By Sean Boelman

Even though the way we have viewed films for much of the year has changed due to the circumstances, 2020 has still been a phenomenal year for nonfiction cinema. And the DOC NYC festival, which historically serves as a predictor of some of the films that will be getting buzz come awards season, proceeded with a virtual festival that allowed viewers across the United States to check out some great documentaries. Below are some of the films that disappointment media had the opportunity to screen.

Not to be confused with the 1990s Stallone/Banderas action flick of the same name, Assassins is one of the most engrossing documentaries that played as a part of this year’s lineup. Exploring the story of two young women who were tried for the assassination of Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, the film questions whether they were cold-blooded killers or unknowing pawns in a political conspiracy. Ryan White’s film plays out like a real-life espionage thriller, and it’s thoroughly entertaining as a result, but there is a bit of a disconnect created by the fact that the film jumps between the perspectives of the accused, their lawyers, and the journalists who covered the case.

For those who love watching adorable old people reminiscing about the good ol’ days, look no further than Christian D. Bruun’s Calendar Girl. Telling the story of the nonagenarian woman who single-handedly shaped the fashion industry with her publication, the film offers an interesting glimpse into the goings on of a business that is often somewhat secretive. The biggest strength of Bruun’s film is undeniably the lovable charisma of his subject. And even though the film does fall back on some biographical tropes, especially in regards to overzealous interviews, audiences will easily stay invested in the story nevertheless. *Not participating in DOC NYC Encore.

There is no denying that the police system in the United States is broken, and filmmaker Ilinca Calugareanu hopes to bring attention to a very different side of that issue with her new film A Cops and Robbers Story. Following a former drug pusher who becomes a prominent member of the NYPD, this film shows how institutional racism affects those both within and outside of the system. Although the reliance on reenactments in the first act is a bit distracting, the interviews are telling and the story itself is riveting. It’s a challenging watch, but a thought provoking one at that. *Not participating in DOC NYC Encore.

A Crime on the Bayou tells an interesting and shocking true story, but often loses sight of what makes the story so important. Tracking the courtroom battle that occurred after a Black teenager was arrested in Louisiana in the 1960s for confronting him nonviolently, this is an interesting examination of the racial injustice of the justice system of the era. However, despite the obvious connections with some of the discrimination being faced by BIPOC in America today, filmmaker Nancy Buirski fails to create a sufficient connection between the struggles depicted in the story and the modern day. *Not participating in DOC NYC Encore.

If Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple’s documentary Five Years North is able to get one thing across to the viewer, it should be that the system is broken and it prevents people who want to do the right thing from making an impact. Blending the stories of a young undocumented Guatemalan immigrant trying to live his version of the American Dream and a Cuban-American ICE officer coming to terms with newly stricter regulations, this is an urgent wake-up call for Americans. It’s admittedly a bit unbalanced in the way that it approaches its two subjects, but it’s powerful regardless. *Not participating in DOC NYC Encore.

In Silico is obviously a passion project for filmmaker Noah Hutton, made clear by the fact that he dedicated ten years of his career to following the subjects, and it shows in the final product. Although this voyage into the field of neuroscience is insanely detailed and intricate, Hutton manages to make it interesting even for those who won’t understand the technical goings on. Perhaps most impressive, though, is the way in which Hutton is able to connect the scientific subtleties of what he is showing with the bigger picture in which audiences are more likely to be invested. *Not participating in DOC NYC Encore.

Perhaps even more so than narrative films, documentaries are reliant on the power of their story to be compelling. Giedre Zickyte’s The Jump tells one that is so captivating that it will have no problem entertaining viewers. Following a Soviet sailor who attempted to defect in the 1920s but was refused asylum, resulting in a highly-publicized scandal, this story is absolutely magnificent. Using a combination of archive footage and interviews relaying first-hand accounts, Zickyte’s documentary may not have the most timely message, but as a look back into that portion of history, it’s quite effective.

Painter and visual artist Kenny Scharf is just as quirky as his work would suggest, and filmmakers Max Basch and Malia Scharf do an excellent job of capturing this quality in their documentary Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide. Even though it is a relatively straightforward art documentary, Scharf is more than interesting enough as a subject to keep viewers’ interest for eighty minutes. Admittedly, it would have been nice to see the film do a bit more in regards to exploring Scharf’s place within the greater context of the art movement of which he was such a pivotal part, but as a testimony to his work, it’s quite good. *Not participating in DOC NYC Encore.

