DOC NYC 2022

<p>Brothers Saud and Nadeem were raised looking at a sky speckled with black kites, watching as relatives tossed meat up to these birds of prey. Muslim belief held that feeding the kites would expel troubles. Now, birds are falling from the polluted, opaque skies of New Delhi and the two brothers have made it their life&rsquo;s work to care for the injured black kites. Shaunak Sen&rsquo;s intricately layered portrait reveals an evolving city and a fraternal relationship bonded by purpose. The film&rsquo;s patient, roaming camera skillfully uses scale and perspective to draw attention to the interconnectedness of an ecosystem &mdash; one that humans are a part of, not apart from. The social unrest that begins to materialize in the streets is seen through the perspectives of the brothers and their family, as well as the insects and animals that share the urban landscape. There is both cruelty and tenderness in nature, and Sen elegantly captures how they coexist, while emphasizing the ways in which all living beings must evolve to survive.</p>

<p>When a spiritual crisis spurs him to leave the constraints of the conservatory, pianist and filmmaker James Carson embarks on a journey of evolution, discovering new connections between music and the natural world. His travels culminate in a cabin he builds in the Canadian wild where his experiences meld into a new form. A lyrical, genre-defying feast for the senses, Cabin Music is a testament to the twin transcendent powers of music and nature</p>

<p>Finding out that a friend of his&mdash;with whom he lost contact 12 years before&mdash;is in a psychiatric hospital after killing a lady, the filmmaker begins a 1,700-kilometer journey by train&mdash;from North to South Vietnam&mdash; because he feels the need to keep on moving in order to find some clarity and answers together with his daughter who narrates the film. Immersed in the train, Dirdamal&rsquo;s camera watches people in transit and this interval unveils their intimacy as if it were completely in the open. The film is also a glance to a country marked by a war, as in the stop at the former North-South border, the place where more bombs have ever fallen in the whole history of humankind; an evocation of its tribal roots, the Ruc sub-ethnic group; as well as a reflection on fatherhood and empathy, and on the perception of human complexity through the eyes and the innocence of a little girl.</p>

<p>Katia and Maurice Krafft loved two things &mdash; each other and volcanoes. For two decades, the daring French volcanologist couple roamed the planet, chasing eruptions, documenting their discoveries. Ultimately, they lost their lives in a 1991 volcanic explosion, leaving a legacy that forever enriched our knowledge of the natural world. Director Sara Dosa and the filmmaking team fashion a lyrical celebration of the intrepid scientists&rsquo; spirit of adventure, drawing from the Kraffts&rsquo; spectacular archive. Fire of Love tells a story of primordial creation &amp; destruction, following two bold explorers as they venture into the unknown, all for the sake of love.</p>

<p>After the death of her mother 18-year-old Sahar is left in charge of her poor, mentally disabled father in an isolated village in Iran. Sahar dreams of attending university and becoming a doctor, but extended family insist she play the role of caretaker unless her father remarries. This warm and intimate observational portrait captures a young woman caught between traditional gender roles and her desire for self-determination, volleyball and Instagram.</p>

<p>Filmmaker Margaret Brown (<em>The Order of Myths</em>) 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, the Clotilda. As remains of the ship are discovered in 2019, Brown documents the lives of the descendants of Clotilda as well as the Meaher family, who owned the ship. DESCENDANT is &ldquo;a disquieting film with enduring significance.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Filmmaker Reid Davenport, a past honoree of DOC NYC&rsquo;s 40 Under 40 showcase, creates a diaristic portrait of his life, at times from his wheelchair. Candid and unsentimental, Davenport captures quotidian moments of human connection and frustration on the streets of Oakland. When a circus tent goes up outside of his apartment, his reflections turn to the legacy of the freak show and PT Barnum. Davenport&rsquo;s viewpoint is one we rarely see on screen.</p>

<p>In the years before 1973 when Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States, a group of Chicago activists formed the Jane Collective to help women end unwanted pregnancies. The Janes uncovers this hidden history by interviewing many participants in the movement who worked under constant threat of arrest. Their defiance and dedication resonate deeply today as the guarantees of Roe v. Wade are being rolled back across the country.</p>

