Guido seeks peace after his success but faces pressure from past collaborators. As he struggles with creativity, he reflects on his life and past romances.
Doc’n Roll NYC FF Presents: A CENTURY IN SOUND is a six part documentary that tells a 100-year history of Tokyo through music and memory, done so through the “unique-to-Japan” cultural phenomenon of music focused establishments known collectively as “ONGAKU KISSA” (lit. “music cafes”). Places where local residents have gathered for decades to give reverence to the music they love. From the “meikyoku kissa” (classical music cafes) that first sprung up in Tokyo in the early years of the Showa era (1920s / 1930s), to the “jazz kissa” that spread across the capital and beyond after Japan was defeated in World War II, to the “rock kissa” of the 1970s right through to the more contemporary iterations of more modern times, these have traditionally been spaces that are built with the sole purpose of serving the community with music. Not just showcasing this incredible culture to an audience outside of Japan for the very first time, the series explores the universal themes of what role music plays in our lives, be it holding the key to some of our most cherished memories, how it brings us together, how it shapes our identity and, for some of us, is our entire reason for living. The series also invites us to question our own relationship with music as listening habits have changed over the past two decades as the world marched towards a digital future where streaming and the AI revolutions have most certainly transformed the role that music plays in modern society. NY Premiere.
Experimental American filmmaker Ken Jacobs appropriated and re-presented a vintage French pornographic film for his 1980 screening and performance work Cherries in order to study cinematic motion frame-by-frame. Part of his “Nervous System” performances, the artist’s skills as a projectionist were highlighted when he invented this specially designed system of two analytic stop-motion projectors, equipped with a spinning exterior shutter, enabling him to compare stills of found footage side by side. While he wanted to be as frank about sexuality as possible, Jacobs was mostly uninterested in the pornographic content of the film, favoring the discussion it prompted about the depth of the formal elements of movement.
Doc’n Roll NYC FF Presents: This fascinating documentary profiles Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton as a blues powerhouse who shook American music to its core. Towering in voice and presence, she made “Hound Dog” a #1 hit before Elvis ever sang it, and her ferocious “Ball & Chain” launched Janis Joplin’s career. Defying gender norms in jeans, boots, and cowboy hat, Big Mama captivated audiences with raw energy, humor, and soul. From Alabama juke joints to European festivals, she lived hard, sang harder, and left an indelible mark on rock, R&B, and the blues. NY Premiere. Filmmaker Q&A following screening.
Frederick Wiseman chronicles everything and everyone that appears in the world's most famed park.
On their first summer back from college, best friends Curtis, Jimmy, and Abe embark on a fantastical 24-hour odyssey of drugs and alcohol on their way to a house party hosted by Curtis’s ex-girlfriend, Jane. When their pursuit of hedonism leads to Jane and Curtis reuniting prematurely, Curtis is unable to handle his emotions and loses touch with his relationships and reality.
A scientist makes a last stand on Earth with the help of a ragtag team of soldiers against an invasion of alien phantoms.
Rfor strong lurid violence and sexual dialogue, some sexual situations, drug content and language
Loosely based on the fable Little Red Riding Hood, this gritty thriller follows a savvy young lady as she leaves her dysfunctional family for peace in the trailer-home of her grandma. Pursued by an evil, child psychologist on her journey for redemption, she must use wit and cunning to survive.
Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse communities in the United States and the world. There are immigrants from every country in South America, Mexico, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and China. Some are citizens, some have green cards, some are without documents. The people who live in Jackson Heights, in their cultural, racial and ethnic diversity, are representative of the new wave of immigrants to America. 167 languages are spoken in Jackson Heights. Some of the issues the film raises-assimilation, integration, immigration and cultural and religious differences-are common to all the major cities of the Western world. The subject of the film is the daily life of the people in this community-their businesses, community centers, religions, and political, cultural and social lives-and the conflict between maintaining ties to traditions of the countries of origin and the need to learn and adapt to American ways and values...
Doc’n Roll NYC FF Presents: Dónal Lunny is one of Ireland’s most outstanding artists, and this is the first film account of his life – a portrait that explores his peerless contribution to Irish culture and music. A founding member of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, he played a central role in reviving and transforming Irish traditional and folk music for new generations. In this moving portrait, music fuses with the arc of Lunny’s biographical journey, and explores how pivotal moments in his creative and personal life intersected with major cultural, political and historical shifts in Ireland and around the world. The film also features rare and powerful performances, including an emotive reunion with Christy Moore. NY Premiere. Q&A following screening.
Doc’n Roll NYC FF Presents: Köln Tracks: The Legend of Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert The Köln Concert is one of the most legendary recordings in jazz history — the best-selling solo jazz album ever made. Yet the performance behind it almost didn’t happen. This documentary retraces Keith Jarrett’s famous 1975 concert in Cologne, where a series of unexpected obstacles — including a problematic piano and an exhausted musician — nearly caused the event to collapse. Through an investigation into the mysterious instrument and the fragmented memories of those involved, the film explores how a concert expected to be disastrous became an iconic recording. Blending storytelling and inquiry, it reveals how chance, limitation and improvisation can spark moments of extraordinary artistic creation. World Premiere.
