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DOC NYC Announces 15th Anniversary Lineup Including 31 World Premieres From ‘Drop Dead City’ To ‘After The Rain,’ ‘All God’s Children’ & More

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DOC NYC Announces 15th Anniversary Lineup Including 31 World Premieres From ‘Drop Dead City’ To ‘After The Rain,’ ‘All God’s Children’ & More

EXCLUSIVE: DOC NYC today unveiled its main slate for the 15th anniversary of America’s biggest documentary festival, a lineup that includes 31 world premieres and 24 U.S. premieres.

The festival, running from November 13-21 in Manhattan (and continuing online until Dec. 1) will open with the U.S. premiere of Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story, directed by Sinead O’Shea, a portrait of the acclaimed Irish writer who died in July at the age of 93. Closing the festival on Nov. 21 will be the world premiere of Drop Dead City – New York on the Brink in 1975, directed by Peter Yost and Michael Rohatyn, “a look back at the circumstances and players involved in NYC’s mid-70s financial crisis.” (The film’s title refers to a legendary headline in the New York Daily News reporting on then-Pres. Ford’s promise in October 1975 to veto any federal bailout of the Big Apple).

DOC NYC’s Centerpiece screening on Nov. 14 will be the world premiere of Ondi Timoner’s All God’s Children, documenting the work of activist Rabbi Rachel Timoner (the director’s sister) and Baptist minister Robert Waterman to bring their Brooklyn congregations together in “an unprecedented attempt to heal centuries of racism and antisemitism.” All God’s Children is also part of the festival’s U.S. competition.

The 15th DOC NYC will screen more than 110 feature-length documentaries, dozens of short films and special events programming, “with filmmakers expected in person at most screenings.” The festival venues include IFC Center, SVA Theatre, and Village East by Angelika. Scroll for the full lineup announced today.

“Among films making their World premieres are stories of survivors from some of the most heavily war-scarred regions of our world,” the festival notes in a release. “Miriam Guttmann’s Front Row, executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker, features a group of Ukrainian ballet dancers in exile who embrace a front-line soldier into a new ballet. Joel ‘Kachi Benson’s Mothers of Chibok presents us with a community of women in Nigeria who struggle to persevere while grieving for daughters kidnapped by Boko Haram. In Yalla Parkour, filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter explores memories of her childhood in Gaza through a video connection with a young man practicing parkour in Nablus.”

Director Sarah McCarthy’s After the Rain: Putin’s Stolen Children Come Home, holding its world premiere at DOC NYC, focuses on some of the estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children who have been abducted and forcibly deported to Russia since Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Only a few hundred of the children have been repatriated, including 15-year-old Veronika Vlasova, the protagonist of the documentary. (McCarthy has launched a Kickstarter campaign in hopes of bringing Ukrainian families impacted by the abductions to upcoming screenings in Washington DC, London, and the Hague in the Netherlands).

Journalist Ronan Farrow in ‘Surveilled’

Courtesy DOC NYC

Among additional world premieres are Surveilled, which follows Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow “as he uncovers the various ways our lives are surveilled by the State”; Isla Familia, directed by Abraham Jimenez Enoa and Claudia Calviño, takes an intimate look at family under emotional siege by the repressive Cuban government; Spacewoman, directed by Hannah Berryman, examines “what it took for NASA astronaut Eileen Collins to become the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle.”

'Out of Plain Sight'

‘Out of Plain Sight’

L.A. Times Studios/Sypher Studios

Out of Plain Sight, a world premiere feature directed by L.A. Times reporter Rosanna Xia and filmmaker Daniel Straub, qualifies as “The Los Angeles Times’ most ambitious documentary film yet,” according to a release from the publication. The Times describes the film as “a cinematic expansion of a series of haunting reports by environmental journalist Rosanna Xia, who broke the story that as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been quietly dumped into the ocean decades ago, just off the coast of Los Angeles.”

'Thom Browne: The Man Who Tailors Dreams'

‘Thom Browne: The Man Who Tailors Dreams’

Courtesy DOC NYC

Fashion designer Thom Browne is expected to attend the world premiere of Thom Browne: The Man Who Tailors Dreams, a feature documentary directed by Reiner Holzemer that examines a creative force “known for his reconceptualization of the classic men’s suit and dramatic runway presentations.”