​Raquel Cepeda initially seems to be setting up her film La Madrina: The [Savage] Life of Lorine Padilla to be a real-life Godfather-like crime saga, but there is much more to it than that. Telling the story of the former matriarch of a Bronx Boricua gang called the Savage Skulls as she tries to improve her community, this film is all about busting stigmas. There are stereotypes that people associate with Latinos and gangs, and Padilla is a perfect example of why these prejudices are often false. Tackling some timely issues under the guise of a human interest story, Cepeda’s film packs more of a punch than one would anticipate.

For those who like their music documentaries to mean more than following an artist, Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider’s Los Hermanos/The Brothers will be a welcome treat. Following two Afro-Cuban brothers who became virtuoso musicians and now split their lives between New York and Havana, the film is both a wonderful doc about their music careers and a surprisingly touching exploration of Cuban-American relations. Since the political side of this story is still developing, it’s understandable that the filmmakers had to pull a few punches in that regard, but nevertheless, they do a great job of using this small story to say something bigger.

There is a lot going on in The Meaning of Hitler, and it seems like the type of movie that is a likely candidate for misinterpretation. On paper, the idea of disproving some of the myths involved with the fascist dictator sounds like the type of thing that would be problematic, but it soon becomes clear that filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker are more interested in making Hitler out to be even more of an inept loser than history books already do. The arguments made here are definitely very interesting and timely (given some of the similarities to Trump’s reign), but aren’t organized quite as well as one would hope.

When one thinks of compelling documentary subjects to go together, the immediate thought likely isn’t mariachi music and off-road racing, but that’s exactly what Off the Road does, and it’s a surprisingly strong combination. But José Permar’s film isn’t just about cars and guitarristas, it’s about a community whose identity and economy is tied to these expressions. And while the socioeconomic and cultural context of the film may be lost on those who are not already familiar with the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, it will undoubtedly be an enjoyable watch for most, whether they want to watch car races or hear great music.

Although its title may suggest that it’s a fairytale or a Western epic, Once Upon a Time in Venezuela is a powerful and intimate examination of an underdeveloped community in the eponymous country. The first hour of the film is devastating, showing how there is destruction both from outside forces and within the community, but it does lose some of its impact heading into the back half, which deals with more of the big picture. It’s definitely one of the most emotionally draining documentaries to come out of this year’s selection, but that doesn’t make the issues it addresses any less important.

There are so many documentaries about people suffering in the modern world, which is what makes it so nice to see Karla Murthy’s The Place That Makes Us focus on people who are trying to overcome these obstacles. While this portrait of a small-town community rebuilding after an economic crisis may not be entirely representative of America as a whole, it offers an interesting perspective on the true meaning of the modern American Dream. The film’s biggest problem is that it jumps between subjects a bit too often, preventing the audience from forming too deep of a connection, but there are definitely still some powerful moments.

Recent years have seen a series of documentaries about feminist musicians trying to change the industry to allow for more representation, and filmmaker Deepti Gupta hopes to help do that with Shut Up Sona, her profile of Indian singer Sona Mohapatra. The access that Gupta has to her subject is amazing and allows some really interesting insight into the political side of Mohaptra’s career, but audiences may be left wanting more of an exploration of her music. It seems to be a film made for those who are already familiar with Mohapatra, and while its message still rings true regardless, it still may be a bit of a struggle to get invested in the story.

Every once in a while, there comes along a documentary with a really intriguing story that obviously has the potential to be an important work of filmmaking, but the filmmakers aren’t quite sure what to do with the material, and that is Songs of Repression. Exploring a German community in Chile that puts up a tourist-friendly guise but secretly has a dark past, it feels like there is a lot more to this story than is being shown. Of course, lack of access can’t be blamed on the filmmakers, but lack of interest can, and it too often feels like they aren’t interested in getting the real story out there.

On a basic level, Things We Dare Not Do is a story of coming out in a conservative, rural community, but it is not at its most effective when it is an introspective exploration of identity. Much more fascinating is when filmmaker Bruno Santamaría dissects the values and traditions that lead a community to be so close-minded in the first place. With a brief seventy-five minute runtime, there isn’t a whole lot of room for Santamaría to explore these ideas with the desired level of depth, though there are enough powerful moments to make this a documentary worth recommending.

Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s film The Viewing Booth is, on its surface, a film about Israeli politics and identity, but there’s so much more to it than that. Exploring a study done by the filmmaker in which he observes an American student as she watches a series of clips and news footage about current events in Israel, this is just as much a dissection of the effects of the media as it is one of culture and religion. Regardless of how one falls on the political spectrum regarding the Israel-Palenstine conflict, Alexandrowicz uses his film to pose some fascinating and thought-provoking questions about what influenced that opinion.

The 2020 DOC NYC festival ran November 11-19, 2020, and an encore of selected films is continuing through November 29.

By Sean Boelman

Like so many other festivals this year, DOC NYC saw its plans change as a result of the pandemic we are all facing right now. However, the circumstances didn’t stop organizers from bringing some excellent nonfiction cinema to viewers across the country. Often a precursor to end of year awards, the DOC NYC lineup features a wide and diverse selection of films, and below are some of our favorites.

Raquel Cepeda’s La Madrina: The [Savage] Life of Lorine Padilla is the type of documentary that will hook viewers with an interesting story but leave them thinking something else entirely. On one hand, this is about the history of a notorious Bronx gang, but there is so much more going on in this film beneath the surface. A surprisingly hard-hitting exploration of the poverty that has decimated the BIPOC community in New York City, the film shows not only how the system has it out for the little guy, but also how the little guy can stand up and fight back against the system.

The Viewing Booth isn’t an easy film to recommend, because it isn’t conventional in any sense of the world. In fact, the idea of watching a filmmaker having a conversation with a Jewish-American student may not sound like the most riveting way to spend seventy minutes. That said, Ra’anan Alexandrowicz does a phenomenal job with his film, creating a film that functions on multiple levels. As an examination of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the film poses some interesting questions, but perhaps more fascinating are those ideas which Alexandrowicz challenges about the public’s interaction with the media.

Frank Zappa is without a doubt one of the most iconic and eclectic musicians in all of history. Even if one doesn’t exactly understand what he did, it’s impossible not to admire the way in which he experimented with his art. Filmmaker Alex Winter translates that awe into a captivating cinematic experience with his archival documentary Zappa, which utilizes the extensive collection of materials that Zappa preserved before his death. Avoiding the pitfalls of most biographical documentaries about musicians, Winter is less concerned here with nostalgia, instead focusing on preserving his subject’s legacy.

Elizabeth St. Philip’s 9/11 Kids may be one of the least feel-good documentaries in this year’s DOC NYC lineup, but that doesn’t make it any less of an important watch. Exploring the lives of the children who were with President Bush when the World Trade Center attacks happened, this film is less about that tragic day and more about how society has re-adjusted post-9/11. With hints of the Up series, St. Philip approaches her subjects with a unique empathy that makes the story resonate even harder than one would expect.

Hot off their Academy Award win for Best Documentary for American Factory, documentarians Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert are back at it with 9to5: The Story of a Movement, again exploring labor issues. Although it isn’t as eye-opening or emotionally affecting as their last work, this more historical approach to labor movements throughout the years offers some interesting insight into some important issues. And unlike some of the other documentaries mentioned on this list, Bognar and Reichert’s film goes down comparatively easy, with slick editing and fast pacing keeping things consistently entertaining.

And this is just a sampling of the great documentaries screening online as a part of this year’s DOC NYC! You definitely won’t want to miss the chance to get to see some of these wonderful films now so that you can be in on the conversation when everyone else is talking about them come awards season!

The 2020 virtual edition of DOC NYC runs November 11-19.

By Dan Skip Allen

​In the roaring '20s, gangsters ruled with an iron fist. The law had no ground to stand on. In Chicago, Al Capone (Robert De Niro) was the man in charge of all the criminal activities. He did this under the auspices of a legitimate business. Prohibition was the rule of the land at this time. Capone didn't like this and he kept doing his illegal things despite the laws prohibiting them. Elliott Ness and his men tried to stand in his way despite opposition to the contrary.

Ness (Kevin Costner) is a treasury officer. He has been tasked with taking down Capone by any means necessary. The problem is the police are on Capone's payroll. Any time he gets close to making a bust, the criminals have already cleared out or gotten word that Ness is sniffing around. Ness needs to find some honest good trustworthy cops to help him break through the red tape. He finds one guy named Jim Malone (Sean Connery) who is an honest cop who has the in on some of the illegal activities going on in the city. They recruit a young man from the Academy as well, George Stone (Andy Garcia). 

By Adam Donato