000 toes, has no stoplight—but it’s residence to a thriving theater firm. With a singular mixture of miners, ranchers, and theater folks amongst its 300 residents, Creede gives a putting reflection on the divisions—and shocking connections—shaping America in the present day.
CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS: DIRS Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni. PRODS Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni. USA, Qatar, Chile, Germany, Iran, Netherlands, Canada.
As the primary elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi fights to interrupt long-held patriarchal traditions by coaching teenage ladies to trip bikes and dealing to finish little one marriages.
DEAR TOMORROW: DIR Kaspar Astrup Schröder. PRODS Maria Helga Stürup and Katrine A. Sahlstrøm. Denmark, Sweden, Japan.
In Japan, loneliness has became a nationwide disaster, encouraging the federal government to create a Ministry of Loneliness. With the assistance of a volunteer chat service, compassionate connections, authorities initiatives, and even pet owls, they try to reclaim their lives from this very up to date affliction.
DEEPFAKING SAM ALTMAN: DIR Adam Bhala Lough. PRODS Kevin Hart, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Bryan Smiley, and Harold Berón III. USA.
Director Adam Bhala Lough units out to grasp the expertise and other people on the middle of AI. His quest sends him on a path in the direction of OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman. When he can’t sit down with Altman, Adam travels to India to create an AI model of him to interview as a substitute. Hartbeat companions with Vox Media Studios and Lough for this documentary primarily based on reporting from New York Journal.
Courtesy of Vox Media Studios.
EVEREST DARK: DIR Jereme Watt. PRODS Advantage Jensen Carr, Michael Bodnarchuk, and Jereme Watt. Canada.
Because the demise toll on the world’s highest peak rises, one among Nepal’s most legendary climbers leads an elite group of Sherpas on a life-threatening mission to retrieve fallen climbers from Everest’s Loss of life Zone.
North American Premiere.
FACING WAR: DIR Tommy Gulliksen. PRODS Anne Marte Blindheim and Danielle Turkov Wilson. Norway.
This epic documentary chronicles Jens Stoltenberg’s pivotal ultimate yr as NATO Secretary Normal throughout a interval of unprecedented world rigidity. With exceptional behind-the-scenes entry, the movie captures Stoltenberg navigating the complicated diplomatic panorama amid the Russia-Ukraine battle.
U.S. Premiere.
FOLKTALES: DIRS Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. PRODS Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. USA.
On the precipice of maturity, youngsters converge at a standard folks highschool in Arctic Norway. Dropped on the fringe of the world, they have to depend on solely themselves, each other, and a loyal pack of sled canines as all of them develop in surprising instructions.
Courtesy of Magnolia Footage.
HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY: DIR Sam Feder. PRODS Amy Scholder, Sam Feder, and Paola Mendoza. USA.
Amid the surge in anti-trans laws that Chase Strangio battles within the courtroom, he should additionally combat in opposition to media bias, exposing how the narratives within the press affect public notion and the combat for transgender rights.
HOLDING LIAT: DIR Brandon Kramer. PRODS. Darren Aronofsky, Lance Kramer, Yoni Brook, Ari Handel, and Justin A. Gonçalves. USA.
After Liat Beinin Atzili is kidnapped on October seventh, her Israeli-American household faces their very own conflicting views to combat for her launch and the way forward for the locations they name residence.
HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE: DIR Eleanor Mortimer. PROD Jacob Thomas. United Kingdom.
With deep-sea mining looming, biologists race to gather and title the undiscovered species of the abyss, the final wilderness on earth.
I WAS BORN THIS WAY: DIRS Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard. PRODS Wellington Love, Daniel Junge, and Jed Alan. USA.
When Archbishop Carl Bean sang the 1977 Motown hit and homosexual anthem “I Was Born This Means,” it was the beginning of his mission to vary the world. I WAS BORN THIS WAY explores the life and legacy of Bean and his resounding message: “Love is for everybody.”
IMMUTABLE: DIRS Charlie Sadoff and Gabriel London. PRODS Keith M. Brown, Charlie Sadoff, and Gabriel London. USA.
