The 17th annual edition of DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary film festival, will take place in New York City from November 11–19, 2026, with online screenings continuing through November 29. This year’s lineup features 21 films—12 feature-length documentaries and nine short films from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S. Latinx diaspora, spanning themes of political resistance, Indigenous identity, migration, family, memory, artistic expression, and social justice. In-person screenings will take place at IFC Center, Village East by Angelika, and SVA Theatre.
Opening the festival on November 11 is The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs, by Èlia Gasull Balada and Matteo Norzi. The U.S. premiere is also part of DOC NYC’s International Competition.
Shipibo artist Sara Flores brings the ancestral knowledge of the Peruvian Amazon to museums and audiences around the world through intricate sacred geometries inspired by visions. As international recognition transforms her life, Flores navigates family, illness, spiritual healing, and the responsibility of using her voice to defend her people and their territory. An intimate portrait of an artist whose work brings together creativity, ecology, resistance, and ancestral wisdom.
Chilean filmmaker Carolina Astudillo Muñoz’s Not All the Girls / No todas las niñas revisits the childhood memories of women who grew up under Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. After years in Spain, Astudillo reunites with friends who, like her, experienced a childhood shaped by political violence, secrecy, and silence. Through fragmentary memories and personal recollections, the women reflect on how those early experiences shaped their identities and relationships. A poetic exploration of collective memory and the lasting reverberations of political violence across generations. The film is part of Resilience, a DOC NYC section highlighting films about strength in the face of trauma.
Colombian filmmaker Carolina González Valencia’s How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps / Cómo limpiar una casa en 10 pasos fáciles revisits her mother Beatriz's experience of providing for her children in Colombia by working as a house cleaner in the United States. Decades later, mother and daughter revisit their past, using elements of play to ease the pain that marks both their lives. Glittery, mischievous, and formally inventive, the documentary explores migration, family, labor, and the bonds that connect generations. Also featured in Resilience.
In #SOSCUBA, Cuban filmmaker Hugo Perez documents the struggle for artistic freedom in contemporary Cuba, where independent artists organizing outside state institutions face censorship, surveillance, and repression. Focusing on an independent biennial and the artists determined to make their work visible, the film reveals how creative expression has become inseparable from political resistance. Through historical context and personal testimony, Perez examines the extraordinary stakes of dissent in a country where artistic independence is perceived as a threat. The film is part of DOC NYC’s U.S. Competition.
Mexican filmmaker Trisha Ziff’s Frida: The Girl Just Doesn’t Go Away / La mirada de Frida examines the enduring cultural legacy of Frida Kahlo, decades after her death. Now a feminist icon, queer touchstone, political symbol, and ubiquitous commodity, Kahlo has become the subject of countless interpretations and appropriations. Through the perspectives of scholars, artists, artisans, collectors, and devoted fans, the documentary explores how her image has been claimed, reproduced, marketed, and reimagined, while her paintings continue to inspire. Looking beyond Fridamania, Ziff asks what happens when a radical artist becomes both a universal role model and a global brand. The film is part of the U.S. Competition.
Zenón and the Rebel Boats / Zenón y la flotilla rebelde, by Puerto Rican filmmaker Juan C. Dávila Santiago, revisits the remarkable story of Carlos “Taso” Zenón, a fisherman and freedom fighter who organized resistance against the U.S. military occupation of his hometown of Vieques. From their small fishing boats, Zenón and his community mounted a determined campaign against the American military presence, fighting for the freedom and autonomy of Puerto Ricans. Bringing together previously unseen archival footage, the film recovers a little-known chapter of resistance against American imperialism. The film is featured in DOC NYC’s Archival Storytelling Competition.
French filmmaker Nolwenn Hervé’s The Cord / Le Cordon follows Carolina, a Venezuelan activist who helps pregnant women navigate a failing healthcare system. Through Carolina’s courage, complex past, and deep compassion for the women she supports, the documentary places her extraordinary work within a broader socioeconomic and political context. An intimate portrait of resilience and solidarity, the film captures the humanity of a woman committed to helping others in the face of systemic adversity. The film is part of the International Competition.
