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DOC NYC · 2018

DOC NYC 2018

Short List

Programme

14 films · 9 reviews

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Crime + Punishment

Over four years of unprecedented access, the story of a brave group of black and Latino whistleblower cops and one unrelenting private investigator who, amidst a landmark lawsuit, risk everything to expose illegal quota practices and their impact on young minorities.

(Year: 2018; Director: Stephen Maing)

Fahrenheit 11/9

Documentary sets its sights on US president Donald Trump.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Michael Moore; Writer: Michael Moore; Stars: Michael Moore, Donald J Trump, David Hogg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michael Moore, Donald J. Trump, David Hogg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)

Free Solo

Review preview for Free Solo

The final stretch, when Alex commences the climb, is some of the most nail-biting cinema you will ever see.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Following rock climber Alex Honnold as he seeks to be the first climber to ascend free solo – without safety ropes – the 3,000-foot cliff of El Capitan in California’s Yosemite Park.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi; Stars: Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, Alex Honnold, Sanni McCandless, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, Alex Honnold, Sanni McCandless)

Full review

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Review preview for Hale County This Morning, This Evening

By looking at what would lie outside of the traditional framework of most documentaries, Ross builds a much more absorbing picture of people fully embedded within an environment.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
An exploration of coming-of-age in the Black Belt of the American South.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: RaMell Ross; Writer: Maya Krinsky)

Full review See: RaMell Ross ‪in conversation on‬ an encompassing landscape and Apichatpong Weerasethakul's influence on Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Jane Fonda In Five Acts

Girl nextdoor, activist, so-called traitor, fitness tycoon, Oscar winner: Jane Fonda has lived a life of controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she's done it all in the public eye. An intimate look at one woman's singular journey.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Susan Lacy)

Minding The Gap

Review preview for Minding The Gap

Few artists are ever willing to let their audiences get this close to their unrevised selves.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Bing Liu)

Full review

On Her Shoulders

Review preview for On Her Shoulders

The film follows Nadia at a time when support for her cause is growing, though she still has very little in the way of personal support.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A Yazidi genocide and ISIS sexual slavery survivor, 23-year-old Nadia Murad is determined to tell the world her story. As her journey leads down paths of advocacy and fame, she becomes the voice of her people and their best hope to spur the world to action.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Alexandria Bombach; Writer: Hishyar Abid, Nawaf Ashur, Deniz Ekici, Yousif Haskan, Shahnaz Osso; Stars: Nadia Murad, Murad Ismael, Amal Clooney, Ki-moon Ban, Nadia Murad, Murad Ismael, Amal Clooney, Ki-moon Ban)

Full review

Pope Francis: A Man Of His Word

Review preview for Pope Francis: A Man Of His Word

The insightful and intimate interviews Wenders conducted with the Pope are interspersed with footage of his extensive travels that show the meaning of his words.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
A documentary about Pope Francis, his work of reform and his answers to today's global questions.

(Country: France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland; Year: 2018; Director: Wim Wenders; Writer: Wim Wenders; Stars: Pope Francis, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, John Kerry, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Shimon Peres, Vladimir Putin, Donald J. Trump, Melania Trump, Wim Wenders, Pope Francis, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, John Kerry, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama) , Trailer

Full review See: Wim Wenders in conversation on symbols of Catholicism, Saint Francis and filming Pope Francis in the Vatican Gardens for Pope Francis: A Man Of His Word , Interview with Wim Wenders about his first meeting for Pope Francis: A Man Of His Word and Patti Smith's premonition and song for the film

Quincy

Portrait of musician Quincy Jones.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Alan Hicks, Rashida Jones; Writer: Alan Hicks, Rashida Jones; Stars: Quincy Jones, Rashida Jones, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Clarence Avant, Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Tony Bennett, Beyoncé, Lina Bielsten, Mary J. Blige, Stefan Blom, Richard Bona, Bono, Lonnie Bunch, Michael Caine)

RBG

Review preview for RBG

Less a cross-examination than a powerful summing up of her career, Cohen and West succeed in revealing the personality of the woman beneath the gown but there's no doubt they want to heavily influence our verdict.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
An intimate portrait of an unlikely rock star: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Julie Cohen, Betsy West; Stars: Bill Clinton, Sharron Frontiero, Jane C Ginsburg, Martin D. Ginsburg, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Orrin Hatch, Lilly Ledbetter, Rush Limbaugh)

Full review

Reversing Roe

Review preview for Reversing Roe

Covering a lot of ground in its 99 minute runtime, the film is a good introduction for anyone struggling to grasp the mechanisms involved in recent political and judicial dealings relating to this issue.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A look at campaigning aiming to overturn the US' Roe vs. Wade ruling on abortion, and efforts to defend it.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg)

Full review

Shirkers

In 1992, teenager Sandi Tan shot Singapore's first indie road movie with her enigmatic American mentor Georges – who then vanished with all the footage. Twenty years later, the 16mm film is recovered, sending Tan, now a novelist in Los Angeles, on a personal odyssey in search of Georges' vanishing footprints.

(Country: US, Singapore; Year: 2018; Director: Sandi Tan)

Three Identical Strangers

Review preview for Three Identical Strangers

The surprises just keep coming in Tim Wardle's documentary, which starts in the realm of the remarkable and is likely to leave jaws dropped by record proportions by the time the credits roll.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The story of the reunion of three triplets, who discover a disturbing secret about why they were separated in the first place.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Tim Wardle) , Official site , Trailer

Full review See: Composer Paul Saunderson on the music for Three Identical Strangers

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Review preview for Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Neville makes a solid case about why Rogers' impact remains so great even if the man himself remains partially concealed from us.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
Documentary about the US public TV children's show host who had a lasting influence.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Morgan Neville; Stars: Fred Rogers)

Full review See: Morgan Neville in conversation on the humanist ideas of Fred Rogers, emotional learning, being in the present, and the title Won't You Be My Neighbor? , Morgan Neville ‪in conversation on‬ Won't You Be My Neighbor?