Historically, most of the DOC NYC shortlist titles overlap with the Academy’s official 15-film Oscar Shortlist. With the notable exception of Netflix’s Oscar-winning “My Octopus Teacher,” for 10 years the festival has screened the documentary that went on to win the Academy Award, including “Summer of Soul,” “American Factory,” “Free Solo,” “Icarus,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amy,” “Citizenfour,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” “Searching for Sugar Man,” and “Undefeated.” The festival has also screened 44 of the last 50 Oscar-nominated documentary features. In 2021, DOC NYC screened 11 of 15 titles named to the subsequent Academy Award Documentary Feature Shortlist.
Overlapping with Monday’s Critics Choice Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature are Margaret Brown’s Alabama slave saga “Descendant” (Netflix), volcano-chasing crowdpleaser “Fire of Love” (NatGeo/Neon), ’60s abortion story “The Janes” (HBO Documentary Films), Brett Morgen’s IMAX hit “Moonage Daydream” (HBO/Neon), and daring Russian exposé “Navalny” (HBO Max/CNN Films/Warner Bros.). New DOC NYC Artistic Director Jaie Laplante now curates the Short List of films that may be in the running for the Academy Award for Best Documentary feature. (Also weighing in is former DOC NYC chief Thom Powers, who is now Director of Special Projects.) This year’s list of 15 features showcases a spectrum of subject matter, including Sundance debuts, fall festival hits, and less widely viewed films from a range of funders and distributors. “It’s very much our prediction of what think will be, as close as we can get to the final 15,” said Laplante in a Zoom interview with IndieWire. “But it’s also what we think the 15 best films are.” DOC NYC’s Winner’s Circle program has also yielded Oscar nominations, including 2020’s “The Mole Agent” and 2021’s “Writing with Fire.” This year’s CCA-nominated “Aftershock” and “Bad Axe” are in that section, as well as two-time CCA nominee “Riotsville, USA.” Not making either the Winner’s Circle or the Short List cut are CCA-nominated “The Automat,” “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” “Good Night Oppy,” and “Sidney.” Still to come November 10 are the also influential Cinema Eye Honors nominations, followed by the IDA nominations on November 11. With so many worthy documentaries in play, doc branch members use these early selections as guides for what to watch.
The 2022 Short List selections encompass such immersive experiences as archive-rich Latin American family dramas “Beba” (Neon) and “Mija” (Disney Original Documentary), revealing behind-the-scenes music docs “The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile” (SPC) and “Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues” (Apple Original Films) and festival faves “All That Breathes” (HBO Documentary Films) and “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (Neon). Laplante thinks that Delhi eco-doc “All That Breathes” deserves consideration in Best Cinematography. “It’s a beautifully photographed film that pulls you into its dreamworld,” Laplante said. As for “Citizenfour” Oscar-winner Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” a portrait of New York artist-activist Nan Goldin that wowed the New York Film Festival and won the Venice Golden Lion, Laplante thinks it should make it to Best Picture. “[The film asks], ‘What is it we want out of life?’” he said, “which is what every great film answers for me.” Will the Academy documentary branch embrace Morgen, who was snubbed with Emmy-winning Goodall biopic “Jane”? Shortlisting “Moonage Daydream” would show how much the expanded doc branch has changed, Laplante said, “Their forward-thinking, going for something unusual and different.” The Academy documentary branch often makes it hard for Oscar nominees to return to the fray. Laplante thinks they will come around for “Cartel Land” nominee Matthew Heineman’s “Retrograde” (NatGeo), his latest dive into danger, this time in Afghanistan. For the fourth year, the Short List Features will vie for jury awards in four categories: Directing, Producing, Cinematography, and Editing, and a Best Director prize will also be awarded in the Short List Shorts section. Last year’s winners were “In The Same Breath” (Directing), “Flee” (Producing), “Ascension” (Editing), and “Faya Dayi” (Cinematography). As Academy members figure out what to watch in their growing screener piles, check out the influential DOC NYC Short List Features below as well as the full lineup for Short List: Shorts. Synopses and credits courtesy of the festival. SHORT LIST: FEATURES ALL THAT BREATHES Director: Shaunak Sen Producers: Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann, Teddy Leifer Winner of prizes at Cannes and Sundance, All That Breathes follows two brothers in New Delhi dedicated to caring for birds. (Courtesy of Sideshow/Submarine Deluxe/HBO Documentary Films) ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED Director: Laura Poitras Producers: Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, Laura Poitras Oscar-winning director Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) profiles artist and activist Nan Goldin as she leads protests against the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma. (Courtesy of NEON/Participant)