A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship.
Rfor language and sexuality
Darius Lovehall is a young black poet in Chicago who starts dating Nina Moseley, a beautiful and talented photographer. While trying to figure out if they've got a "love thing" or are just "kicking it," they hang out with their friend, talking about love and sex. Then Nina tests the strength of Darius' feelings and sets a chain of romantic complications into motion.
A portrayal of Ferdinand Magellan and Beatriz Barbosa's 1517 marriage in Seville, focusing on their brief time together before his departure on the Spanish crown's expedition.
A neurotic sex comedy follows Stella, a promiscuous love addict, who moves to New York City after a devastating breakup. A woman who should’ve already come of age, Stella explores the full spectrum of emotionally unavailable men the city has to offer, capturing the millennial female experience in all its cringe, comedy, and quiet longing. Through all the chaos and disappointing romantic dalliances, she ultimately yearns for connection, identity, and meaning. Q&A's with Alexi Wasser following all screenings.
R
A timid man is swept off his feet when an enigmatic, impossibly handsome biker takes him on as his submissive.
REELING, the striking debut feature by Yana Alliata, is a lyrical and emotionally charged exploration of memory, trauma, and belonging set against the idyllic family property on Oahu’s windward side. After a life-altering accident, Ryan returns to his family’s homestead for a birthday luau, attempting to reconnect with old friends and relatives who now feel like strangers. As the pig roasts slowly in the imu pit and the atmosphere turns festive, buried tensions simmer beneath the surface as Ryan uncovers the moment his life took a tragic turn. REELING is produced by the singular Werner Herzog.
An irreverent biopic vividly realized through fantastic psychedelia and handmade sets with an ever-topical feminist approach, Revelations of Divine Love is inspired by and adapted from the memoir of 14th-century mystic and philosopher Julian of Norwich and an account of religious ecstasy, plague, and revolt considered to be the first book to be authored by a woman in English. The film envisions the life of Julian in the lead up to her anchorage—through her illness and the onset of her godly visions—and follows her through the years as she indulges in her desire to write and becomes a revered and holy figure to those in her town and beyond the city walls.
R
A high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
Following the death of her adoptive parents, a successful young black optometrist establishes contact with her biological mother -- a lonely white factory worker living in poverty in East London.
Anna, an artist, and Magnús, a fisherman, live with their three children and charismatic sheepdog in the quiet grandeur of the Icelandic countryside. As the fractures in their marriage come to the surface, the couple try to hold onto the afterimages of a life together and make sense of a deep and lingering devotion. Filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason (Godland) brings surprising humor and emotional weight to this gorgeous, intimate, and brilliantly expansive scenes from a marriage, amidst the majestic backdrop of the changing seasons.
In this fourth chapter of the hit comedy franchise THE NAPA BOYS, Jack Jr. (Nick Corirossi), his reluctant co-captain Miles Jr. (Armen Weitzman), and the rest of the Napa Boys gang are back for one more wine-sloshed journey into the unknown. With a mission set forth by the mysterious "Sommelier,” they are joined this time by Puck, a bright young podcaster and the Napa Boys’ biggest fan, as the group embarks on the adventure of a lifetime.
Kyle enters a contest to go to Mars only half seriously, since he’s getting married in a few days. He actually wins, then decides to ditch his wedding to escape to the red planet. This would all be great for him except the luxury accommodations are a facade, his shipmates are insane, and the crew gets stranded on Mars with no way home.
Doc’n Roll NYC FF Presents: Award-winning visual artist Tony Foster has spent nine of the past thirty-five years living in a tadpole tent, using his art as a platform to advocate for the conservation of wild land and raise awareness of climate change. Part explorer, part artist, he routinely risks his life to find the perfect undiscovered landscape. He does not use photography or sketches but paints on site, often in the most difficult weather and uncomfortable circumstances. On one occasion, Foster spent twenty-three days in the Grand Canyon at a single location. His paintings are not simply landscapes: by their inclusion of written notes and symbolic objects, they record his observations and experiences creating a visual diary of his experiences. In 2001, the Royal Geographical Society awarded Foster the Cherry Kearton Medal for artistic portrayal of the world’s wilderness areas. From 2019 to 2023, David Schendel and his film crew shadowed him, culminating in an eight-day, 100-mile canoe exploration of the Green River Wilderness to its confluence with the Colorado River in Utah. Responding to the necessities of shooting far from electrical outlets, Painting at the Edge is one of the only fully solar powered documentary productions ever completed. Together, Foster and Schendel have created an impressively adventurous and intimate filmic portrait. NY Premiere. Filmmaker Q&A following screening.
With little time and even littler budget, a directing duo attempt to finish their indie movie - but at what cost? Two is a meta-fictitious film that was principally shot in two days, a dark comic satire of gender and power dynamics in the film industry created with an ensemble cast of some of the greatest up and coming comedic talent.
Rfor sexual content, some violent content and language.
A passionate and tumultuous love story set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, exploring the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw.