Wed, Nov 10 - Sun, Nov 28  2021

The 2021 DOC NYC film festival will take place from November 10-28, 2021, both with physical and online screenings. The lineup includes five documentaries by Dutch filmmakers, including Sherman de Jesus, Heddy Honigman, Renzo Martens, Bianca Stigter, and Ilja Willems.

Dates and information:

The Photograph by Sherman de Jesus

International Premiere

November 10, 2021 6:45 PM and November 11, 2021 4:30 PM – Cinépolis Chelsea
November 11-28, 2021 – Online screening

Using the only known photo of his grandfather, filmmaker Sherman De Jesus illuminates the legacy of prolific photographer James Van Der Zee. Van Der Zee took historic and elegant portraits of the Black community during the Harlem Renaissance when images of Black joy were still rare. De Jesus’s single photograph unspools several proud generations of Black New York City life and photography.  – Kim Garcia

The 11/10 screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Sherman De Jesus and Producer Cécile van Eijk.

Director: Sherman De Jesus
Executive Producer: Cécile van Eijk, Sherman De Jesus
Producer: Cécile van Eijk, Sherman De Jesus
Cinematographer: Milton Kam
Editor: Caitlin Hulscher, Jelle Redeker
Music: Randal Corsen
Language: English, French
Country: The Netherlands
Year: 2021
Publicist: Memphis Features

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100UP by Heddy Honigman

US Premiere

November 10, 2021 9:15 PM – Cinépolis Chelsea
November 11-28, 2021 – Online screening

A peek into the vibrant lives of an assortment of centenarians from across the globe—an antique seller, a practicing physician, a former comedian, a drummer, a farmer, and a sex therapist. Filmmaker Heddy Honigmann shares the stories, histories, and life philosophies of these delightful, active, sharp-minded elders. In our youth-obsessed culture, this engaging film with a lot of heart serves as a nice reminder that there is indeed life after 99. – Karen McMullen

Director: Heddy Honigmann
Executive Producer: Rogier Kramer
Producer: Rogier Kramer; Co-Producer: Bart van Langendonck, Frode Søbstad
Cinematographer: Adri Schrover
Editor: Jessica de Koning
Music: Michel Bisceglia
Language: English, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian
Country: The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway
Year: 2020

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White Cube by Renzo Martens

US Premiere

November 12, 2021 6:30 PM – SVA Theatre
November 13 – November 28, 2021 online screening

Museums continue to be guardians of the politics of colonization; whether by whitewashing the plunder of artefacts from the global south or from being sponsored by neocolonial corporations that continue to exploit human lives. Continuing in the vein of his earlier film Enjoy Poverty, Renzo Martens tries imagining a utopia where the subaltern not only speaks, but creates art, displays it, and is able to monetize it. Martens’ postcolonial utopia unpacks colonialism and tries reclaiming the privileges and wealth that come with it. – Bedatri Choudhury

The 11/12 screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Renzo Martens.

Director: Renzo Martens
Producer: Pieter van Huystee
Writer: Renzo Martens
Cinematographer: Dareck Tuba
Editor: Boaz van Der Spek
Language: Lingala, French, English, Dutch
Country: The Netherlands, Belgium
Year: 2020
Publicist: Pieter van Huystee Film

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Three Minutes: A Lengthening by Bianca Stigter

NYC Premiere

November 10, 2021 7:00 PM and November 13, 2021 12:00 PM – IFC Center

The three minutes of footage explored in this extraordinary film are the only moving images left of the Jewish inhabitants of Nasielsk before the Holocaust. Director Bianca Stigter inhabits and examines every frame of the home movie Glenn Kurtz found in his parents’ home in Florida, transforming the rare color footage shot in 1938 Poland into a riveting and haunting essay film narrated by actress Helena Bonham Carter that unravels the stories hidden in the celluloid. – Ruth Somalo

The 11/10 screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Bianca Stigter and the 11/13 screening with Director Bianca Stigter and film subject Glenn Kurz .

Director: Bianca Stigter
Producer: Floor Onrust, Co-Producer: Steve McQueen
Writer: Bianca Stigter
Cinematographer: David Kurtz
Editor: Katharina Wartena
Music: Wilko Sterke
Language: English, German, Polish, Yiddish
Country: The Netherlands, UK
Year: 2021
Publicist: Super Ltd
US Distributor: Neon

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Breathe In, Breathe Out by Ilja Willems

US Premiere

November 14, 2021 9:45 PM – IFC Center

While the lockdown was happening in New York City, Bahar Baharloo joined a volunteer bike messenger service to help people in need, first traveling the empty streets and later navigating the protest. – DeWitt Davis

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Ilja Willems and Cinematographer Remco Bikkers.

This screening is being played as part of the Shorts Program:  COVIDEOS

Director: Ilja Willems
Executive Producer: Jos de Putter, Bert Janssens
Producer: Producer: Bureau NY; Co-producer: DeepFocus for HUMAN
Cinematographer: Remco Bikkers
Editor: Ilja Willems
Music: Ruben Dekkers
Language: English
Country: USA
Year: 2020