16th DOC NYC
November 12 — 20, 2025
The 16th annual edition of DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, is taking place in-person November 12-20 at IFC Center, SVA Theatre and Village East by Angelika and continuing online through November 30. This year’s edition includes a selection of Latinx and Latin American features from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico.
For tickets and more information visit: https://www.docnyc.net
APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS / APOCALIPSE NOS TRÓPICOS
(Petra Costa, Brazil/USA/Denmark, 2024, 110 min. In English and Portuguese with English subtitles)
Q&A with director Petra Costa and producer Alessandra Orofino
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Following up on her Oscar-nominated The Edge of Democracy, about the institutional corruption and populist mistrust plaguing Brazil’s democracy almost since its 1980s restoration, Costa explores the Christian fundamentalism seizing the nation’s political discourse. With stunning access to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, and others, Costa distills the recent chaos of Brazil’s politics into a clear-eyed, deeply troublesome, and internationally resonant vision of brazen and unseen forces at work on a vulnerable population.
Thursday, November 13, 2pm at IFC Center. Available to Stream Online November 15 – 30
AURORA
(João Vieira Torres, Brazil, 2025, 132 min. In Portuguese and French with English subtitles)
North American Premiere – Q&A with director João Vieira Torres and producer Marina Meliande
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Vivid dreams and ghostly visits from Brazilian director João Vieira Torres’ grandmother compel him to explore the stories of the women in his family, many of whom were victims of violence. With intimate family conversations, haunting photos, and his coming-of-age story, João traces his journey to uncover a tragic legacy. In the process, he weaves a poignant, powerful narrative of generational trauma and the triumph of love in the face of Brazil’s racism and sexism
TRACES OF HOME
(Colette Ghunim, USA, 2025, 89 min. In English, Arabic, and Spanish with English subtitles)
World Premiere – Q&A with director Colette Ghunim, producer Sara Maamouri, and film participant Baha Hilo
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Delving into the past and not shying away from the dug-up pain, a young filmmaker speaks to her Mexican mother and Palestinian father about their trying journeys into the United States. In a society with rhetoric increasingly vilifying Mexicans and Palestinians, the filmmaker picks up her camera in a bid to address the grief at the center of the generational trauma that has underscored her relationship with her family. A meditation of loss and grief relieved, ultimately, through reconciliation.
KING HAMLET
(Elvira Lind, USA, 2025, 86 min. In English)
NYC Premiere – Screening preceded by an introduction by Elvira Lind, Oscar Isaac, and Sam Gold
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While preparing to play Hamlet in an intense NYC production, actor Oscar Isaac learns that his mother has fallen ill with an aggressive cancer—at the same time he and partner, filmmaker Elvira Lind, are imminently expecting their firstborn. As Elvira’s camera quietly captures Oscar at rehearsal, at home, and with extended family, her observations become a meditation on love, grief, and the porous boundary between performance and private life—as Oscar shapes his very personal take on the legendary Prince of Denmark.
Friday, November 14, 7:15pm at SVA Theater. Available to Stream Online November 15 – 30
LOSS ADJUSTMENT / AJUSTE DE PÉRDIDAS
(Miguel Calderón, Mexico, 2025, 74 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
North American Premiere – Q&A with director Miguel Calderón and producer Andrea Paasch.
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While preparing to play Hamlet in an intense NYC production, actor Oscar Isaac learns that his mother has fallen ill with an aggressive cancer—at the same time he and partner, filmmaker Elvira Lind, are imminently expecting their firstborn. As Elvira’s camera quietly captures Oscar at rehearsal, at home, and with extended family, her observations become a meditation on love, grief, and the porous boundary between performance and private life—as Oscar shapes his very personal take on the legendary Prince of Denmark.
A PLACE OF ABSENCE
(Marialuisa Ernst, USA, 2025, 88 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
World Premiere – Q&A with director/producer Marialuisa Ernst, co-producer Brenda Avila, and film participant Anita Zelaya.