<p>Filmmaker Ondi Timoner has won two grand prizes at Sundance (for&nbsp;<em>Dig!</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>We Live in Public</em>) and this year receives DOC NYC&rsquo;s Robert and Anne Drew Award for observational filmmaking. Her latest film is deeply personal chronicling the final days of her 92-year-old father, Eli, as he chooses to end his own life (legally, under California law). Don&rsquo;t be daunted by the difficult subject;&nbsp;LAST FLIGHT HOME&nbsp;is a transcendent celebration of life.</p>

<p>In Santiago de Cuba, rival conga bands scour the sparse marketplace for materials to create show-stopping numbers for the annual Carnival competition. O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s film follows young, innovative L&aacute;zaro, who is determined to beat &ldquo;the Shark,&rdquo; his older and more establishment-favored competitor. Tensions build and tempers flare as the government restrictions and scarcity of present-day Cuba come to bear on one of the world&rsquo;s poorest Carnivals.</p>

<p>Using trap-motion cameras, wildlife photographer Carlton Ward charts the habitat of the elusive &ndash; and vanishing &ndash; Florida panther. Filmmaker Eric Bendick follows Ward and cohorts as they pursue the perfect photograph that they believe will change the tide of public indifference to government-sanctioned destruction of the Everglades&rsquo; delicately balanced ecosystem and the panther&rsquo;s imminent extinction. Image-making has rarely felt this essential to our planet&rsquo;s survival.</p>

<p>A young Brooklyn girl has suffered mysterious symptoms for years when her determined father stumbles upon a vicious medical debate: the existence of chronic Lyme disease. In 1975, the CDC and health insurance companies set guidelines still used today to deny the diagnosis and treatment for its debilitating symptoms. The film investigates the controversial history around chronic Lyme and the patients and medical researchers fighting to change policy and develop new treatments.</p>

<p>What do two film-obsessed brothers do to solve a family mystery? Using every video format imaginable, they make a movie as they travel thousands of miles looking for their missing (step)mom. Stitching together 25 years of home videos and filling the gaps in the archive with play, SAM NOW is a mosaic of love, longing and loss, as well as an attempt to overcome intergenerational trauma</p>

<p>The Elephant Whisperers follows an indigenous couple as they fall in love with Raghu, an orphaned elephant given into their care, and tirelessly work to ensure his recovery &amp; survival. The film highlights the beauty of the wild spaces in South India and the people and animals who share this space.</p>

<p>Samuel Habib has one goal: to be an independent adult. He travels across America and interviews key figures in the disability rights movement in order to create his own playbook.</p> <p>Samuel Habib, 21, wants to date, leave home, go to college. But he drives a 350-pound wheelchair, uses a communication device, and can have a seizure at any moment. Determined to find his path forward, he seeks out guidance from America&rsquo;s most rebellious disability activists. Will they empower him to launch the bold adult life he craves?</p>

<p>An Upper West Side Instagrammer documents her dumpster diving while calling out wasteful corporate practices.</p>

<p>Hear the stories of the migrant workers hired to clean the dust after 9/11.</p>

<p>The elite world of New York old money is explored in this fascinating portrait of Gardiner&rsquo;s Island, accessible only by boat and strictly forbidden to outsiders.</p>

<p>A collection of biologists inventively save desert tortoises with a brilliant hack! (USA, 17 MIN)</p>

<p>The possibilities of urban farming explode when an innovative business develops a fascinating closed loop system using local restaurant food waste to grow organic vegetables.</p>

<p>A landfill community forms its own association to help uplift its children and community before the landfill closes in the near future.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The dark side of green technology comes into focus as an Indonesian worker risks his life to feed his family by mining nickel needed for electric car batteries.&nbsp;</p> <p>Pola, is a nickel miner and family man from Indonesia. Every day, he risks his life to feed his family, abandoning his dreams for the sake of his children&rsquo;s future. Through Pola&rsquo;s eyes we see the dark side of green technology.</p>