Within the shadow of energy and privilege, college students within the Washington City Debate League push themselves to turn out to be top-tier debaters, decided to vary the course of their lives.
World Premiere.
Courtesy of PBS WETA. Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
IN WAVES AND WAR: DIRS Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen. PRODS Jessica Anthony, Bonni Cohen, and Jon Shenk. USA.
Three Navy SEALs depart their excursions of responsibility in Iraq and Afghanistan with treatment-resistant, unrelenting psychological ache. They discover themselves on the chopping fringe of a unique frontline: a lifesaving psychedelic remedy that brings therapeutic to a neighborhood in pressing want.
THE INQUISITOR: DIR Angela Lynn Tucker. PRODS Moira Griffin and Trevite Willis. USA.
With an electrifying voice and unwavering ethical readability, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan captivated the nation throughout President Nixon’s impeachment hearings. From Houston’s fifth Ward to the halls of Congress, her exceptional journey gives a compelling blueprint for bridging a divided America by means of a turbulent political period.
THE LAST CLASS: DIR Elliot Kirschner. PRODS Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse and Josh Melrod. USA.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has at all times thought-about educating his true calling. As he faces his ultimate class, he wrestles with the twin realities of his personal getting older and his college students inheriting a world out of steadiness.
World Premiere.
THE LIBRARIANS: DIR Kim A. Snyder. PRODS Kim A. Snyder, Janique L Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, and Jana Edelbaum. USA.
As an unprecedented wave of e-book banning sweeps by means of Texas, Florida, and past, librarians below siege unite as unlikely defenders, combating for mental freedom on the entrance strains of democracy.
LIFE AFTER: DIR Reid Davenport. PROD Colleen Cassingham. USA.
A gripping private investigation that exposes the tangled net of ethical dilemmas and revenue motives surrounding assisted dying. Disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport uncovers surprising abuses of energy whereas amplifying the voices of the incapacity neighborhood combating for justice and dignity in an unfolding matter of life and demise.
MAINTENANCE ARTIST: DIR Toby Perl Freilich. PROD Judith Mizrachy. USA.
“After the Revolution, who’s going to select up the rubbish on Monday morning?” challenged Mierle Laderman Ukeles, the New York Metropolis Sanitation Division’s first artist-in-residence. MAINTENANCE ARTIST tells the stirring story of an unsalaried public artist who championed upkeep staff and have become a revolutionary pressure in up to date artwork.
MIDDLETOWN: DIRS Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine. PRODS Teddy Leifer, Florrie Priest, Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, and Danny Breen. USA.
Impressed by an unconventional trainer, a bunch of youngsters in upstate New York within the early Nineteen Nineties make a scholar movie and uncover an enormous conspiracy that’s poisoning their neighborhood. Thirty years later, they revisit their movie and confront the legacy of this transformative expertise.
MONK IN PIECES: DIRS Billy Shebar and David C. Roberts. PRODS Billy Shebar, Susan Margolin, and David C. Roberts. USA, France, Germany.
Visionary composer and performer Meredith Monk overcame hostile critics to turn out to be one of many nice artists of her technology. In her seventh decade of creativity, she ponders how such singular work can go on with out her.
MOVE YA BODY: THE BIRTH OF HOUSE: DIR Class Bratton. PRODS Chester Algernal Gordon and Class Bratton. USA, United Kingdom.
Out of the underground dance golf equipment on the South Facet of Chicago, a bunch of buddies flip a brand new sound into a worldwide motion.
MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN: DIR David Borenstein. CO-DIR Pavel Talankin. PROD. Helle Faber. Denmark, Czech Republic.
As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, major faculties throughout Russia are remodeled into recruitment phases for the conflict. Going through the moral dilemma of working in a system outlined by propaganda and violence, a courageous trainer movies what’s actually occurring in his personal college.
MY SWEET LAND: DIR Sareen Hairabedian. PRODS Azza Hourani and Sareen Hairabedian. USA, Jordan, Eire, France.