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Shedding light on the familial burden of the migrant crisis, A Place of Absence charts the physical and emotional journey of Central American mothers on a bus caravan as they desperately search for their disappeared children, clinging to hope against overwhelming odds. Interwoven with the filmmaker’s story of her beloved uncle’s disappearance, this film offers a poignant look at migration, loss, and the enduring bonds of family.
MAD HOT BALLROOM
(Marilyn Agrelo, USA, 2005, 105 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
20th Anniversary –Q&A with director/producer Marilyn Agrelo, producer/writer Amy Sewell, editor Sabine Krayenbuehl, and film protagonists Yomaira Reynoso and Alejandro Mejia.
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Twenty years after it first charmed its way into audiences’ hearts, DOC NYC presents a retrospective screening of Marilyn Agrelo and Amy Sewell’s classic about NYC public school fifth-graders competing in the extracurricular world of ballroom dancing. The filmmakers followed students from a school in each of Bensonhurst, Tribeca, and Washington Heights as they learned about ambition, discipline, respect, and perspective—all to the beats of merengue, rumba, tango, and other rhythms. The film exists as a snapshot of a tolerant and respectful time, with expressions of such values seemingly in much shorter supply today. Some of the students featured in the film, now in their 30s, are expected to attend alongside some of their former teachers.
STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON
(Ernie Bustamante, USA, 2025, 85 min. In English)
NYC Premiere –Q&A with director Ernie Bustamante and film protagonist Sonia Manzano.
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Sonia Manzano, best known as “Maria” on Sesame Street, shares her inspiring journey from childhood in the Bronx to becoming a trailblazing television icon. Through her own words, and with appearances by Stephen Schwartz, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and more, STREET SMART celebrates Manzano’s groundbreaking work as an actress and Emmy-winning writer while exploring life after Sesame Street. This uplifting portrait honors a beloved Latina role model who made an impressive and indelible mark on children’s television.
Sunday, November 16, 2pm at Village East by Angelika. Available to Stream Online November 15 – 30
PARA VIVIR: THE IMPLACABLE TIMES OF PABLO MILANÉS
(Fabien Pisani, USA, 2025, 85 min. In English)
North American Premiere –Q&A with director Fabien Pisani, producer Carlos Sosa, and editor Clementina Mantellini.
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This rich, music-filled portrait of Afro-Cuban icon Pablo Milanés traces his extraordinary life from child prodigy to beloved musician and activist. Framed by tender scenes of an aging Pablo in Madrid with his sprawling family, PARA VIVIR journeys through Cuba’s political and cultural evolution alongside his legendary career. With intimate stories from music legends and loved ones, rare archival footage, and unforgettable songs, this film celebrates a fearless artist who sang truth to power beautifully.
MUSEUM OF THE NIGHT / MUSEO DE LA NOCHE
(Fermín Eloy Acosta, Argentina, 2025, 88 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
North American Premiere –Q&A with director Fermín Eloy Acosta and producer Ramiro Pavón.
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For archivists, the world of avant-garde theater and cinema in early 1970s NYC is a rich cauldron of no-safety-net experimentation and creativity—the time of legends such as Jack Smith, Jonas Mekas, and David Johansen—and Theater of the Ridiculous. The latter was particularly well-documented by the Argentine photographer Leandro Katz. Now very late in life and living in Buenos Aires, Katz shares the fascinating specter of a past intertwined with sexuality, art, and death.
Monday, November 17, 6:30pm at Village East by Angelika. Available to Stream Online November 15 – 30
I DREAMED HIS NAME / SOÑÉ SU NOMBRE
(Ángela Carabalí, Colombia, 2025, 86 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
NYC Premiere – Q&A with director/producer/participant Ángela Carabalí, writer/participant Juliana Carabalí and producer Sandra Tabares-Duque.
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When her father, a farmer and activist, disappeared in 1992, filmmaker Ángela Carabalí was just 7 years old. Decades later, a dream in which he asks Ángela to find him sparks a journey of remembrance and reckoning. Blending family testimony, archival images, and Indigenous rituals, Carabalí confronts the silence of Colombia’s armed conflict. Her poetic film becomes both an inquiry into political violence and a tender act of mourning, resilience, and intergenerational healing.
