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DOC NYC · 2017

DOC NYC 2017

The Short List

Programme

15 films · 9 reviews

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Abacus: Small Enough To Jail

Review preview for Abacus: Small Enough To Jail

Despite his besst intentions, James never really fully achieves the cinematic element that would lift this above being a well-illustrated encyclopaedia article.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Chronicle of the legal battle between the Manhattan DA’s Office and Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, the only bank that was actually prosecuted in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Steve James; Stars: Neil Barofsky, Ti-Hua Chang, Jiayang Fan, Roman Fuzaylov, Polly Greenberg, Linda Hall, Don Lee, David Lindorff, Kevin Puvalowski, Chanterelle Sung, Heather Sung, Hwei Lin Sung, Jill Sung, Thomas Sung, Vera Sung)

Full review

Chasing Coral

Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Jeff Orlowski)

City Of Ghosts

Review preview for City Of Ghosts

Heineman's film inevitably includes some tough-to-watch footage but he recognises the power in not always showing death.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The citizen journalists risking their lives to report on atrocities within in Syria.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Matthew Heineman)

Full review

Dina

Review preview for Dina

What emerges is a warm profile of two people who love each other, working a damned sight harder than many neurotypical couples to get over the humps in the road.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
An unconventional love story.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini)

Full review

Faces Places (Visages, Villages)

Review preview for Faces Places

Whether she is probing at the ideas of the ties that bind us to a home or considering the morality of goat horns, she constantly nudges us to move around and, perhaps, get a better view.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
The director and photgrapher travel through France as their friendship blossoms.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Agnès Varda, JR)

Full review See: Agnès Varda on Faces Places, honours, outsiders and Demy , Early bird highlights of DOC NYC 2017

The Final Year

Review preview for The Final Year

At its best, this is a film that has something to say about democracy itself.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
The final year of President Obama's foreign policy administration.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Greg Barker)

Full review

NYC premiere. Opening gala

The Force

This cinema verité look at the long-troubled Oakland Police Department goes deep inside their struggles to confront federal demands for reform, a popular uprising following events in Ferguson and an explosive scandal. World premiere

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Peter Nicks; Writer: Linda Davis, Lawrence Lerew, Peter Nicks)

Icarus

Review preview for Icarus

Icarus is a multi-layered and compelling piece of work.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentarian investigating doping in cycling accidentally uncovers an international Olympic scandal.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Bryan Fogel)

Full review

KEDi

Review preview for KEDi

Torun, who spent much of her childhood in the city, lets us get supremely close to seven exquisitely different felines.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
A documentary following seven different cats through the streets of Istanbul.

(Country: Turkey, US; Year: 2016; Director: Ceyda Torun; Stars: Bülent Üstün, Mine Sogut, Elif Nursad Atalay, Sari, Bengü, Aslan Parçasi, Psikopat, Deniz, Gamsiz, Duman)

Full review See: Ceyda Torun in conversation on Istanbul as cat city, interspecies communication in KEDi, and women in Turkey , Ceyda Torun in conversation on KEDi

One Of Us (Einer Von Uns)

Julian, a 14-year old teenager, dies surrounded by the colorful products of a huge supermarket. The film is based on a true story.

(Year: 2015; Director: Stephan Richter )

Risk

Documentary about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

(Country: Germany, US; Year: 2016; Director: Laura Poitras; Stars: Julian Assange, Sarah Harrison, Jacob Appelbaum)

Step

The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented, as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city.

(Year: 2016; Director: Amanda Lipitz)

Strong Island

Review preview for Strong Island

Goes against the grain of modern crime documentaries.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The filmmaker investigates the shooting of his brother.

(Country: US, Denmark; Year: 2017; Director: Yance Ford)

Full review

The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography

Documentary about the life and work of the photographer.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Errol Morris; Stars: Elsa Dorfman)