For 11-year-old Vrej, life in his homeland, Artsakh, is sort of a paradise, however when conflict begins once more, can he carry a nation’s hopes on his younger shoulders?
NATCHEZ: DIR Suzannah Herbert. PRODS Darcy McKinnon and Suzannah Herbert. USA.
NATCHEZ captures an unsettling conflict between historical past and reminiscence by means of a small Mississippi city reliant on antebellum tourism to outlive. Who will get to inform America’s story?
Courtesy of ITVS.
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR: DIR Geeta Gandbhir. PRODS Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu, and Sam Bisbee. USA.
A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into lethal violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the results of Florida’s “stand your floor” legal guidelines.
Courtesy of Netflix.
PREDATORS: DIR David Osit. PRODS Jamie Gonçalves and Kellen Quinn. USA.
“To Catch a Predator” was a well-liked tv present designed to seek out little one predators and lure them to a movie set, the place they might be interviewed and ultimately arrested. PREDATORS is a shocking exploration of the scintillating rise and staggering fall of the present, and the world it helped create.
Courtesy of MTV Documentary Movies.
REMAINING NATIVE: DIR Paige Bethmann. PROD Jessica Epstein. USA.
Seventeen-year-old Ku Stevens grapples together with his dream of turning into a collegiate athlete because the reminiscence of his great-grandfather’s escape from an Indian boarding college weaves the previous, current, and future collectively.
THE RIGHT TRACK: DIR Shareen Anderson. PRODS Jessica Xanthe Cran and Po Kutchins. USA.
By means of the eyes of survivors, THE RIGHT TRACK exposes the combat to finish intercourse trafficking throughout North America, highlighting the braveness to flee “the life” and the momentum wanted for justice and alter.
World Premiere.
RIVER OF GRASS: DIR Sasha Wortzel. PRODS Danielle Varga and Sasha Wortzel. USA.
A lyrical ode to the Florida Everglades, celebrating each its previous and current, and the folks in the present day who name the area residence.
SALLY: DIR Cristina Costantini. PRODS Lauren Cioffi, Cristina Costantini, Dan Cogan, and Jon Bardin. USA.
Sally Journey grew to become the primary American lady to blast off into house, however beneath her unflappable composure was a secret. Sally’s life companion, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance and the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years collectively.
Courtesy of Nationwide Geographic Documentary Movies.
A SAVAGE ART: THE LIFE & CARTOONS OF PAT OLIPHANT: DIR Invoice Banowsky. PROD Paul O’Bryan. USA.
A portrait of famend political cartoonist Patrick Oliphant, whose five-decade profession spanned ten US presidents. The movie explores the rise of political partisanship and company management of the media, and exhibits how Oliphant used biting wit and masterful draftsmanship to tackle the powers that be.
World Premiere.
Courtesy of Magnolia Footage.
THE SECRET OF ME: DIR Grace Hughes Hallett. PRODS Flora Stewart and James Rogan. United Kingdom.
When 19-year-old Kristi discovers a secret her physician and fogeys have stored from her all her life, her seek for reality uncovers a radical psychological experiment, a worldwide media scandal, and a legacy of hurt in the direction of intersex folks.
SEEDS: DIR Brittany Shyne. PRODS Danielle Varga and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon. USA.
A lyrical portrait of Black generational farmers within the American South, exploring the battle to protect legacy and the enduring significance of land possession.
THE SHADOW SCHOLARS: DIR Eloïse King. PRODS Anna Smith Tense, Bona Orakwue, and Tabs Breese. United Kingdom.
Tens of hundreds of younger and well-educated Kenyans are employed on-line by undergraduates and doctoral college students at Western universities to write down their essays and theses, in a multi-billion-dollar underground trade. Oxford professor Patricia Kingori embarks on a seek for these ‘shadow students.’
SHUFFLE: DIR Benjamin Flaherty. PRODS Carra Greenberg, Harris Fishman, and Scott Paskoff. USA.
By means of the lens of his personal restoration, a filmmaker gives an unflinching look contained in the billion-dollar habit remedy trade the place younger individuals are purchased and offered for his or her insurance coverage insurance policies and ushered right into a system designed to maintain them sick.