Tuesday, November 18, 7pm at Village East by Angelika. Available to Stream Online November 15 – 30
EL CANTO DE LAS MANOS
(María Valverde, Venezuela, 2025, 91 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
US Premiere
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Renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel partners with Coro de Manos Blancas, a choir of deaf performers in Venezuela, to stage Beethoven’s opera Fidelio. As the choir prepares for their innovative performance, the film follows them through auditions, rehearsals, and personal stories of resilience in the face of anti-deaf discrimination. With music expressed through sign language, this film delivers a moving portrait of an often-overlooked community, celebrating the transformative power of art and self-expression.
Thursday, November 20, 6:30pm at IFC Center .Available to Stream Online November 15 – 30
THE AGE OF WATER / LA EDAD DEL AGUA
(Alfredo Alcántara and Isabel Alcántara Atalaya, Mexico, 2025, 72 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
NYC Premiere – Q&A with co-directors Alfredo Alcántara and Isabel Alcántara Atalaya, and producers Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster.
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Set in Mexico’s heartland, this urgent investigative documentary follows a group of women who uncover radioactive contamination in their water after three young girls die of leukemia. These mothers-turned-activists link the crisis to the corporate extraction of ancient rocks. Facing government denial and community resistance, they fight for accountability. Blending expert insight with local history and mythology, The Age of Waterexposes a growing global issue, making clear that water contamination knows no borders.
Thursday, November 20, 7pm at Village East by Angelika. Available to Stream Online November 15 – 30
ISLAND WILLING
(Cece King, USA, 2025, 29 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
NYC Premiere – The first, second, and third screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer/cinematographer Cece King.
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Faced with new conservation policies that threaten their way of life, a family living on a remote Chilean island fights to preserve a unique culture of environmental stewardship
SUNSET OVER AMERICA
(Matías Rojas Valencia, Colombia/Chile, 2025, 18 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
US Premiere – Q&A with producer Françoise Nieto-Fong.
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The danger and the tedium of a young Venezuelan migrant’s constant movement to avoid detection. An empathetic, restrained, and breathtaking exploration of statelessness, from physical tolls to uncertain futures.
Saturday, November 15, 4:30 at Village East by Angelika. Available to Stream Online November 12–30
LA ORQUESTA
(Monica Villavicencio and Stephanie Liu, USA, 2025, 21 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
North American Premiere – Q&A with co-directors Monica Villavicencio and Stephanie Liu.
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A tenacious Atlanta music teacher creates the first youth orchestra for undocumented and mixed-status families, providing a place to find community, beauty, and hope in the face of increasing adversity.
MURMURATIONS
(Xavier Marrades, Spain, 2025, 21 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
North American Premiere – Q&A with producer Françoise Nieto-Fong.
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Fragmented images of love, activism, and ancestral resilience intertwine with poignant voice messages between the filmmaker and his lover in Brazil, forming a lyrical reflection on memory and survival.
Monday, November 17, 9:30 at IFC Center. Available to Stream Online November 12–30
CASA AMADEO
(Ariana Marie Luque, Spain, 2025, 21 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
North American Premiere – Q&A with producer Françoise Nieto-Fong.
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Salsa pioneer Miguelito Amadeo keeps the spirit of music and community alive in his Bronx record shop, even in the face of an uncertain future.
VOICES FROM THE ABYSS
(Irving Serrano and Victor Rejón, Mexico, 2025, 23 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
NYC Premiere – Q&A with co-director Irving Serrano.
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A powerful portrait of Acapulco’s cliff divers, revealing the danger and discipline behind their daily work—and the personal and economic pressures that drive each leap from the rocks.
THE NEW YORKER THEATER: A TALBOT LEGACY
(Sergio Maza, USA/Argentina, 2025, 26 min. In English)
NYC Premiere – Q&A with filmmakers
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In a slice of NYC history, Dan and Toby Talbot transform a struggling Upper West Side theater into a landmark arthouse cinema, showing how passion can shape community and leave a lasting legacy.
