America’s largest documentary festival is back for round eight. Scrappier than New York City’s other behemoths—Tribeca and the New York Film Festival—DOC NYC has a heady charm. An event that does not quit, a glance through the program guide can be quite dizzying. There are just so many rabbit holes to venture down. This year, the slate includes 111 feature-length documentaries and 85 shorts presented over eight days. It’s a lot to wrap your head around, so we’re here to offer up some suggestions of screenings to attend at this year’s slugfest.

First, we’d like to draw your attention to the festival’s Short List section. Here is where you’ll find 15 documentaries that the festival programmers deem the best of the year. Many of these films were in theaters earlier, and return now, accompanied by Q&As with the filmmakers. It’s an excellent way to catch up on things you might have missed. Included are screenings of Agnes Varda and JR’s Faces Places, Ceyda Torun’s Kedi, Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Coral, Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles’ Dina, and Errol Morris’ The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography. You really can’t go wrong with anything in this section, plus the tickets for these screenings are reduced to $12.

Moving on to the rest of the fest, the programmers have grouped the films into sections by subject matter. Music lovers can check out Sonic Cinema. The art inclined can bee-line to Art & Design. Then, there’s Science Fiction, True Crime, Behind the Scenes, and so forth. New for this year you’ll find New World Order, a section that features films reflecting today’s most urgent issues, and Centerstage, which focuses on the performing arts.

Now, to make things even easier on you, we’ve gone over the lineup with a fine-toothed comb and come up with screenings we recommend catching at the festival. Some of these films come from notable directors such as Errol Morris, Barbara Kopple or Rebecca Cammisa, while others explore fascinating or timely topics. We’ve also pulled out the ones we think will have the most stimulating post-screening Q&As.

Wormwood
Dir: Errol Morris

Errol Morris not only has two films screening at this year’s non-fiction party, The B-Side and Wormwood, but he’s also being honored with a DOC NYC Lifetime Achievement Award. With Wormwood, the filmmaker again experiments with the non-fiction form. Selecting CIA agent Frank Olson as his subject, Morris has crafted a four and a half hour investigation into his suspicious death with actor Peter Sarsgaard used as an Olson stand in. We aren’t a huge fan of re-enactments, but Morris has more than proven that he knows how to handle them. You can see Wormwood in its entirety at DOC NYC followed by a Q&A with Morris, or you can wait until it hits Netflix on December 15.
DOC NYC screening: Friday, November 10, 6pm (Cinepolis Chelsea)

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Far From the Tree
Dir: Rachel Dretzin

Filmmaker Rachel Dretzin has taken great care with her film adaption of Andrew Solomon’s bestselling book Far From the Tree. A moving and extremely thoughtful documentary, Far From the Tree examines how families cope when parents bear offspring that differ greatly from themselves. Honing in on a handful of examples, Dretzin spends time with families that are challenged by autism, dwarfism, Down syndrome and a penchant for violent behavior. Solomon also tells his story about growing up gay and becoming a parent. Further elevated by the use of original music by Yo La Tengo and Nico Muhly, you’ll find it hard to fight back the tears while watching this one.

Dretzin and Solomon, as well as New York’s first openly gay congressman, Sean Patrick Maloney, and film subjects Joe Stramondo and Leah Smith, are expected for the post-screening Q&A. Sundance Selects picked the film up, so if you miss it at DOC NYC, it is slated for a theatrical release in the summer of 2018.
DOC NYC screenings:
Friday, November 10, 6:45pm (SVA Theatre)
Monday, November 13, 9:45pm (IFC Center)

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David Bowie: The Last Five Years
Dir: Francis Whately

For those still reeling from the death of David Bowie, filmmaker Francis Whately has pieced together the iconic musician’s last five years of life. Serving as a follow-up to Whately’s 2013 BBC documentary David Bowie: Five Years, the film tracks a creative period for Bowie that saw the production of albums Blackstar and The Next Day, as well as the stage musical, Lazarus. The narrative is told with the assistance of archival footage and interviews with Bowie’s friends and collaborators. Members of Bowie’s inner musical circle, including Tony Visconti, Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick, will be in attendance to chat about the film. In the US, the film was picked up by HBO, so expect to find it on the cabler soon.
DOC NYC screening: Friday, November 10, 9:15pm

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Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton
Dir: Chris Smith