Dawn Porter will present two episodes of her upcoming series The Sing Sing Chronicles, “a jaw-dropping look at an epidemic of wrongful imprisonment cases.” Justin Schien, co-directing with Robert Edwards, returns to DOC NYC with Death & Taxes, about economic inequality issues. Wendy Lobel’s Anxiety Club looks at anxiety through the lens of contemporary stand-up comedians, and Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin’s Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse profiles the legendary Queens-born artist. Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet examine the U.S. parole system in Nature of the Crime. DOC NYC will also premiere an episode of Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest, the forthcoming second sequel to Henry Hampton’s legendary series.

Jaie Laplante, the festival’s artistic director, said in a statement, “DOC NYC is honored to connect superb documentary art and artists with an appreciative public in New York City and across the U.S. in our virtual theater. The filmmakers of this year’s official selection have gifted us with engaging, vigorous work that provides us with new ways of looking at our world.”

Several young creatives who made DOC NYC’s seventh annual “40 Under 40 cohort” are bringing work to this year’s festival, including John “Hunter” Nolan, making his feature directorial debut with the world premiere of Unearth; Sarah Garrahan, an editor on Slumlord Millionaire (world premiere); editor Rosie Walunas (The Sing Sing Chronicles), and director/producers Jalena Keane-Lee (Standing Above the Clouds) and Katie Mathews (Roleplay). 40 Under 40 alumni with new works in the 2024 festival include director Elizabeth Lo and producer Emma D. Miller with Mistress Dispeller and director/producer Bess Kargman (Diane Warren: Relentless).

Below is a breakdown of programming by section (for screening details visit www.docnyc.net):

SPECIAL EVENTS

Opening Night

BLUE ROAD – THE EDNA O’BRIEN STORY (US Premiere)

Director: Sinead O’Shea

Producers: Claire McCabe, Katie Holly, Barbara Broccoli

Feminist writer Edna O’Brien’s diaries are brought to life, revealing her extraordinary writing and experiences in Ireland, London, and New York, and gifting us with her final testimony.

Closing Night

DROP DEAD CITY – NEW YORK ON THE BRINK IN 1975 (World Premiere)

Directors/Producers: Peter Yost, Michael Rohatyn

Set in 1970s NYC, this gripping documentary reveals the city’s fall from working-class haven to fiscal disaster, featuring firsthand accounts and vivid archival footage of a city on the brink.

Centerpiece Screening

ALL GOD’S CHILDREN (World Premiere)

Director: Ondi Timoner

Producers: Ondi Timoner, David Turner, Anthony Ervolino

In Brooklyn, a rabbi and a Baptist pastor seek common ground – and mutual understanding – while working to combat conflicts they see escalating in their communities. (Also part of the U.S. Competition.)

Special Presentations

2073 (NYC Premiere)
Director: Asif Kapadia
Producers: George Chignell, Asif Kapadia
In this hybrid film, fictional footage from 50 years in the future is juxtaposed with documentary images from our present moment, following a cause-and-effect style of logic to some worrisome conclusions.

ARCHITECTON (NYC Premiere)

Director: Victor Kossakovsky

Producers: Heino Deckert
A visually stunning documentary about humanity’s relationship with architecture and the environment.

THE RIDE AHEAD (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Samuel Habib, Dan Habib

Producers: Dan Habib, Erica Lupinacci

A young man navigates life with a neurodevelopmental disorder, seeking independence, love, and purpose; challenging societal norms, he inspires change along the way.

THOM BROWNE: THE MAN WHO TAILORS DREAMS (World Premiere)

Director: Reiner Holzemer

Producers: Reiner Holzemer, Max Brun, Guccio Tolomei

The definitive story of American superstar designer Thom Browne, known for his reconceptualization of the classic men’s suit and dramatic runway presentations.

U.S. COMPETITION

ALL GOD’S CHILDREN (World Premiere)

Director: Ondi Timoner

Producers: Ondi Timoner, David Turner, Anthony Ervolino

The Festival’s Centerpiece selection is also part of the U.S. Competition.

BLACK SNOW (North American Premiere)

Director: Alina Simone

Producer: Kirstine Barfod

A Siberian citizen journalist untangles an ugly web of corruption, only to uncover a scandal that can cost her life and endanger her family.

DEATH & TAXES (World Premiere)

Directors: Justin Shein, Robert Edwards

Producers: Yael Melamede, Justin Shein, Robert Edwards

The filmmaker explores his wealthy father’s obsessive opposition to paying  taxes, using him as a case study of the costly implications of America’s tax benefits for the rich.

LIGHT DARKNESS LIGHT (North American Premiere)

Director: Landon Van Soest

Producers: Jo Budzilowicz, Stacey Kleiger, Paul Trillo, Tom Yellin, Landon Van Soest

A blind priest undergoes an experimental procedure to receive a bionic eye implant that challenges both his faith and his very understanding of sight.