BEBA Director: Rebeca Huntt Producer: Sofia Geld Director Rebeca Huntt makes a stunning debut in this personal documentary that traces her Dominican and Venezuelan roots as she comes of age in New York City. (Courtesy of NEON) DESCENDANT Director: Margaret Brown Producers: Essie Chambers, Kyle Martin Filmmaker Margaret Brown returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to reflect on the legacy of the last known ship carrying enslaved Africans to enter the United States. (Courtesy of Netflix) FIRE OF LOVE Director: Sara Dosa Producers: Shane Boris, Ina Fichman, Sara Dosa Narrated by Miranda July, Fire of Love is an essayistic portrait of the French volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft. (Courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films) THE JANES Director: Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes Producers: Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin The Janes explores the hidden history of a Chicago grassroots organization that helped women end unwanted pregnancies in the years before Roe v. Wade. (Courtesy of HBO Documentary Films) LAST FLIGHT HOME Director: Ondi Timoner Producer: Ondi Timoner, David Turner Award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner (Dig!, We Live in Public) creates a deeply personal family portrait about her 92-year-old father Eli as he chooses to end his own life. (Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films) LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK AND BLUES Director: Sacha Jenkins Producers: Sacha Jenkins, Sara Bernstein, Jason Wilkes, Julie Anderson Filmmaker Sacha Jenkins (Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men) gains access to Louis Armstrong’s personal archives, which reveal multiple dimensions of the jazz pioneer. (Courtesy of Apple Original Films) MIJA Director: Isabel Castro Producers: Isabel Castro, Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel Mija takes us into the world of Chicano pop music through the eyes of a young Mexican American talent manager Doris Muñoz. (Courtesy of Disney Original Documentary) MOONAGE DAYDREAM Director / Producer: Brett Morgen Drawing upon a wealth of unseen material from his archive, this film explores David Bowie’s career with an approach as bold and visually inventive as he was. (Courtesy of NEON) NAVALNY Director: Daniel Roher Producers: Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller, Odessa Rae This real-life thriller follows the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as he attempts to identify the agents sent to assassinate him. Courtesy of Warner Brothers, CNN Films and HBO Max RETROGRADE Director: Matthew Heineman Producers: Matthew Heineman, Caitlin McNally, Javed Rezayee Matthew Heineman documents the last days of American occupation through the eyes of Afghanistan witnesses and records a country’s doomed descent into terror. (Courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films) THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER – FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE Director: Kathlyn Horan Producers: Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn, Julie Goldman, Kathlyn Horan Years after the trailblazing country music star Tanya Tucker stopped recording, her superfan Brandi Carlile brings her back to the studio to record an album Carlile has written to restore her rightful place in the country music pantheon. (Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
