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DOC NYC · 2023

DOC NYC 2023

Winner's Circle

Programme

11 films · 6 reviews

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Angel Applicant

Paul Klee, a Swiss-German painter, fled Germany in 1933 when he and other modern artists were vilified by the rising Nazi Party. Isolated in Switzerland, he developed a severe autoimmune disorder.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Ken August Meyer; Writer: Ken August Meyer)

Another Body

Review preview for Another Body

Most of the film has been assembled out of Zoom chats, but it’s so well done, and the story is so compelling, that it might take you a while to notice.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary following a college student’s search for justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2023; Director: Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn; Writer: Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn, Isabel Freeman)

Full review See: Interview with Reuben Hamlyn about Another Body

Apolonia, Apolonia

Review preview for Apolonia, Apolonia

Glob confesses that she initially thought of Apolonia’s life as a fairy tale, something more like fiction than reality, but over the course of 13 long years she comes to recognise not only the humanity of her subject, but her own.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Portrait of larger-than-life visual artist Apolonia Sokol.

(Country: Denmark, Poland, France; Year: 2022; Director: Lea Glob; Writer: Lea Glob, Andreas Bøggild Monies; Stars: Hervé Breuil, Lea Glob, Oksana Shachko, Apolonia Sokol, Alexandra Tlolka)

Full review

Bad Press

When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring its free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government's corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian country.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler)

Beyond Utopia

Review preview for Beyond Utopia

Beyond being nailbiting - a feeling driven by Hyun Seok Kim’s ‘heartbeat’ score that quickens our own - Gavin’s film is also an eye-opener.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Charting the journey and experiences of North Korean defectors.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Madeleine Gavin)

Full review

In The Rearview (Skąd dokąd)

Review preview for In The Rearview

Beyond the stories that unfold within the vehicle, the tension of these journeys, often on dirt tracks in rural areas, is brought home.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
This fly-on-the-wall film captures Ukrainians as they are forced to leave their homes and drive into the unknown.

(Country: Poland, France, Ukraine; Year: 2023; Director: Maciek Hamela)

Full review

Kokomo City

Review preview for Kokomo City

It’s thrilling to watch a filmmaker like Smith throw a wrench in the gears and deliver an unapologetic ode to outcasts that’s every bit as punk rock as its subjects.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
Four Black transgender sex workers explore the dichotomy between the Black community and themselves, while confronting issues long avoided.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: D Smith)

Full review

Name Me Lawand

Portrait of a young Deaf Kurdish boy.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Edward Lovelace)

Rojek

Members of the Islamic State in Syrian Kurdistan, as well as some of their wives, are interviewed in the aftermath of the defeat of ISIS.

(Year: 2023; Director: Zaynê Akyol)

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

Review preview for Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

This is a place of cleansing, not just of the body but so much more as this non-intrusive but immersive film gradually reveals.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
In the darkness of a smoke sauna, women share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences, washing off the shame trapped in their bodies and regaining their strength through a sense of communion.

(Country: Estonia, France, Iceland; Year: 2023; Director: Anna Hints)

Full review See: Anna Hints on building trust and the importance of the elements to Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

Songs Of Earth (Fedrelandet)

Being connected to nature, what does it mean? Father knows and father shows. The director's father is 84. We follow in his footsteps into the mountain home. Into nature's smallest life and out to grand panoramas, where he grew up.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2023; Director: Margreth Olin; Writer: Margreth Olin; Stars: Jørgen Mykle)