SPEAK.: DIR Jennifer Tiexiera. CO-DIR Man Mossman. PRODS Pamela Griner, Man Mossman, and Jennifer Tiexiera. USA.
5 top-ranked highschool oratory college students spend a yr crafting spellbinding spoken phrase performances with the dream of profitable one of many world’s largest and most intense public talking competitions.
THE SPIES AMONG US: DIRS Jamie Coughlin Silverman and Gabriel Silverman. PRODS Jamie Coughlin Silverman and Gabriel Silverman. USA.
Thirty years after the top of the Chilly Conflict, a former political prisoner of the East German secret police searches for the reality after studying his brother spied on him for the regime, and discovers the lasting results of residing in a surveillance state.
THE STRINGER: DIR Bao Nguyen. PRODS Fiona Turner and Terri Lichstein.
A two-year investigation uncovers a scandal behind the making of one of the vital iconic images of the twentieth century. 5 many years of secrets and techniques are unraveled within the seek for justice for a person identified solely as “the stringer.”
TAKE NO PRISONERS: DIRS Adam Ciralsky and Subrata De. PRODS Adam Ciralsky, Gene Klein, and Subrata De. USA.
A gripping inside have a look at the secretive, high-stakes world of hostage negotiations, following America’s high envoy as he races to free a younger legal professional held as a political pawn by a rogue regime.
THE TALLEST DWARF: DIR Julie Forrest Wyman. PRODS Jonna McKone, Shaleece Haas, and Lindsey Dryden. USA.
When a filmmaker with a uncommon type of dwarfism seeks out folks with our bodies like hers, she enters a neighborhood in flux. She joins forces with little folks artists to hint a troubled historical past of being placed on show. Collectively they forge a imaginative and prescient of disabled magnificence and energy.
UNDERLAND: DIR Robert Petit. PRODS Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Lauren Greenwood, and Jessica Harrop. USA, United Kingdom.
This mesmerizing documentary follows three intrepid “astronauts of the underworld” as they discover sacred caves, flooded storm drains, and underground laboratories, revealing the hidden wonders and information of the earth beneath our toes.
UVALDE MOM: DIR Anayansi Prado. PRODS Ina Fichman, Anayansi Prado, and David Goldblum. USA.
When a faculty mass capturing rocks the small city of Uvalde, Texas, a single mom determined to avoid wasting her children is reluctantly thrust into the general public eye. She bravely speaks out in opposition to a damaged system and exposes the officers who failed to guard the neighborhood’s most weak—its youngsters.
VIKTOR: DIR Olivier Sarbil. PRODS Olivier Sarbil, Darren Aronofsky, Dylan Golden, Brendan Naylor, Sigrid Dyekjær, and Philippe Levasseur. Denmark, Ukraine, France, USA.
Providing a deeply private perspective on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, VIKTOR is a poignant audiovisual journey of a younger man residing in Kharkiv, who units out to seek out his place in a conflict he can not hear and is denied the possibility to combat.
WIDOW CHAMPION: DIR Zippy Kimundu. PRODS Heather Courtney and Zippy Kimundu. Kenya.
Thrown off her land by her in-laws, a resilient Kenyan widow transforms right into a fierce advocate for ladies’s land rights in a extremely patriarchal neighborhood. Rodah spearheads a brave motion, rallying fellow widows to reclaim their rightful property. Amidst the conflict of custom and progress, her narrative unfolds, depicting the stress between an ingrained tradition and a quickly evolving world.
WRITING HAWA: DIR Najiba Noori. CO-DIR Rasul Noori. PRODS Christian Popp, Hasse van Nunen, and Renko Douze. France.
Forty years after being married off as a baby, Hawa begins to check an unbiased life, pushed by a want to turn out to be literate and begin her personal enterprise. Nonetheless, with the return of the Taliban to energy, her desires—together with these of her daughter and granddaughter—are shattered.
WTO/99: DIR Ian Bell. PRODS Laura Tatham, Ian Bell, and Alex Megaro. USA.
