DOC NYC 2021
November 10 - 28
U.S. Latinx and Latin American Films Presented by Cinema Tropical
Join us for the 12th annual edition of DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in the US, Nov 10-28. This year’s festival will take place in theaters and online, so audiences across the country can tune in and watch the best new documentaries.
Special Discount Tickets
Get $3 off each ticket using special discount code DEAL_21
For more information and tickets visit: www.docnyc.net
BOYCOTT
(Julia Bacha, USA, 2021, 70 min. In English)
World Premiere
Boycotts have long been a tool used by Americans rallying for political change, from civil rights leaders to anti-apartheid activists. But in recent years, over 30 states have introduced anti-boycott legislation designed to penalize individuals undertaking boycotts against Israel. Brazilian-born award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha (Budrus) looks at the cases of a publisher, attorney, and teacher whose careers are threatened by the harsh measures of these new laws in this bracing look at shifting politics and threats to freedom of speech.
*Q&A with Director Julia Bacha, Producers Suhad Babaa, Daniel J. Chalfen, Film Subjects Mikkel Jordahl, Bahia Amawi, Alan Leveritt, Brian Hauss, Moderated by MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin.
COMALA
(Gian Cassini, Mexico, 2021, 98 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
U.S. Premiere
Filmmaker Gian Cassini investigates the legacy of his father, El Jimmy, who was a hitman in Tijuana. After El Jimmy is murdered, Cassini tracks down scattered members of his family, including his grandfather, who has murky links to Castro’s revolutionaries and the CIA. Cassini also seeks out El Jimmy’s last girlfriend, who may hold secrets to his murder. These plotlines could be sensationalized, but Cassini shapes the material into a profound meditation on how to heal family wounds.
*Q&A with director Gian Cassini conducted by filmmaker Kirsten Johnson on and the November 14th screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Gian Cassini.
A COP MOVIE / UNA PELÍCULA DE POLICÍAS
(Alonso Ruizpalacios, Mexico, 2021, 107 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
In this thoroughly original and unpredictable documentary, Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios plays with the boundaries of nonfiction and immerses the audience into the human experience of police work within a dysfunctional system. The film takes us deep into the Mexican police force with the story of Teresa and Montoya, together known as “the love patrol.” Hailing the film at its premiere in Berlin, Variety’s lead critic Peter Debruge wrote, “Ruizpalacios is swiftly emerging as one of the most exciting new voices in Mexican cinema.”
November 10, 6:50pm at Cinépolis Chelsea*
*Q&A with Director Alonso Ruizplacios and Producers Daniela Alatorre and Elena Fortes.
EDNA
(Eryk Rocha, Brazil, 2021, 64 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
New York Premiere
In the ruined lands near the Transbrasiliana motorway in Brazilian Amazonia, Edna has witnessed massacres perpetrated by the military dictatorship. Edna weaves her memories into the narrative through her diary, entitled “Story of My Life,” reflecting on the life of guerrillas, the disappeared, deforestation, and survival. Director Eryk Rocha’s lyrical hybrid narrative draws an empowering portrait of Edna’s unwavering strength and courage.
*Q&A with director Eryk Rocha
INHOSPITABLE
(Sandra Alvarez, USA, 2021, 102 min. In English)
World Premiere
Why are healthcare costs so high in the United States? Part of the problem lies with the business of hospitals, even those running as nonprofits. InHospitable follows patients and activists as they band together to fight a multi-billion dollar nonprofit hospital system in Pittsburgh that limits vital care for vulnerable patients. Filmmaker Sandra Alvarez explores the perspectives of patients, hospital workers, advocates, and politicians to shed light on an overlooked fight for justice.
*Q&A with director Sandra C. Alvarez and Producers Stacy Goldate and Veronica Nickel.
LIVE OF IVANNA
(Renato Borrayo Serrano, Russia/Norway/Finland/Estonia, 2021, 83 min. In Russian with English subtitles)
U.S. Premiere
Ivanna, a chain-smoking, no-nonsense indigenous Nenets woman, is raising her five children in a house on skis in the Russian arctic. Following Ivanna over four years, Guatemalan-born director Renato Borrayo Serrano gives us a fly-on-the-wall view into Ivanna’s daily life, delivering an unflinching and intimate portrait of this hearty, unflappable woman and a rare peek into the unique world of an Nenets family on the northern tundra.
*Q&A with Director Renato Borrayo Serrano.
