New York Women in Film & Television is excited to share that 18 of our members are involved in films that have been selected for DOC NYC 2024.
DOC NYC’s 2024 edition will take place in person from November 13 – 21 and online from November 13 – December 1. Click here for a full list of 2024 films!
DOC NYC PRO’s 2024 in-person edition will take place from November 13 – 21, 2024 at Village East by Angelika – Day Passes and Multi-Day Pass Packs are available now. Previously recorded online PRO events and classes from 2020-2024 are now available to a global audience. An overview of current and past events is available here.
International Competition
Photo courtesy of Kickstarter
After The Rain: Putin’s Stolen Children Come Home
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Sheila Nevins
With the help of golden retrievers and palomino horses at an animal therapy retreat, a group of Ukrainian children who had been abducted by the Russian army and rescued by their family members get a chance to heal. Deep in a forest by the Baltic Sea, the families portrayed in this tender and poetic film overcome their traumatic experiences.
Resilience
Photo courtesy of IMDb
All The Mountains Give
Producer – NYWIFT Member Kate Bolger
Two young Kurdish men make their living by smuggling goods across the treacherous border between Iraq and Iran. First-time filmmaker Arash Rakhsha conjures a poignantly cinematic perspective out of this intriguing and previously untold story.
Portraits
Photo courtesy of IMDb
Beyond The Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue
Editor – NYWIFT Member Jill Woodward
In the world of magazine publishing, there is no annual publication more anticipated than the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Chic and controversial, the mastermind behind this titillating page turner was founding editor Jule Campbell. A creative trailblazer who navigated a male-dominated workplace while simultaneously rebuffing accusations of objectification Campbell transformed a struggling magazine with her vision to showcase female beauty in a tasteful, artistic manner.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
A Man With Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole
Director & Producer – NYWIFT Member Dori Berinstein
In 1982, Kenneth Cole burst onto the American fashion scene. Unable to afford a traditional showroom during the New York Shoe Expo, the enterprising founder registered his footwear business as a film production, enabling him to sell thousands of pairs of shoes out of a trailer in midtown Manhattan. Cole’s unwavering determination fueled his company’s growth and his fierce commitment to social activism.
U.S. Competition
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Death & Taxes
Producer – NYWIFT Member Yael Melamede
A renowned and successful record company CEO, known for his brilliance—and his combativeness, Harvey Schein lived a rags-to-riches story that embodied the American Dream. But over time he also became obsessed with how to pass on his wealth to his heirs while avoiding taxes. Director Justin Schein turns the camera on his father as a case study in America’s long and problematic history of tax benefits for the wealthy.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
My Sweet Land
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Beth Levison
The hopes and dreams of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians are sprung anew in the generation represented by an ebullient 11-year-old boy named Vrej, as charismatic a documentary subject as there ever was. Yet the dark clouds of historic conflict rumble again over Vrej’s beloved homeland, and his idyllic childhood is interrupted when his family flees for a brief exile as war erupts between Armenia and Azerbaijan. When the war ends, Vrej returns home to confront devastation, unexploded mines, and the new reality of having to train for future battles himself – but with his characteristic pluck, hope for a better future remains.
Fight The Power
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
EYES ON THE PRIZE III: WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM (EP. 6/WHAT COMES AFTER HOPE? 2008-2015
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Sandra Forman
A valuable history lesson and a propulsive narrative, this follow-up to Henry Hampton’s legendary series examines America’s recent history since the election of Barack Obama. DOC NYC will premiere the final episode in the six-part series, which focuses on the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement and the disparate people and organizations in Florida, Illinois, and across the country who came together to fight for racial justice.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Standing Above The Clouds
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Ruth Ann Harnisch
Refusing to give up their rights over their sacred land, Native Hawaiian mothers and daughters band together to stop the construction of a massive telescope on Mauna Kea. What emerges is a study of resilience and the ways wisdom and healing are passed from one generation to another. Underlying their spirited resistance is the women’s ever-present love for their land, their legacies, and each other
American Stories
Photo Courtesy of DOC NYC
Facing The Wind
Director – NYWIFT Member Deirdre Fishel
Linda and Carla each care for their beloved spouses who are living with Lewy body dementia. Eager to learn and share information with others, Linda starts a podcast with Curry, who has the disease, and a community of support groups begins to grow. Linda and Jim decide to go on an epic road trip, and Carla quits her job to devote her time to Patrick. As life becomes overwhelming, their online support group is a lifeline.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
What’s Next
Co-Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Samantha Siberini
Editor – NYWIFT Member Gaylen Ross
At 100 years old, Dr. Howard Tucker has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest practicing doctor. Told through the eyes of his loving grandson, the film follows the spirited, curious, elegant, and quirky neurologist as he begins to slow down and grapple with aging, social media, and computer technology for the first time. A fun and loving ode to living a meaningful life and gracefully keeping one’s own identity.