MY SWEET LAND (North American Premiere)

Director: Sareen Hairabedian

Producers: Azza Hourani, Sareen Hairabedian

An Armenian preteen and his family struggle to stay in their homeland when Azerbaijan launches a military attack.

THE PEOPLE’S WAY (World Premiere)

Directors: Ashley Tyner, William Tyner

Producers: Michael Tyner

After the Black Lives Matter movement sees an international tipping point during the summer of 2020, three young Minneapolis community leaders intersect in their local activism to preserve the legacy of George Floyd, fight systemic injustice, and strive for meaningful change.

STONE MOUNTAIN (US Premiere)

Director: Daniel Kaufman

Producers: Krista Worby, Daniel Newell Kaufman

In Stone Mountain, GA, competing factions struggle over the future of a Confederate monument that looms over the community, carved into the side of the mountain that gives the city its name.

VICE IS BROKE (US Premiere)

Director: Eddie Huang

Producers: Ray Mansfield, Sean McKittrick, Eddie Huang, Maya Rodrigo

With a free-wheeling approach, former Viceland lifestyle host Eddie Huang embarks on a critical look at the rise and fall of the Vice media empire, which was at one time valued at over $4 billion before falling into bankruptcy in 2023.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

AFTER THE RAIN: PUTIN’S STOLEN CHILDREN COME HOME (World Premiere)

Director: Sarah McCarthy

Producers: George Chignell, Olha Beskhmelnytsina, Sarah McCarthy, Sasha Odynova

With the help of dogs and horses at an animal therapy retreat, Ukrainian children who had been abducted by the Russian army and rescued by family members get a chance to heal.

BALOMANIA (US Premiere)

Director: Sissel Morell Dargis

Producers: Jesper Jack, Marie Schmidt Olesen, Sissel Morell Dargis

A jaw-dropping celebration of Brazilian baloeiros – secret groups who craft and launch elaborate hot-air balloons  – and a forbidden subculture heretofore unknown to the wider world.

THE BASEMENT (North American Premiere)

Director: Roman Blazhan

Producer: Christilla Huillard-Kann

The survivors of one Ukrainian village tortured for a month during the war fluctuate between getting on with things and remembering, in a testimony to strength and solidarity.

FARMING THE REVOLUTION (US Premiere)

Directors: Nishtha Jain, Akash Basumatari

Producers: Nishtha Jain, Valérie Montmartin

What happens when the hands that feed us raise their fists into the air? The story of a grassroots resistance mounted against the Indian government to protest exploitative farm laws.

FOREST (North American Premiere)

Director: Lidia Duda

Producers: Patryk Sielecki, Michał Ostatkiewicz, Aleksandra Ostatkiewicz

Europe’s growing humanitarian crisis invades the fairytale-like world of a family living off-grid, shattering their peaceful existence as they struggle with fallout from Poland’s controversial border laws.

SOUL OF THE DESERT (North American Premiere)

Director: Mónica Taboada-Tapia

Producers: Beto Rosero, Mónica Taboada-Tapia

A poetic, character-driven road movie about the indomitable Georgina, an indigenous Wayúu transgender woman in her early seventies.

SUDAN, REMEMBER US (US Premiere)

Director: Hind Meddeb

Producers: Abel Nahmias, Michel Zana, Taoufik Guiga

An empathetic, hopeful love letter to the Sudanese revolution of 2019 through the eyes of four young activists armed only with words, ideas, poetry, and art.

YALLA PARKOUR (World Premiere)

Director: Areeb Zuaiter

Producer: Basel Mawlawi

A Palestinian filmmaker recreates her connection to Gaza with the help of a young man who practices parkour, showing her many sides of a land they both call home.

METROPOLIS COMPETITION

NEW YORK STORIES

ANXIETY CLUB (World Premiere)

Director: Wendy Lobel

Producers: Jonathan Gray, Wendy Lobel, Carolin Ehrenburg, Scott Sinkler

A hilarious look at anxiety through a group of contemporary comedians who channel their own experiences into their acts, and beyond.

ART SPIEGELMAN: DISASTER IS MY MUSE (World Premiere)

Directors: Molly Bernstein, Philip Dolin

Producers: Alicia Sams, Sam Jinishian

This portrait explores Art Spiegelman’s life and work, including the influence of his Holocaust-survivor parents on the creation of MAUS, his groundbreaking graphic novel.

CONBODY VS EVERYBODY (EP 1 & 2) (NYC Premiere)

Director: Debra Granik

Producers: Anne Rosellini, Joslyn Barnes

A portrait of the school-of-hard-knocks education and teeming life and energy of New York City’s Lower East Side through the remarkable story of Coss Marte.

