DOC NYC Announces Oscar Predictor Feature Shortlist That Includes ‘The Bibi Files,’ ‘Will & Harper’ and ‘No Other Land’
Alexis Bloom’s “The Bibi Files,” Raoul Peck’s “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found” and Johan Grimonprez’s “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” are among the 15 documentary films that have received a coveted spot on DOC NYC’s feature shortlist.
Launched in 2012, the DOC NYC feature shortlist, which this year includes several streamer-backed docs as well as films with minimal or no distribution, has become known for being an award season bellwether. The last three feature docus that garnered an Oscar — “20 Days in Mariupol”, “Navalny” and “Summer of Soul” — made the DOC NYC shortlist.
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In all the DOC NYC film festival has screened 53 of the last 60 Oscar-nominated documentary features. The feature shortlist election process is overseen by fest’s artistic director Jaie Laplante and director of special projects Thom Powers, who also serves as the lead documentary programmer at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival.
“We start thinking about the DOC NYC shortlist right after Sundance, and spend the ensuing months having many conversations with filmmakers, critics, industry leaders and Academy members to keep our ear to the ground about how people are thinking about the year’s top films,” said Laplante. “We then couple that with our own intuition and taste and ruminate through these multitude of layers to make our final choices.”
This year, the DOC NYC feature short list includes four Netflix backed titles: “Daughters,” “Mountain Queen,” “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” and “Will and Harper.” Other streamer’s with docs on the list are Amazon’s “Frida,” Nat Geo’s “Sugarcane” and MTV Film’s “Black Box Diaries.”
The eight remaining documentaries on the shortlist either have no distribution or limited distribution deals. Those films include “Union,” “Porcelain Wars” and “No Other Land,” which is a favorite among Academy doc branch members. In addition to distribution struggles, the same eight docus are also not equipped with massive award season campaign budgets.
But lacking deep pockets leading up to this year’s Academy nominations might not be as catastrophic as it once was. Notably, all filmmakers nominated for an Oscar in the feature doc category last year were international and the majority lacked distribution by major streamers; presumed favorites backed by Netflix, Apple TV+ and Max all failed to score a slot on the final Oscar ballot.
Filmmakers with docus that didn’t make the 2024 DOC NYC shortlist but are still vying for Oscar consideration — i.e. Bonh?te and Peter Ettedgui (“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”), Dawn Porter (“Luther: Never Too Much”) and Errol Morris (“Separated”) — can pay to attend DOC NYC’s 11th annual Visionaries Tribute gala on Nov. 13. And more than likely, via their respective distribution companies, they will purchase the pricey ticket in order to be at the event that attracts the who’s who of the doc community from both coasts. Hundreds of documentary filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, editors, publicists and distributors hobnob with Academy doc branch members — for several hours — in hopes of winning their votes.
Documentary filmmaker Alan Berliner, Firelight Media president and co-founder Marcia Smith, director Lucy Walker and CEO of Chicken & Egg Pictures Jenni Wolfson will all be honored during the Tribute gala.
In addition to the feature shortlist, fest organizers also announced the annual DOC NYC short doc shortlist and Winner’s Circle, which highlights films that arrive at the festival with significant awards pedigrees already in place. All films on both shortlists and in the Winner’s Circle will have theatrical screenings at the fest, often with the directors in person.
The 15th annual DOC NYC film festival boasts 111 features, including 32 world premieres and 129 short films. The fest runs in-person Nov. 13-21 at IFC Center, SVA Theatre, and Village East by Angelika and continues online through Dec. 1 with films available to viewers across the U.S.
See below for the complete DOC NYC feature and short shortlists as well as the Winner’s Circle below.
SHORT LIST: FEATURES
THE BIBI FILES (World Premiere)
Director: Alexis Bloom
Producers: Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, Raviv Drucker, Kara Elverson, David Rahtz
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to court trying to block this film that reveals
leaked video of his testimonies on corruption charges.