Metropolis Competition
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Left Behind
Director & Producer – NYWIFT Member Anna Wild Toomey
Left Behind illuminates the struggles of NYC schoolchildren with dyslexia, following a diverse group of parents who, frustrated by the lack of support, founded the Literacy Academy Collective. Driven by the stark reality that 1 in 5 people are dyslexic and nearly 50% of prison inmates share this diagnosis, these passionate advocates fight to de-stigmatize dyslexia and secure proper education for their kids.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
A Photographic Memory
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Kirsten Johnson
Producer – NYWIFT Member Beth Levison
Sheila Turner-Seed was an award-winning New York City-based, journalist in the 1970s who interviewed such photography luminaries as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Cecil Beaton, and Lisette Model. When she passed away suddenly and tragically, she left behind an infant daughter, Rachel. More than 30 years later, Rachel has herself become a filmmaker, photographer, and writer.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Slumlord Millionaire
Editor – NYWIFT Member Francesca Kustra
This documentary exposes housing injustice in NYC, following the David-and-Goliath battles between ordinary renters and powerful developers. Through stories from neighborhoods across the boroughs, the film reveals the harsh realities of unsafe housing, unethical landlords, and an overwhelmed housing court system. It also uncovers a troubling pattern of desirably located properties being seized for luxury developments in low-income neighborhoods, often with the system’s complicity.
Winner’s Circle
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Patrice: The Movie
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Ruth Ann Harnisch
Patrice Jetter found the love of her life in Garry Wickham. They’re eager to get married, but they learn of a penalty in US law that threatens to cut off Social Security and Medicaid benefits if two people with disabilities move in together. Their situation is dire, but Patrice confronts it with optimism and creativity, lobbying politicians to rethink the marriage penalty.
Investigations
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
The Sing Sing Chronicles
Director & Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Dawn Porter
Just north of New York City, Sing Sing Correctional Facility is one of the country’s most notorious prisons. Veteran crime reporter Dan Slepian forges a bond with Jon-Adrian Velazquez, a man serving a 25-to-life sentence in the facility, that leads him on a two-decade-long journey for justice. Directed by Dawn Porter, this multi-part exposé featuring original investigative reporting and thorough research into over 1,000 hours of archival footage, chronicles the two men’s steadfast perseverance against a tragic failure of the American carceral system.
Shorts List: Shorts Justice and Democracy
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Until He’s Back
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Erika Dilday
As European countries ignore the refugee crisis on their shores, Faisal Bouhafs helps one Moroccan family repatriate their child after his unsuccessful journey across the Mediterranean.
Shorts Programs: The American Dream
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Cashing Out
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Julie Cohen
During the AIDS crisis, many gay men sold their life insurance policies to investors for quick cash. This film charts the rise and fall of the billion-dollar industry of AIDS death profiteering.
Shorts Programs: Caretakers
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Death By Numbers
Co-Producer: NYWIFT Member Cynthia Kane
A survivor testifies at the trial of the Parkland high school shooter, confronting her trauma while examining the nature of hate, and of restorative justice
DOC NYC Documentary New Leaders
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Special congratulations to NYWIFT Member Cecilia R. Mejia, who was named to DOC NYC’s 2024 Documentary New Leaders!
Now in its fifth year, DOC NYC’s 2024 Documentary New Leaders program honors figures in the American documentary industry whose work to date and potential for leadership brings greater inclusion and equity to the field. The initiative is co-presented by A&E IndieFilms.
Cecilia has worked for over a decade in development for nonprofit organizations, including NGOs at the United Nations. She has a number of producing and impact-producing credits on films focusing on critical social impact issues. She is an adjunct at NYU, teaching courses on social impact producing. She is a recipient of NYU’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award.