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton might just be our favorite documentary of 2017. Chris Smith (American Movie, The Yes Men) was given access to a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes footage that was shot during the making of Miloš Forman’s Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon. Originally intended for promotional purposes, the footage was never used for fear that James Carrey, who totally lost himself in the role of Kaufman, would come off as being an asshole. For Jim & Andy, Smith combines the footage with present-day commentary by Carrey. Looking back, 25 years on, Carrey makes some fascinating revelations that resound far beyond this film project. We recommend taking advantage of this opportunity to hear Smith talk about the time he spent with the actor/comedian; Carrey is absolutely magnetic here.
DOC NYC screening: Saturday, November 11, 6:30pm (SVA Theatre)

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Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me
Dir: Sam Pollard

Sam Pollard has two films screening at this year’s DOC NYC. A documentary about Maynard Jackson Jr, Atlanta’s first black mayor, and this film about the incomparable Sammy Davis Jr.. We have no doubt that in the able hands of this superstar editor, both films do justice to their subject, and are informative and engaging. However, we’re particularly drawn to the Davis project because we grew up on the entertainer and remember all the controversy he courted (how about that kiss on All in the Family?). For I’ve Gotta Be Me, Pollard dives headfirst into the showman’s complexities, peppering the portrait with stunning footage of Davis dancing, singing and delivering his signature impressions.

As for Maynard, the screening should be quite an event as Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Vernon Jordan and Stevie Wonder are expected to be in attendance.
DOC NYC screenings:
Sunday, November 12, 1:30pm (SVA Theatre)
Tuesday, November 14, 12:15pm (IFC Center)

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Playing God
Dir. Karin Jurschick

Attorney Ken Feinberg might not be a household name, but he has wielded a lot of power. Brought in by the government on a number of occasions, Feinberg is an expert in victim compensation following a national disaster. This means he assigns a dollar amount to human lives. Specifically, he was in charge of a special fund set up after 9/11, and also oversaw the distribution of money to victims of Deepwater Horizon, Sandy Hook, the Boston Marathon bombing, and the 2007 bank crisis. Karin Jurschick’s documentary provides a portrait of this controversial figure and includes candid conversations with Feinberg, as well as interviews with families of victims. This screening event gets our stamp of approval because Feinberg is expected to be around for the Q&A. You can watch the trailer here.
DOC NYC screening: Sunday, November 12, 5:15pm (Cinepolis Chelsea)

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A Murder in Mansfield
Dir: Barbara Kopple

Barbara Kopple hits another one out of the park with A Murder in Mansfield. Revisiting the 1989 murder of suburban housewife Noreen Boyle, the film follows the victim’s son, Collier Landry, as he returns to the scene of the crime in Mansfield, Ohio to make sense of what happened many years prior. Just a tween at the time of her death, Collier took the stand at the trial and testified that his father, John Boyle, had committed the murder. Kopple films Collier visiting the landmarks of his childhood, the foster family that raised him, a psychologist, and finally his imprisoned father, who he hopes to get some closure with. Collier is candid and open, while his father is beguiling. Kopple, Collier and others will be present for the film’s world premiere.
DOC NYC screening: Sunday, November 12, 7:45pm (Cinepolis Chelsea)

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Love, Cecil
Dir: Lisa Immordino Vreeland

Winner of the documentary audience award at the Hamptons International Film Festival, Love, Cecil profiles Cecil Beaton, the multi-talented photographer, writer and painter behind the sets and costumes for My Fair Lady and Gigi. The talented Lisa Immordino Vreeland, whose other projects include Diana Vreeland and Peggy Guggenheim, is at the helm and will be at DOC NYC for a Q&A.
DOC NYC screening: Sunday, November 12, 6:15pm (SVA Theatre)

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Hello Hello Hello: Lee Ranaldo: Electric Trim
Dir: Fred Riedel

Sonic Youth’s unsung hero Lee Ranaldo is the subject of Fred Riedel’s new documentary Hello Hello Hello: Lee Ranaldo: Electric Trim. The filmmaker heads into the studio with Ranaldo as he begins work on Electric Trim, his follow-up to his 2013 LP Last Night on Earth. For the album, Ranaldo has enlisted the help of Spanish producer Raül Refree and novelist Jonathan Lethem, who also feature prominently in the documentary. Other musicians who come along for the ride include Wilco’s Nels Cline, Sharon Van Etten, Alan Licht, Kid Millions and Ranaldo’s former Sonic Youth bandmate Steve Shelley. Ranaldo as well as a few of his co-conspirators are expected to be in attendance for the film’s New York City premiere at DOC NYC.
DOC NYC screening: Sunday, November 12, 9pm (SVA Theatre)

