Three U.S. Latinx films were the top winners at the 11th edition of DOC NYC, the U.S. largest documentary film festival: Cecilia Aldarondo’s Landfall was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the Viewfinder competition: Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple’s Five Years North was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the Metropolis Competition, while Loira Limbal’s Through the Night received a Special Jury Recognition for Ethics of Care in the Viewfinders Competition.
Landfall is an intimate and lyrical portrait of trauma, resilience, and resistance in Puerto Rico at a time when economic, political, and ecological forces post-Hurricane María have created a breeding ground for new predatory colonial practices. Told through the experiences of a close-knit community of hopeful and politicized people and through the encounters with cryptocurrency traders, luxury real estate developers, and newcomers flooding the island, Aldarondo’s film raises vital questions about identity, survival, and recolonization.
Five Years North follows 15-year-old Luis who struggles to balance attending school and finding work to support his family back in Guatemala, after making the dangerous journey from his native country to New York City. Meanwhile, Judy, a Cuban-American ICE agent, faces her own internal conflict with the shifting enforcement priorities of her longtime career, from targeting criminals to nonviolent undocumented individuals. As these two worlds near a collision, their parallel tales present a complex and nuanced take on both immigration and civic duty.
In Through the Night, night-shift workers and single moms in New Rochelle, NY have angels in their midst: Nunu and husband Patrick run a 24-hour childcare center for parents with no other options. The home-based center provides children with food, fun, and lots of love, but at what cost to the providers? Director Limbal takes us inside Dee’s Tots Daycare for an intimate and compelling look at two unsung heroes in selfless service to their community.
The 11th annual edition of DOC NYC took place November 11 - 19 in an online format.