SR. Director: Chris Smith Producers: Robert Downey, Jr., Susan Downey, Emily Barclay Ford, Kevin Ford In the final years of his life, the pioneering independent filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. looks back on his life in poignant interactions with his famous son Robert Downey Jr. (Courtesy of Netflix) SHORT LIST: SHORTS The Short List: Shorts showcase of 15 titles is now in its fifth year at DOC NYC. The selection process is overseen by Artistic Director Jaie Laplante, Director of Special Projects Thom Powers, and Shorts Programmer Samah Ali. Last year the showcase included The Queen of Basketball, which went on to win the Oscar. For the fourth year, a DOC NYC jury will select one of the films in the section for a Directing Award. Last year’s winner was Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma. This year’s selections for Short List: Shorts are: ANASTASIA Director: Sarah McCarthy Producers: Sasha Odynova, Sarah McCarthy Russian activist Anastasia Shevchenko comes to grips with the loss of her daughter after two years of house arrest for speaking out against the government. (Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films) ANGOLA DO YOU HEAR US? VOICES FROM A PLANTATION PRISON Director: Cinque Northern Producer: Catherine Gund When Liza Jessie Peterson performs her one-woman play at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, she activates the men incarcerated in America’s largest prison-plantation. (Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films) AS FAR AS THEY CAN RUN Director: Tanaz Eshaghian Producers: Tanaz Eshaghian, Christoph Jörg Three young adults join a running program for disabled youth in Pakistan, hoping to shift perspectives in their rural community. (Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films) THE BEST CHEF IN THE WORLD Director / Producer: Ben Proudfoot Oscar winner and DOC NYC alum Ben Proudfoot profiles Sally Schmidt, the underrecognized progenitor of California Cuisine. (Courtesy of The New York Times Op-Docs) THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS Director: Kartiki Gonsalves Producers: Guneet Monga, Achin Jain Beautiful and tender, The Elephant Whisperers features a family as they raise two young elephants in a sanctuary in South India. (Courtesy of Netflix) THE FLAGMAKERS Directors / Producers: Cynthia Wade, Sharon Liese Flags at the largest American flag factory in the country are stitched by refugees and immigrants whose stories redefine what it is to be American. (Courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films)
IN FLOW OF WORDS Director: Eliane Esther Bots Producer: Manon Bovenkerk (Courtesy of The New Yorker) LONG LINE OF LADIES Directors: Rayka Zehtabchi, Shaandiin Tome Producers: Garrett Schiff, Rayka Zehtabchi, Sam Davis, Pimm Tripp-Allen A girl and her community prepare for her Ihuk, the once-dormant coming of age ceremony of the Karuk tribe of Northern California. THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT Directors: Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy Producers: Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy She was once as famous as Jackie O. And then she tried to take down a president. The Martha Mitchell Effect is an archival documentary portrait of the unlikeliest of whistleblowers. (Courtesy of Netflix) MY DISABILITY ROADMAP Directors: Samuel Habib, Dan Habib Producer: Dan Habib Samuel Habib has one goal: to be an independent adult without the support of his parents. He travels across America and interviews key figures in the disability rights movement in order to create his own playbook. (Courtesy of The New York Times Op-Docs) NASIR Directors: Nasir Bailey, Jackson Kroopf Producer: Jackson Kroopf The DOC NYC 2021 Shorts Grand Jury Prizewinner captures the tender story of Nasir as he opens up to his family about his transition. (Courtesy of L.A. Times Studios) THE PANOLA PROJECT Directors / Producers: Rachael DeCruz, Jeremy S. Levine This subtle yet engaging documentary features Dorothy Oliver as she organizes to keep her rural Alabama town safe from COVID-19 by vaccinating everyone. (Courtesy of The New Yorker) An experimental film about three language interpreters at the Yugoslavia Tribunal in The Hague and the wrenching moments they translate SHUT UP AND PAINT Directors: Titus Kaphar, Alex Mallis Producer: Chloe Gbai Celebrated artist Titus Kaphar takes the mic and camera to share his thoughts on race and the art market. (Courtesy of POV Shorts) STATE OF ALABAMA VS. BRITTANY SMITH Director: Ryan White Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Ryan White Unfolding in real time by focusing on the experience of one women on trial for murder, the film is a layered examination of gender, the American south, domestic and sexual violence and the failures of our criminal justice system. (Courtesy of Netflix) YOU CAN’T STOP SPIRIT Directors: Vashi Korin Producers: Jazzi McGilbert, Sean Kilgore-Han This mesmerizing portrait of the “baby dolls” of Mardi Gras explores the storied tradition as a spiritual and artistic practice among a group of New Orleans women. (Courtesy of The New York Times Op-Docs) Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