BLACK BOX DIARIES
Director: Shiori Ito
Producers: Shiori Ito, Hanna Aqvilin, Eric Nyari
A journalist upends Japan’s entrenched codes of silence when she brings sexual assault
charges against a well-connected member of the Japanese media elite. (MTV Documentary
Films)
DAHOMEY
Director: Mati Diop
Producers: Mati Diop, Judith Lou Lévy, Eve Robin
The restitution of priceless artifacts, looted by the French, to their origins in Benin provides an
occasion for momentous impact and debate. (MUBI)
DAUGHTERS
Directors: Natalie Rae, Angela Patton
Producers: Lisa Mazzotta, Natalie Rae, Justin Benoliel, James Cunningham, Mindy
Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft
Young girls whose fathers are incarcerated join in a one-day dad/daughter dance inside prison,
with deep emotional consequences on each side. (Netflix)
ERNEST COLE: LOST AND FOUND (NYC Premiere)
Director: Raoul Peck
Producers: Tamara Rosenberg, Raoul Peck
In this rousing, elegant documentary, Raoul Peck examines the life and works of a seminal artist
of the 20th century, South African photographer Ernest Cole. (Magnolia Pictures)
FRIDA
Director: Carla Gutiérrez
Producers: Katia Maguire, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Loren Hammonds, Alexandra
Johnes
Mixing lyrical animation of her influential works and expressive voice-over, Frida is a definitive
film about the iconic twentieth-century Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. (Amazon/MGM Studios)
MOUNTAIN QUEEN: THE SUMMITS OF LHAKPA SHERPA
Director: Lucy Walker
Producers: Charlie Corwin, Michael D. Ratner, Miranda Sherman, Dalia Burde,
Christopher Newman
Lhakpa Sherpa is the first Nepali woman to summit and descend Mount Everest, but how she
navigates her life as a single mother and immigrant is an even more heroic tale. (Netflix)
NO OTHER LAND
Directors: Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
Producers: Fabien Greenberg, B?rd Kj?ge R?nning
One of the most urgent films of the year and winner of multiple festival prizes, No Other Land
offers an essential and unflinching look at Palestinian life under Israeli military occupation.
PORCELAIN WAR
Directors: Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev
Producers: Aniela Sidorska, Paula DuPré Pesmen, Camilla Mazzaferro, Olivia Ahnemann
Three Ukrainian artists pick up arms when Russia invades their country, but refuse to put down
their drive to create. (Picturehouse)
THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN
Director: Benjamin Ree
Producer: Ingvil Giske
Inside a sophisticated online game, a young man suffering from a degenerative muscular
disease creates a world where he can live, love, strive, and hope, to the greatest extent his soul
can muster. (Netflix)
QUEENDOM
Director/Producer: Agniia Galdanova
Producer: Igor Myakotin
A genderqueer Russian artist/activist faces harassment and hostility in Putin’s Russia, but it is
the universal ache of being cut off from one’s roots that proves to be her greatest existential
threat. (Greenwich Entertainment)
SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT
Director: Johan Grimonprez
Producer: Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius
In a magnificent essay film, Johan Grimonprez explores the historical rollercoaster of Congo
after its independence from colonial control, told through accounts from spies, mercenaries and
jazz icons. (Kino Lorber)
SUGARCANE*
Directors: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
Producers: Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn
An investigation into the history of abuse and missing indigenous children at a Canadian
residential school ignites a present-day reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve. (National
Geographic Documentary Films)
UNION
Director: Brett Story, Stephen Maing
Producers: Brett Story, Stephen Maing, Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone, Martin Dicicco
Against incredible odds and immense opposition, current and former Amazon workers form a
labor union and petition the corporate behemoth for more dignified treatment of warehouse
workers.
WILL & HARPER
Director: Josh Greenbaum
Producers: Rafael Marmor, Will Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum, Josh Greenbaum, Christopher
Leggett
Former Saturday Night Live writer Harper Steele comes out as a woman and takes a road trip
across the United States with her old friend Will Ferrell to explore transgender experience.
(Netflix)
SHORT LIST: SHORTS
ALL THINGS METAL
Director: Motoki Otsuka
Producer: Lucy Sexton
Three brothers are united by their love of metal work, heavy metal rock, and movie-making.