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Recruiting for Jihad
Dirs: Adil Khan Farooq, Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen

When a documentary is about an unfolding subject, the filmmaker just has to hop aboard and see where the journey leads. With Recruiting for Jihad, the filmmakers, who set out to make a film about a Norwegian missionary who recruits for Islam, find themselves embroiled in a legal battle as a result of their efforts. They decide to zoom out and incorporate their woes into the narrative, thus adding another level to a project already steeped in a moral quandary. A riveting watch, the filmmakers are given unprecedented access to the recruiter’s activities at a time when ISIS is gaining momentum. And, given how things go down, it will be interesting to hear what filmmaker Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen has to say during the post-screening discussion.
DOC NYC screening: Monday, November 13, 5:15pm (IFC Center)

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Ask the Sexpert
Dir: Vaishali Sinha

Vaishali Sinha comes to DOC NYC with a light-hearted film about Indian sexual health and education pioneer Dr. Mahinder Watsa. Known in his native land as a foremost “sexpert”, the 93-year old Watsa has a daily newspaper column in the Mumbai Mirror where he dispenses practical and often humorous advice in response to questions about sex. Dr. Watsa will unfortunately not be in attendance for the film’s New York City premiere, but Sinha will do her best to answer your burning inquiries.
DOC NYC screenings:
Monday, November 13, 7pm (IFC Center)
Wednesday, November 15, 3pm (IFC Center)

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32 Pills: My Sister’s Suicide
Dir: Hope Litoff

Filmmaker Hope Litoff seeks to make sense of her sister’s suicide in this deeply personal documentary. Having its world premiere at Hot Docs earlier this year, it will be landing on HBO sometime in the near future.
DOC NYC screenings:
Tuesday, November 14, 5:15pm (Cinepolis Chelsea)
Wednesday, November 15, 12:45pm (IFC Center)

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The Problem with Apu
Dir: Michael Melamedoff

In this made for Tru TV documentary, Brooklyn-based comedian and writer Hari Kondabolu takes aim at his lifelong nemesis, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the stereotypical Indian character on The Simpsons. Kondabolu, who finds the character to be deeply offensive to South Asians, sets out to get other people’s opinions on Apu, and to meet Hank Azaria, the white man who voices the character. A comedic and cathartic journey, Michael Melamedoff’s film raises questions around stereotypes in the media, and ends on a positive note, highlighting the progress that has been made on this issue in recent years. Hari Kondabolu and special guests are expected to be in attendance for the film’s world premiere at the festival. If you miss it here, it will air on Tru TV on November 19.
DOC NYC screening: Tuesday, November 14, 7:30pm (IFC Center)

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A Better Man
Dirs: Attiya Khan, Lawrence Jackman

It’s been over twenty years and Attiya, who is married and has a child, is still celebrating the anniversary of the day she broke free from her abusive ex-boyfriend Steve. The pair dated and lived together for two years when they were teenagers. Now, in hopes of helping with her healing process, Attiya asks Steve to meet with her to revisit their relationship. The ensuing documentary, A Better Man, finds them talking through their experiences, mostly with a therapist present. Attiya is incredibly brave to put her story out there and seems to benefit from re-engaging her abuser. Attiya, along with the therapist featured in the film, will be present for a Q&A following the screening.
DOC NYC Screening: Wednesday, November 15, 5:15pm (Cinepolis Chelsea)

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Atomic Homefront
Dir: Rebecca Cammisa

Award-winning filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa has referred to her latest project, Atomic Homefront, as “the feel-bad movie of the year.” Seeking to draw attention to an urgent and noxious issue, the film focuses on two communities in St. Louis that have been impacted by the illegal dumping of nuclear waste. Families have seen an increase in illnesses as the chemicals from the landfill have spread to nearby creeks, parks and gardens. Cammisa follows a group of moms who band together to confront state and federal agencies around the issue. Following DOC NYC, the film will have a theatrical run in New York starting November 17 and will then air on HBO in early 2018.
DOC NYC screening: Wednesday, November 15, 9:15pm (IFC Center)

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the DOC NYC website.