Informed fully by means of archival materials, WTO/99 reanimates the conflict between the rising World Commerce Group (WTO) and the greater than 40,000 individuals who took to the streets of Seattle to protest its anticipated impacts on labor, the surroundings, and the way forward for globalization.
Shorts
ARMED ONLY WITH A CAMERA: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BRENT RENAUD: DIRS Craig Renaud and Brent Renaud. PRODS Juan Arredondo and Christof Putzel. USA.
Brent Renaud was the primary American journalist killed in Ukraine. Recognized for filming on the entrance strains of battle, he was pushed by a deep empathy for the folks caught within the crossfire. Along with his digital camera, he didn’t simply seize conflict—he fought for peace.
Courtesy of HBO.
THE BIRDS: DIRS David Allen and Martin Dohrn. PRODS Gaby Bastyra and Amber Beattie. United Kingdom.
Going through the twilight of his profession, a filmmaker turns his well-honed cinematic abilities skyward to decipher the murmuration of hundreds of seabirds put into play by a lone falcon.
CAMILLE A. BROWN: GIANT STEPS: DIRS Michelle Parkerson and Shellée M. Haynesworth. PROD Shellée M. Haynesworth. USA.
5-time Tony-nominated choreographer and director Camille A. Brown elevates the potential with daring explorations of on a regular basis motion and Diasporic dance. From her Jamaica Queens neighborhood to Broadway and past, the movie captures her visionary expertise—affirming city youth, Black feminine id, and the ability of neighborhood.
Courtesy of PBS American Masters / WNET.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
CLASSROOM 4: DIR Eden Wurmfeld. PRODS Yael Bridge and Eden Wurmfeld. USA.
Inside a jail classroom, faculty college students and incarcerated people come collectively to review the historical past of crime and punishment in America—sparking surprising conversations, arduous truths, and a deeper understanding of justice and humanity.
COACH: DIRS Clifford Nash and Griffin Nash. PRODS Ian McFarland, Mark DiCristofaro, and Colby Cote. USA.
Whereas NHL standout T.J. Oshie fights for the Stanley Cup, his father, Tim “Coach” Oshie, battles to recollect his son’s best achievements. Their parallel fights—one for glory, the opposite in opposition to the grip of Alzheimer’s—reveal a shifting portrait of braveness, legacy, and the unbreakable bond between them.
World Premiere.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
A COLOR I NAMED BLUE: DIR Sybilla Patrizia. PRODS Mai Hosomura and Sybilla Patrizia. Japan.
In Japan’s lush countryside, a colorblind artisan and an indigo dyer obsessive about creating the proper shade of blue, be a part of forces and uncover what it actually means to see.
Worldwide Premiere.
THE CONSCIENCE FILES: DIR Brian Bolster. PROD Brian Bolster. USA.
For some nature lovers, the phrase “You may’t take it with you” is greater than a saying about possessions and the afterlife; it’s a cautionary reminder of what not to soak up the current—and the results that observe whenever you do.
CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG: DIR Hao Zhou. PROD Tyler Hill. Germany, USA.
A filmmaker submits to a collection of residence cures and religious rituals as their household makes an attempt to purge their gender-fluid id.
DANIELLE SCOTT: ANCESTRAL CALL: DIRS Sonia Kennebeck and Tetiana Anderson. PRODS Tetiana Anderson and Sonia Kennebeck. USA.
Danielle Scott, a legally blind Afro-Cuban, Polish-Jewish, and Asian mixed-media artist on the cusp of worldwide fame, dangers her personal well-being by exposing herself to the intergenerational trauma of the Atlantic Slave Commerce.
Courtesy of PBS American Masters / WNET.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
DEATH EDUCATION: DIR Yuxuan Ethan Wu. PROD Yuxuan Ethan Wu. China.
In China, a highschool trainer has launched a demise training class for younger college students. On the standard Tomb Sweeping Day, they bury unnamed ashes at a public cemetery the place they ponder and contextualize the which means of demise.
EDGE OF DAYBREAK: DIR Daybreak Porter. PROD Asako Gladsjo. USA.