(Documentary+ / Rolling Stone Films)
DENIAL
Directors: Paul Moakley, Daniel Lombroso
Producer: Paul Moakley
Zoom in on Maricopa Country, Arizona, in 2020, where contested results of the Presidential election sow chaos, confusion and threats against the official overseeing the vote. (The New Yorker)
ETERNAL FATHER
Director: ?mer Sami
Producer: Alma Dyekj?r Giese
One father deals with his mortality fears by stating his wish to be cryogenically frozen upon his
death, leaving his family to contemplate what this means for them when the time comes. (The
New Yorker)
GOODBYE, MORGANZA
Director: Devon Blackwell
Producer: Daniel Lombroso
In this shadow of a long-ago betrayal, Devon Blackwell documents her family’s history and the
property stolen from her great-grandmother. (The New Yorker)
I AM READY, WARDEN
Director: Smriti Mundhra
Producers: Keri Blakinger, Maya Gnyp, Keri Blakinger, Nina Anand Aujla, Smriti Mundhra
Sentenced to death, prisoner John Henry Ramirez spends his final days preparing a message
for his victim’s son while saying goodbye to his own boy. (MTV Documentary Films)
INCIDENT
Director/Producer: Bill Morrison
Producer: Jamie Kalven
Filmmaker Bill Morrison reconstructs a Chicago police shooting of an unarmed Black man,
dissecting what some consider an accident and others a murder. (The New Yorker)
INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART
Director: Ema Ryan Yamazaki
Producer: Eric Nyari
In an annual musical performance for first graders, a young girl faces her fears with
determination and becomes one of the lead percussionists. (The New York Times Op-Docs)
JULIA’S STEPPING STONES
Directors: Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar, Jim Klein
Producer: Steve Bognar
Before her death, activist/director Julia Reichert began filming her life story. Her partner, Steve
Bognar, finishes the decorated filmmaker’s work, sharing it with the world. (Netflix)
MOTORCYCLE MARY
Director: Haley Watson
Producer: Rachel Greenwald
Meet Mary McGee, a decorated and courageous racer who shattered the glass ceiling for
women in motorsports. (ESPN)
THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA
Director/Producer: Molly O’Brien
Producer: Molly Lisa Remington
The spotlight shines on double bass player Orin O’Brien, the first woman to join the New York
Philharmonic, in this brilliant film for classical music fans. (Netflix)
THE QUILTERS
Director/Producer: Jenifer McShane
Tasked with creating quilts for foster children in Missouri, the men in a maximum security facility
stitch the dreams of future generations.
SEAT 31: ZOOEY ZEPHYR
Directors/Producer: Kimberly Reed
Banned from the Montana House of Representatives, Rep. Zooey Zephyr makes the bench
outside the house her new “seat” as she fights for the rights of trans people in the state. (The
New Yorker)
A SWIM LESSON
Directors: Rashida Jones, Will McCormack
Producers: Nicole Emanuele, Emily Arlook
A symphony of toddlers’ laughter, cries, and splashes can be heard in the backyard of Bill, an
instructor committed to teaching little kids how to swim. (POV/Documentary+)
THE TURNAROUND
Directors: Kyle Thrash, Ben Proudfoot
Producers: Ben Proudfoot, Nicholas Ruff, Josh Rosenberg
After a superstar trade turned into a rough start with the Philadelphia Phillies, one devoted fan
inspires others to turn their boos into cheers in hopes of changing the trajectory of the player’s
season. (Netflix)
UNTIL HE’S BACK
Director/Producer: Jacqueline Baylon
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.
(POV)
WINNER’S CIRCLE
HOLLYWOODGATE
Director: Ibrahim Nash’at
Producers: Talal Derki, Shane Boris, Odessa Rae
After foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021, a journalist is given permission to follow
and film two Taliban military men for a year. Winner, Feature Documentary Award, El Gouna
Film Festival.
THE LAST OF THE SEA WOMEN
Director: Sue Kim
Producers: Malala Yousafzai, Erika Kennair
Executive produced by Malala Yousafzai, The Last of the Sea Women explores the community
of fisherwomen called the haenyeo on South Korea’s Jeju Island. (Apple Original Films) Winner,
NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film, TIFF.
A NEW KIND OF WILDERNESS
Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
Producer: Mari Bakke Riise
An endearing family devoted to living in harmony with nature faces difficult challenges when
their matriarch unexpectedly passes away. Winner, World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury
Award, Sundance Film Festival.
NOCTURNES
Directors: Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan
Producer: Anirban Dutta
In the dense forests of the Eastern Himalayas, two curious observers probe the dark of night to
gain a greater understanding of one of nature’s most spellbinding creatures, the moth.
(Grasshopper Films) Winner, World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft,
Sundance Film Festival.
PATRICE: THE MOVIE
Director: Ted Passon
Producers: Kyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily Spivack
Patrice: The Movie plays like a romantic comedy, despite its serious subject matter about a
couple fighting for disability rights. (Hulu) Winner, Audience Award, Camden International Film
Festival.
* Sugarcane is also featured in DOC NYC’s VOICES OF CANADA.
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