NOTHING BUT THE SUN / APENAS EL SOL
(Arami Ullón, Switzerland, 2020, 74 min. In Ayoreo and Spanish with English subtitles)
U.S. Premiere
Mateo Sobode Chiqueno has been using an old tape recorder to capture stories, songs, and testimonies of his ancestral culture since the seventies. As a young native Ayoreo, he was a victim of the violent uprooting perpetrated in Paraguay by white missionaries, who forced them to abandon their ancestral territory, their means of subsistence, their beliefs, and their home. The respectful and intimate gaze of Uruguayan director Arami Ullón infuses this portrait with poetry and humanity.
*Q&A with Director Arami Ullon.
OMARA
(Hugo Pérez, USA/Cuba, 2021, 80 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
An uplifting, entertaining profile of the grande dame of Cuban music, Omara Portuondo, the internationally beloved chanteuse best known in the States as a member of the famed Buena Vista Social Club. The filmmakers follow octogenarian Omara—feisty, charming, with a naughty sense of humor, and still in possession of her fantastic voice—on her third “final” world tour as she sings to and with those she’s inspired around the globe, demonstrating her impressive range and continued relevance as an artist.
*The November 13th screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Hugo Perez, Producer Dana Kuznetzkoff and editor Rachel Shuman and the November 15th screening with Director Hugo Perez and Producer Dana Kuznetzkoff.
ON THE OTHER SIDE / DEL OTRO LADO
(Iván Guarnizo, Colombia/Spain, 2020, 83 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
In 2004, director Iván Guarnizo’s mother was abducted by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) for 603 days during its conflict with the Colombian state. Before her death, Ivan’s mother spoke fondly of one particular guerrilla, an acknowledgment he and his brother struggled to understand. Retracing paths from their mother’s journal, the brothers search for her former captor, unfurling their hidden pain, and discovering what other truths must be held back for healing.
*Q&A with director Iván Guarnizo and producer Jorge Caballero.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN UGANDA
(Director: Cathryne Czubek, Co-Director: Hugo Perez, USA, 2020, 78 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Two men from opposite sides of the world come together over a shared love of action cinema. Isaac Nabwana, a director hailed as “Africa’s Tarantino,” and Alan Hofmanis, a film programmer from New York, struck a deep friendship while making films with minimal resources in the slums of Kampala. Alan sees the genius in Isaac and is compelled to bring the world’s attention to Wakaliwood, but their “bromance” is threatened as Isaac’s star rises.
*Q&A with director Cathryne Czubek, co-director Hugo Perez, producer Gigi Dement, co-writer Amanda Hughes, and DP Matt Porwoll.
OPTION ZERO
(Marcel Beltrán, Cuba/Brazil, 2020, 80 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
U.S. Premiere
In the hopes of making it to the US, a group of Cuban migrants enters Colombia by way of the treacherous Darién Gap jungle to reach Panama, where they wait in the limbo of a makeshift camp, uncertain of deportation. Cuban director Marcel Beltrán intersperses his filmed visits with migrants’ own cell phone footage, constructing a poignant portrait of their daily acts of care and resistance, and the arduous journey to seek refuge.
THE RUMBA KINGS
(Alan Brain, USA/Peru, 2021, 94 min. In French and Lingala with English subtitles)
New York Premiere
Despite the cruelty of living under Belgium’s oppressive regime in the colonial era, the Congolese maintained their sense of pride and self-expression, most notably in the form of the Congolese rumba, a blend of sounds from Cuba and the Congo’s unique musical traditions. Director Alain Brain showcases an impressive slate of musicians from the Congo and beyond, delivering a refreshingly uplifting, upbeat story of the vibrant country and the power of music to entertain and unite.
*Q&A with director Alan Brain.
THE SILENCE OF THE MOLE
(Anais Taracena, Guatemala, 2021, 91 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
In the 1970s, under the thumb of unprecedented repression, journalist Elias Barahona infiltrated the heart of the Guatemalan government. Becoming known only as “The Mole,” his work uncovering the regime’s transgressions revealed brazen acts of political violence and helped lift the wall of silence that had fallen over the nation. In this chilling investigation, director Anais Taracena weaves an intimate tale of the daring work of one of her country’s most fearless changemakers.
*Q&A with director Anais Taracena.
A SONG FOR CESAR: BEWARE OF A MOVEMENT THAT SINGS
(Abel Sanchez and Andres Alegria, USA, 2021, 85 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
A unique and stimulating view of the life and legacy of American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez and the farmworker movement. Through stunning archival photographs, footage, performances, and interviews with icons that include Carlos Santana, Joan Baez, Cheech Marin, Edward James Olmos, Maya Angelou, and Chavez’s United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, this affectionate documentary hits many inspiring notes, capturing the emotional power of the Chicano Movement.
November 12, 10pm at IFC Center
November 13 —28, online screening (available throughout the U.S.)