In 1979, inmates at a maximum-security jail in Virginia got here collectively to file an album of unique music, rediscovered many years later and used within the Oscar-winning movie “Moonlight,” testifying to the ability of the artistic spirit even inside jail partitions.
World Premiere.
Courtesy of A&E Community.
HEARTBEAT: DIRS Jay Rosenblatt and Stephanie Rapp. PRODS Jay Rosenblatt and Stephanie Rapp. USA.
Shot over 25 years in the past, this emotionally uncooked and intimate documentary follows a pair—the filmmakers themselves—on their complicated journey to convey a brand new life into the world.
HOLD ME CLOSE: DIRS Aurora Brachman and LaTajh Simmons-Weaver. PRODS Hen & Egg Footage and American Documentary. USA.
A chronicle of the ability and complexity of the connection between Corinne and Tiana, two Queer Black womxn who expertise cycles of life’s joys and pains collectively within the residence they share.
Courtesy of POV|Shorts.
HOOPS, HOPES & DREAMS: DIR Glenn Kaino. PROD Michael Latt, Alexys Feaster, Glenn Kaino, Afshin Shahidi, and Jesse Williams. USA.
The untold story about how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and an all-star group of civil rights activists took to basketball courts to attach with younger voters, and the way their technique echoed in up to date politics by means of President Obama’s historic marketing campaign.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
HOUSTON’S WHITEBEAM: DIRS Alex Darby and Jake Morris. PROD Alex Darby. United Kingdom.
At 80 years previous, climber, botanist, and poet Libby Houston continues her pioneering work, scaling the 300-foot cliffs of Bristol’s Avon Gorge to review uncommon crops.
THE HUSTLE OF FUNNY: DIR Kendra Pittman. PROD Kelsi Evans. USA.
Beneath the highlight of DC’s underground comedy scene, six aspiring comedians grind, develop, and get actual—revealing how chasing laughs can uncover deeper truths and join us all.
World Premiere.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
INTO THE DARK: DIR Fiona Otway. USA.
In deep darkness, an artist varieties a unprecedented artistic collaboration with fireflies, unlocking hidden landscapes illuminated by their glowing gentle.
US Premiere.
LIFT LADY: DIR Marcin Modzelewski. PRODS Munk Studio – Polish Filmmakers Affiliation. Poland.
Brutalist structure of Tbilisi, a toll elevator and surreal surroundings are the day by day lifetime of Mzia, a former sniper overseeing the one such route on the planet.
North American Premiere.
LOOKING FOR A DONKEY: DIR Juan Vicente Manrique. PRODS Juan Vicente Manrique and María Benítez. Mexico, Venezuela.
After posting a satirical video that includes a donkey as Venezuela’s president, two Andean firefighters had been imprisoned. As locals stay tight-lipped concerning the incident, rumors swirl concerning the mysterious destiny of the donkey on this secluded mountain city.
LOVE BIRDS: DIRS Elliott Kennerson and Angel Morris. PRODS Excellent 4 Productions,
Authentic Voices Shorts, NBCU Academy, and NBC Information Studios. USA.
A analysis expedition to a distant island. An statement that modified homosexual historical past. The love story that made all of it potential.
Courtesy of NBC Information Studios.
MAKING SPACES: THE LEGEND OF UNION ARTS: DIR Jamal Toye. PROD Jamal Toye. USA.
A tribute to a misplaced artistic haven, this movie revisits the ultimate yr of a beloved DC arts house—capturing its vibrant spirit and the combat to reserve it from gentrification.
World Premiere.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
MAMA MICRA: DIR Rebecca Blöcher. CO-DIR Frédéric Schuld. PROD Fabian Driehorst. Germany.
For the final ten years of her life, the filmmaker’s mom lived out of a Nissan Micra—washing every morning in lodge bogs and sneaking into breakfast rooms for meals. Her freedom got here at a value: she misplaced contact together with her daughter, who gives a contrasting perspective on her mom’s account.
A MAN WHO KNITS: DIR Ian Powell. PROD Ian Powell. USA.