Los Lobos: Native Sons, directed by Doug Blush and Piero F. Giunti, tells the story of the genre-bending Chicano band Los Lobos, which broke into the mainstream while building a remarkable 50-year musical legacy. Responsible for timeless hits such as “Will the Wolf Survive?”, the East Los Angeles group blended rock, R&B, and blues to create its distinctive sound. Featuring interviews with Peter Frampton, Linda Ronstadt, George Lopez, and many others, the documentary offers a comprehensive portrait of Mexican American music royalty. The film is featured in Sonic Cinema, DOC NYC’s section dedicated to music documentaries.
Winner of the NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, William D. Caballero’s TheyDream is a deeply personal documentary examining the transformative nature of grief within a close-knit Puerto Rican family. Interweaving animation with live-action footage, Caballero creates an intimate confession about the courage required to transform pain into art and preserve the memory of loved ones. A love letter to his family and to the act of artistic creation, the film explores memory, loss, and the possibilities of intergenerational healing. The film is featured in Selects Encore, a section showcasing highlights from DOC NYC Selects, the festival’s year-round screening series, including films that remain part of the awards conversation.
German filmmaker Jens Schanze’s Materia Prima examines the new gold rush surrounding Bolivia’s vast lithium reserves, a resource essential to the global energy transition. Over six years, Schanze observes the complex dynamics of extraction, exploring the competing interests of European industries seeking raw materials and Bolivian communities fighting for autonomy and justice. Through multiple perspectives, the documentary questions the colonial patterns underlying the pursuit of a supposedly sustainable future. The film is part of the International Competition.
In American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, director David Alvarado explores the life and legacy of the pioneering Chicano playwright and filmmaker whose work helped bring Mexican American experiences to the forefront of American culture. Against political resistance and industry skepticism, Valdez pushed Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen, creating iconic works such as Zoot Suit and La Bamba that challenge, celebrate, and expand America's story. The film won the Audience Award for U.S. Documentary and the Festival Favorite Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and is featured in DOC NYC’s Winner’s Circle.
In Dual Citizen, Haitian-American filmmaker Rachelle Salnave persuades her fiercely America-loving, Haitian-born father, Edouard, to restore his Haitian nationality so she can pursue dual citizenship. Together, they navigate bureaucracy, rediscover family ties, and reconnect with the country he left behind. Set against the beauty and complexity of Haiti, this warm and spirited documentary explores diaspora, belonging, and the enduring bonds between generations. The film is featured in “Come As You Are”, a section that highlights films about people striving to find their place in the world.
Nine short films from Latin America and the Latinx diaspora will also screen across various DOC NYC programs. These include Vanishing Time by Zoe Valery, an examination of immigration, displacement, and the vulnerability of immigrant communities in San Francisco, featured in Shorts: Hidden Histories; And I Saw Your Name on the Dust of the Houses / …Y vi tu nombre en el polvo de las casas by Mexican filmmaker Isay Peña, a contemplative exploration of memory and loss, featured in Shorts: Heartbeats; Anatomy of a Portrait / Anatomía de un retrato by Colombian filmmaker Juan Felipe León, which meditates on the human body and mortality, and Animas, by Fernando Rocha and Eduardo Rodriguez, celebrating the Día de los Muertos tradition in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. Both are featured in Shorts: Body & Soul.
The program also features Replikka, by Brazilian filmmakers Piratá Waurá and Heloisa Passos, a journey through Indigenous knowledge, memory, and resilience; Project Utopia, by Frederick Bernas and Nico Muñoz, following an inventor developing technology to harvest water from the air in communities affected by lithium mining in Argentina, featured in Shorts: Shifting; Q-Pop by Adri Murguia, about a young Peruvian musician bringing Quechua culture to new audiences through an unexpected fusion with K-pop, featured in Shorts: Sing It Proud; Manufacturing Resilienceby Rodrigo Guevara, following an Indigenous Mexican woman who becomes a workers' rights activist, featured in Shorts: Get Up, Stand Up; and Update by Colombian filmmaker Vicente González Monroy, a meditative visual exploration of loss and grief through images of a city and its inhabitants, featured in “Shorts: We Belong Together”.
The 2026 edition of DOC NYC will take place at IFC Center, Village East by Angelika, and SVA Theatre from November 11–19, with online screenings continuing through Sunday, November 29.
For the complete program of Latin American and U.S. Latinx films, visit Cinema Tropical’s Letterboxd list, where viewers can mark the films they have already seen and add upcoming screenings to their watchlists.
