The 10th Anniversary edition of DOC NYC – America’s largest documentary festival – takes place from November 6 through 15. Among the 300+ films and events are 28 World Premieres, 27 U.S. Premieres, and 59 NYC Premieres. More than 500 doc makers and special guests will be on hand to present their films or participate on panels. This year’s festival is dedicated to the memory of D.A. Pennebaker (Don’t Look Back, Monterrey Pop), a DOC NYC fixture who died this past summer.

As always, there is a multitude of worthy films from all over the world, in myriad styles, about almost every conceivable subject. Individual portraits include the founder of the World Toilet Organization (Lily Zepeda’s Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man); an innovative and iconic punk performer (Beth B’s Lydia Lynch: The War Is Never Over), and a revered Abstract Expressionist painter (Dennis Scholl’s Lifeline: Clyfford Still), plus many others.

Among this year’s offerings are docs sure to make you seethe (Matthew O’Connor & Barnaby O’Connor’s The Pickup Game, about the billion-dollar industry fueling the “art” of picking up women, and Deia Schlossberg’s environmental expose The Story of Plastic); docs that will crack you up (Weijun Chen’s comedic City Dream, about a Chinese street vendor who clashes with authorities); and docs that will make certain people wildly nostalgic (Scott Crawford’s Boy Howdy! The Story of Creem Magazine). 

Here are just a few more highlights:

About Love
Archana Atul Phadke’s funny, poignant doc portrays her close-knit family during the time leading up to her brother Rohan’s marriage. With three generations living under one Mumbai roof, there’s a lot of teasing and joking, though there is also pain and frustration. Phadke focuses an especially sympathetic lens on her mother and grandmother, both struggling in difficult marriages. The latter is subjected to her husband’s near-constant demands and verbal abuse, while the uneven dynamic between Archana’s outgoing, argumentative father Atul and her quietly intelligent mother Maneesha is obvious.

Unsurprisingly and much to their family’s frustration, neither Neither Archana nor her outspoken sister Sagarika want to get married. Who can blame them, given the state of the marriages at home (and India’s patriarchal society in general)? Even if family members might be acting up a bit for the camera, the film is pure slice-of-life vérité, hilarious juxtapositions and all. (At one point, Maneesha reads aloud from a piece of romantic fiction while Atul struggles mightily to pull on a pair of too-tight pants.) There are frustrations, laughter, prayers, arguments and even death. In many ways, the Phadkes are a typical, relatable family, complete with its youngest generation of women rising up against the status quo.

Screening Monday, Nov 11, 6:30 PM | Cinepolis Chelsea

Killing Patient Zero

One of the longest-enduring beliefs about the AIDS epidemic is that the spread of the virus in the U.S. can be traced to one man. Laurie Lynd’s documentary carefully unravels the myth of “Patient Zero,” Air Canada flight attendant Gaetan Dugas, using archival footage and interviews with people who knew him, AIDS researchers, physicians, journalists and many others. Clips from a misguided, hateful 1960s CBS special “The Homosexuals” (hosted by Mike Wallace) are a grim reminder of past attitudes, as is a mind-boggling recording of a Reagan-era White House press conference in which there is much laughter about the subject of AIDS and gay men dying. As shocking as it may seem now, this was the prevailing mindset of the day, underscoring the irony of timing: Just when gay people were coming out and demanding rights, this plague descends. Amid all the fear and misconceptions, pure sensationalism (resulting from an honest attempt to raise awareness about the virus) caused one misidentified man to become a scapegoat. The film is a fascinating history lesson that also succeeds in clearing Dugas’ name.

Sunday, Nov 10, 9:05 PM | SVA Theatre

Narrowsburg
In 1999, the laid-back hamlet of Narrowsburg in Sullivan County, NY (2010 population: 431), held its first-ever film festival, spearheaded by newcomers Richie ands Jocelyn Castaldo. This charismatic couple – a gregarious character actor who played a mobster in Analyze This and a sophisticated European festival veteran – easily impressed the townsfolk with their entertainment biz savvy and Hollywood connections. Further fueling Narrowsburg’s hopes of becoming “the Sundance of the East,” the Castaldos got the town caught up in producing a film (starring Richie) that would be shot on location and feature locals in various roles. Things, however, did not go so well.

Martha Shane’s entertaining documentary tracks the incredible story, from residents recalling their initial excitement about being thrust into the spotlight, to the first indications that the Castaldos weren’t quite what they seemed to be, to the disappointment of shutting down production on Four Deadly Reasons, due to mishandled money and other problems. As one Narrowsburger says in hindsight, “We were ripped off in such a bizarre, unusual way, that it was worth it.” (Undeterred, the town has continued to hold an annual film festival; this doc screened there in September.)

Sunday, Nov 10, 4:20 PM | SVA Theatre

Click here for the full festival line-up.

 – Marina Zogbi