A male knitter honors his late grandmother, defying gender norms and discovering religious renewal by means of the artwork of needlework and yarn-making.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
THE NEW YORKER THEATER: A TALBOT LEGACY: DIR Sergio Maza. PRODS Maria Politano, Cara Yeates, and Sergio Maza. USA, Argentina.
In 1960, Dan and Toby Talbot opened the New Yorker Theater on the then-dangerous Higher West Facet of New York Metropolis. With no cash or expertise, the Talbots remodeled this 900-seat theater into one among America’s most influential repertory and arthouse cinemas, launching a exceptional six-decade profession in movie exhibition and distribution.
LA ORQUESTA: DIRS Monica Villavicencio and Stephanie Liu. USA.
A retired music trainer embarks on a mission to create Georgia’s first youth orchestra for undocumented and mixed-status households.
World Premiere.
THE PEOPLE COULD FLY: DIR Imani N. Dennison. PROD Bryn Silverman. USA.
An intimate, poetic portrait of the ritual of curler skating and the way curler rinks in Louisville, Kentucky, emerged as magical sanctuaries for Black tradition.
PERFECTLY A STRANGENESS: DIR Alison McAlpine. Canada.
Three donkeys uncover an deserted astronomical observatory and the universe.
PROJECTING PROTEST: DIR Tom Clement. USA.
Does projecting a message onto a constructing depend as free speech? Mild projection is more and more getting used as a type of protest by each the far proper and the left. Regardless of their opposing ideologies, either side argue for the legality—and necessity—of this rising software of political expression.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
THE SPECTACLE: DIR Yasmin van Dorp. PRODS The Small Worlds Collective. Sweden.
Throughout Europe, serene landscapes rework into bustling vacationer sights, formed by the rhythms of contemporary tourism. THE SPECTACLE displays on what stays actually seen and felt amidst the curated snapshots of our adventures.
SUNSET AND THE MOCKINGBIRD: DIR Jyllian Gunther. PRODS Kali Holloway, Adam Kahan, and Jyllian Gunther. USA.
Because the reminiscence of a jazz legend fades, his soulmate discovers that their connection is timeless, preserved within the music that formed their love. By means of shared melodies, love is redefined, and music turns into their enduring bond.
TESSITURA: DIRS Lydia Cornett and Brit Fryer. PRODS American Documentary and Hen & Egg Footage. USA.
Three trans opera singers refine their distinctive vocal abilities and contemporize the historical past of gender-fluid performances within the artwork kind.
TO YOUR HANDS: DIR Ana Mouyis. PRODS Elyse Kelly, Ana Mouyis and Fox Schwach. USA, Cyprus.
On the divided island of Cyprus, the quiet movement of fingers shaping lace and making cheese sheds new gentle on a decades-old battle. By means of intimate imagery and painted by hand animation, the movie displays on how shared tradition endures past political borders.
World Premiere.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
VS. GOLIATH: APPALACHIA: DIR. Maggie Lemere. PRODS. Nate Birnbaum, Pulkit Datta, and Maggie Lemere. USA.
A military veteran enlists within the battle in opposition to an enormous gasoline pipeline that cuts by means of his neighborhood within the mountains of Appalachia— becoming a member of with neighbors close to and much in a showdown in opposition to a shadowy company and a number of the nation’s strongest politicians.
World Premiere.
Screening as a part of DC/FRAME.
WELCOME HOME FRECKLES: DIR Huiju Park. PROD Huiju Park. United Kingdom.
After 4 years aside, a daughter returns residence to confront unresolved household conflicts and the deep-rooted home violence that plagued her childhood. She uncovers a generational cycle of abuse and involves phrases with the truth that she alone can break it.
YOUR OPINION, PLEASE: DIR Marshall Granger. PRODS Alana Waksman and Marshall Granger. USA. Weaving collectively voices from a whole bunch of unfiltered radio calls to the Yellowstone Public Radio present Your Opinion, Please!, the movie captures a decade of uncooked public debate throughout Montana, revealing a state grappling with questions of id, neighborhood, and free expression.
