15th DOC NYC
November 13 — December 1, 2024
The 15th annual edition of DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, is taking place November 13-21 at the IFC Center, the SVA Theatre, and Village East by Angelika, and continuing online until December 1. This year’s edition includes a selection of Latin American features and short films from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, and Uruguay.
For tickets and more information visit: https://www.docnyc.net
SOUL OF THE DESERT / ALMA DEL DESIERTO
A film by Mónica Taboada-Tapia
(Colombia/Brazil, 2024, 87 min. In Spanish and Wayuu with English subtitles)
North American Premiere — Q&A
A poetic, character-driven road movie about the indomitable Georgina, a woman in her early seventies who is transgender and a member of the indigenous Wayúu tribe. After decades of solitary exile from her community and forever awaiting the identification she needs to collect food aid, she embarks on a journey across the desert to find the family that rejected her and learn about the challenges facing the tribe as a result of corruption in Colombia. An exceptional and moving portrait about identity, defiance, and joy.
BAD REPUTATION / MALA REPUTACIÓN
A film by Marta García and Sol Infante
(Uruguay/Argentina, 2024, 78 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
North American Premiere — Q&A
Karina is a charismatic sex worker, a feminist, and activist who establishes a union for current and former sex workers in Uruguay. As she tries to find a different line of work, always taking on life’s difficulties with a sense of humor, this observational film follows her fight to prevent future workers from enduring the horrors of child sexual exploitation, trafficking, abuse, stigmatization, and spousal murder
BALOMANIA
A film by Sissel Morell Dargis
(Denmark/Spain, 2024, 93 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
North American Premiere — Q&A
This jaw-dropping celebration of Brazilian baloeiros – secret groups of men who craft and launch elaborate hot-air balloons – is a first-rate big-screen experience. The immensely talented filmmaker Sissel Morrell Dargis spent years winning the trust of the outlawed subculture to create an epic portrayal of free-spirited artistry. Beyond the spectacle of ever-more mammoth and elaborate balloon launches, Morrell Dargis takes on a parallel journey into the vulnerable and volatile emotions of Brazilian masculinity in a brotherhood ricocheting between fierce and fraught loyalties
ISLA FAMILIA
A film by Abraham Jimenez Enoa and Claudia Calviño
(Cuba/Spain/France, 2024, 85 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
World Premiere — Q&A
Co-director and protagonist Abraham Jiménez, one of the most important voices of Cuban independent journalism, is expecting a baby with his wife, producer/co-director Claudia Calviño. As they become more and more exhausted and depressed from the constant harassment of the Cuban government, the young family embarks on a journey off the island and become political exiles in Spain. A heartfelt, intimate look at daily life in Cuba and the measures taken by one family to protect their freedom
THE FALLING SKY / A QUEDA DO CÉU
A film by Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha
(Brazil/Italy, 2024, 110 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
New York Premiere — Q&A
An immersive and poetic film centered on iconic shaman Davi Kopenawa and the Yanomami community of Watoriki in the Brazilian rainforest. Based on the book co-authored by Davi Kopenawa and anthropologist Bruce Albert, the film invites us to participate in the sacred ritual of Reahu, and challenges all of us existing in a capitalist system (“the People of Merchandise”) who exploit nature for financial gain to rebel against the damage wrought by the industrial world on the Amazon rainforest.
WELCOME INTERPLANETARY AND SIDEREAL SPACE CONQUERORS / BIENVENIDOS CONQUISTADORES INTERPLANETARIOS Y DEL ESPACIO SIDERAL
A film by Andrés Jurado,
(Colombia/Portugal, 2024, 110 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
New York Premiere — Q&A
A constellation of archival footage, historical documents, and sound recordings presents a fascinating counter history of Colombia’s role in space exploration. Among the rare scenes, we witness fascinating Cold-War era footage of a NASA boot camp built in the jungle to teach astronauts how to survive in a hostile environment. Constructed through artful editing and manipulation of the fragmented reality, this playful, spectral narrative raises critical questions about colonization and extractivism.
GAUCHO GAUCHO
A film by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
(USA, 2024, 84 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
New York Premiere — Q&A
An intimate portrait of a small community of iconic gauchos (cowboys and cowgirls) in Argentina who proudly preserve their traditions despite changing modern customs.The sacred bond they share with their animals is forged while facing the rigors of the wild together. With superb black-and-white cinematography and exquisite sound design, directors Dweck and Kershaw conjure a dreamlike landscape to tell a life-affirming story– an ode to freedom and respect for nature.
THE FABULOUS GOLD HARVESTING MACHINE / LA FABULOSA MÁQUINA DE COSECHAR ORO
A film by Alfredo Pourailly De La Plaza
(Chile/Netherlands, 2024, 77 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
US Premiere — Q&A
In the harsh climate of the Chilean Tierra Del Fuego, Toto has labored for 40 years in the gold mines. The work is arduous, and after suffering a stroke at age 60, he fears his working days are numbered. With his father’s health and financial future at risk, his cowboy son, Jorge, devises an ingenious machine to free his father from his labors
