This may be the craziest, most emotionally disruptive fall in recent history, but the annual DOC NYC film festival is right on schedule. Like many other events these days, the country’s largest all-documentary fest, now in its 11th year, is completely virtual, making it available nationwide for the first time. Running online from November 11 through 19, and accessible to viewers across the U.S., this year’s edition includes 107 feature-length documentaries among over 200 films and dozens of events. There’s an emphasis on diversity with 57 features (53% of the lineup) directed or co-directed by women and 36 by Black, indigenous and people of color (34% of the feature program).

As always, there’s a lot of docs to choose from, many of which are world or U.S. premieres. Aside from the films themselves, there will be conversations with filmmakers taking place daily in “DOC NYC Live” events, and pre-recorded filmmaker Q&As after film screenings.

Among the festival’s many worthy entries:

Duty Free, directed by Sian-Pierre Regis (making his feature debut), a film about Rebecca Danigelis, Regis’s 70-something mother, who is fired from her hotel housekeeping job. When she is unable to land another position, her son raises money through Kickstarter to fund Rebecca’s bucket list, which includes desires both humble (milk a cow) and expansive (a visit to England to her sister’s grave and reunite with the daughter she gave up). Many themes are woven throughout, including ageism and racism (Regis is biracial); the film ultimately raises awareness of the caregiving crisis in this country, especially for older people with little money.

No Ordinary Man, co-directed by Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt, documents the life of jazz musician and bandleader Billy Tipton. Born Dorothy Lucille Tipton in 1914, the film’s subject identified as male early in life and maintained that identity until his death in 1989, when his birth sex was discovered (and made headlines). His story is told through various transgender figures (who also talk about their own experiences), as well as Tipton’s son. The film becomes a poignant exploration of trans masculinity as well as a tribute to a beloved pioneer in the trans community.

Women in Blue, directed by Deirdre Fishel, is an exceptionally timely film about the efforts of women in the Minneapolis Police Department to transform the agency’s male culture. Mostly filmed before the murder of George Floyd by an MPD officer, the doc offers a rare perspective into the troubled department’s previous attempts at reform (under Chief Janee Harteau, who was forced to resign after a high-profile police shooting) and the frustrations of several hard-working female cops, including one African-American officer who must battle several types of prejudice in the department and in her community.

Crutch, co-directed by Sachi Cunningham and Vayabobo (Chandler Evans), is the story of performance artist and hip hop dancer/choreographer Bill Shannon, whose disability became the source of his unique art and athleticism. Diagnosed with a degenerative joint disease at a young age, Shannon broke into the 1990s breakdancing scene using his crutches to create distinctive, acrobatic moves. The film periodically shows present-day Shannon teaching movement and more at a camp for kids with his condition (Legg-Calvé-Perthes), serving as a source of inspiration for them and for us.

Calendar Girl, directed by Christian Bruun, is about a well-known and beloved figure to anyone who’s worked in the New York fashion world during the past 70 years. That’s Ruth Finley, indefatigable founder and editor of the Fashion Calendar, an industry bible of fashion week schedules and other listings she began publishing in the 1940s. Dozens of designers and fashion figures discuss Finley’s influence on their careers throughout the decades; we also see the inevitable transfer of the Calendar’s ownership as Ruth approaches her mid-90s. Throughout, she remains amazingly upbeat and energetic.

Other feature highlights include Ashley O’Shay and Morgan Elise Johnson’s Unapologetic, which chronicles the tireless work of two Black female activists in Chicago; Raquel Cepeda’s La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla, about the beloved South Bronx matriarch and former “First Lady” of the Savage Skulls gang; and Imelda O’Reilly’s Tumbling Towards Home, which follows Irish actor Malcolm Adams as he navigates New York City, his career and his life.

Just a few of many short film highlights: Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business; Butts, a whimsical look at (yep) butts, from China; Changing the Narrative: The Vision of Oscar Micheaux; and Pam, about a 73-year-old retired NYC school teacher preparing for her dance recital.

Click here for DOC NYC 2020’s full line-up and ticket info.

—Marina Zogbi