<p>Last human stories from the glittering bottom of dying Aral Sea. Svetlana stares into the salt desert with her only eye. Gulshat runs an empty hotel. Captain records traces of the vanishing sea, and Sergei drives tourists across its bare, glittering seabed. The last people of Mo&acute;ynoq who remember the original shore of drying Aral Sea&hellip; Their days are intertwined with memories of the glorious past of the fishing power and dreams of the return of the great water. The present is a cemetery of ships that will never set sail from the port again.</p>

<p>Set in the heart of the Amazon, a young Ash&eacute;ninka boy must face his fears and catch a giant catfish, signaling his journey into manhood.</p>

<p>Using VHS tape and direct addresses to the camera, a man crafts a moving self-portrait examining his definition of family and life during his mid-20s.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Young women comment on the 100-year-old trope of the movie-makeover from 1920s silent films through the present day.</p>

<p>A self-taught astronomical photographer finds a new challenge when the chance to capture a rare Blood Moon eclipse presents itself.</p> <p>Andrew McCarthy&#39;s (@cosmic_background) inventive and eye-catching images of the cosmos have helped him go from a complete newbie to arguably the internet&#39;s most popular astrophotographer in just a few years. The film tells Andrew&#39;s inspiring story, and follows along on his excursion to capture an iconic photograph of a rare Blood Moon eclipse. In his words, he wants to show people the moon in a &quot;way they&#39;ve never seen it before.&quot;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>A father films his daughter every year on her birthday, asking her the exact same questions, capturing the moving, tender journey from childhood to womanhood.</p>

<p>Set within the close confines of a Tribeca apartment, three generations of women = comically shelter-in-place together during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>

<p>The story of a risky lion preserve in Australia told by one of its keepers, who was mauled when working there.</p>

<p>How often do cows escape the slaughterhouse? More often than you think, and animal activist Mike Stura is there to rescue them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A group of teenage boys try to save the lives of cows in their town and get caught in the grip of Hindu nationalism.</p>

<p>A stirring silent chronicle of a whale who washes ashore and dies, affecting all witnesses with its majesty and grandeur.</p>

<p>An immigrant family and Italian-born family work on a goat farm to make it a success and demonstrate the new face of Italian agriculture.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the Faroe Islands, a nation with no trees, artist and craftsman Ole Jakob Nielsen sculpts exquisite lamps using rare wood from trees of yesteryear.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Slyly integrating audio descriptions and captions, visual artist Angela Charles shares her story of &lsquo;coming out&rsquo; as a blind artist after years of hiding it</p>

<p>In the jungles of Colombia,&nbsp; abandoned train tracks are a crucial means of&nbsp; local travel; meet the community fighting to keep them public.</p>

<p>The extremely private Sackler family, maker of Oxycontin, are put on the hot seat for their impact in the opioid crisis.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Young environmentalists take to the trees to save an old-growth grove and outwit loggers.</p>

<p>The iconic Arecibo Observatory made huge strides in astronomical research until it collapsed. Now, a local scientist is advocating for its reconstruction.</p>

<p>Former adult-film star Darren takes the mic as he shares his experiences with the lack of health safety in the industry that ultimately led him to contract HIV.</p>

<p>A lawyer, reporter, and inventor team up to address one of the world&rsquo;s largest pollutants that goes under the radar: plastic in&nbsp;clothing.</p>

<p>Light is information, a signal sounder than recollection. If there&rsquo;s anyone out there to receive the message.<br /> <br /> Alone in a sealed apartment&nbsp;until time loses meaning, the world outside unreal or unreachable, archaic illuminations crawling across the walls, connections fraying. What is happening here? A science fictional essay film, or its inverse. A break-up film about optics, memory, data. Endings and what survives them or fails to.</p> <p>Many thanks due to Maya Edelman, Dave Zackin, Zach Nader, and the Regional Plan Association.</p>

<p>This experimental hybrid documentary addresses the erasure/invisibility and the anxiety surrounding identity while living abroad.&nbsp;</p>