What to Expect at DOC NYC 2017

The festival features several films and events presented by filmmakers and special guests. It incorporates competition and non-competing sections. In the competition section, there is the Viewfinder category, which covers non-fiction perspectives around the world, Metropolis, for documentaries about New Yorkers or the city itself, and the Shorts Programs, which include a selection of factual shorts categorized thematically. The remaining section is dedicated to feature-length nonfiction works with preference given to the world or for the US premiers. There are special events, international and American perspectives and also some works in progress, only in New York.

DOC NYC has not announced the full lineup for its eighth edition, but you can expect a significant number of feature-length documentaries that expands to showcase overall films and events during the period. As is the norm, notable documentarians will be honored through the Visionary Tribute Awards, which will take place on November 9. This Year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards, given for a distinguished production of documentaries, has the recipients Errol Morris and Sheila Nevins.

Errol Morris has continually succeeded in documentary form innovations with films like Mr. Death, Gates of Heaven, Vernon, The Thin Blue Line, Fast, The Fog of War (Oscar-winning film), Standard Operating Procedure among others. Back in 2010, his film, Tabloid was the Closing Night Film.

Sheila Nevins is HBO’s Documentary Films President and has overseen the channel’s documentary production for three decades. She has supervised many documentary programs for HBO.

Additional two more Honorees in the Visionaries Tribute will be announced in fall for the Leading Light Award. This year’s Visionaries Host Committee is also made up of some notable individuals from various fields and the industry.

DOC NYC has also revealed information on its 8-day PRO conference, which features master classes and documentary panels, including the support for works in progress expected to be completed within a year or in two years’ time. This is contained in a section called Only In New York. The PRO conference will take place at the same time as the festival. The organizations participating include A&E IndieFilms, Discovery, Amazon Studios, Netflix, JustFilms, HBO Documentary Films among others. Over the period the conference will run, DOC NYC PRO has organized particular aspects of the craft of documentary filmmaking. This includes First Time Doc Maker Day, Short List Day, Mastering Your Craft: Editing, Mastering Your Craft: Cinematography, Pitch Perfect Day, Smart Producing Day, Show Me the Money Day and Documentary Law School in that order from the start day.

Full details on the schedule and the lineup of the festival in various categories will be availed in due time.