LEFT BEHIND (NYC Premiere)

Director: Anna Wild Toomey

Producers: Chris Farrell, Sian Edwards Beal, David Beal, Mari Keiko Gonzalez, Chelsi Bullard

A group of NYC parents, driven by the struggles of their children in the public school system, band together to de-stigmatize dyslexia and champion proper education for all.

MAN FROM PRETENTIA (World Premiere)

Director: Chih Hsuan Liang

Producers: Penny Arcade, Steve Zehentner, Chris Bongirne, Chih Hsuan Liang, Joe Duva

A warm portrait of Paul Bridgewater, a charming NYC art dealer whose passion and eye for discovering talent made him a beloved figure in the art world.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY (NYC Premiere)

Director: Rachel Elizabeth Seed

Producers: Rachel Elizabeth Seed, Sigrid Dyekjær, Beth Levison, Matt Perniciaro, Michael Sherman, Danielle Varga

An intimate, genre-bending portrayal of a daughter’s attempt to piece together a portrait of her late mother, an avant-garde journalist and a woman she never knew.

SLUMLORD MILLIONAIRE (World Premiere)

Directors: Steph Ching, Ellen Martinez

Producers: Ellen Martinez, Steph Ching, Nicole Tsien

This David-vs.-Goliath documentary chronicles housing injustice in NYC, following renters battling powerful developers and unscrupulous landlords as they resist relentless gentrification across the boroughs.

TWO STRANGERS TRYING NOT TO KILL EACH OTHER (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Manon Ouimet, Jacob Perlmutter

Producers: Manon Ouimet, Jacob Perlmutter & Signe Byrge Sørensen

Late in life, two artists meet and fall in love – and must navigate the shadow of mortality as they attempt to share a life of love and inner peace while there is still time.

KALEIDOSCOPE COMPETITION

NEW DOCUMENTARY VISIONS

AFTERWAR (North American Premiere)

Director: Birgitte Staermose

Producers: Lise Lense-Møller, Visar Arifaj, Fredrik Lange, Mark Lwoff, Misha Jaari

Filmed over 15 years, this coming of age story reflects on the long-term repercussions of war by following the daily struggles of a group of children who grew up in war-torn Kosovo.

THE FALLING SKY (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha

Producers: Donatella Palermo,Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha

An immersive, poetic, and captivating film that invites us to participate in the sacred harvest ritual of Reahu, of the Yanomami indigenous people in the Brazilian rainforest.

G – 21 SCENES FROM GOTTSUNDA (North American Premiere)

Director: Loran Batti

Producers: Göran Hugo Olsson, Melissa Lindgren

Shot over five years in an underprivileged suburb in Sweden, this insider look at the day-to-day gang activities of the director’s best friends sheds light on the circumstances that breed crime.

UNDER A BLUE SUN (North American Premiere)

Director: Daniel Mann

Producer: Itai Tamir

Intrigued that 1980s war movie Rambo III was filmed in the Negev Desert, filmmaker Daniel Mann weaves a critical exploration of propaganda, war, and colonialism.

WELCOME INTERPLANETARY AND SIDEREAL SPACE CONQUERORS (NYC Premiere)

Director: Andrés Jurado

Producer: Maria Rojas Arias

A counter history of Colombia’s role in the space race, constructed through careful editing and manipulation of fascinating archival materials, criticizing colonization and extractivism.

AMERICAN STORIES

STATES OF BEING IN THE UNION

FACING THE WIND (World Premiere)

Director: Deirdre Fishel

Producer: Tony Heriza

In this intimate and moving portrait about the stark realities of caregiving, Linda and Carla care for their beloved spouses, living with Lewy body dementia.

GALLAGHER (World Premiere)

Director: Josh Forbes

Producers: Jeremy Coon, Daniel Kellison, Barry Poltermann

Leo Gallagher, the prop-wielding funny man known for smashing watermelons, fights for his absurdist place in the annals of stand-up comedy.

HOMEGROWN (NYC Premiere)

Director: Michael Premo

Producers: Rachel Falcone, Michael Premo

An undercover filmmaker embeds with Trump supporters, offering a sobering, fly-on-the-wall exposé of multicultural far-right extremism in action.

NATURE OF THE CRIME (World Premiere)

Directors: Ricki Stern, Jesse Sweet

Producers: Ricki Stern, Jesse Sweet, Seth Keal

Three incarcerated men navigate the complex bureaucracy and psychological burden of the parole process, attempting to reconcile their deep remorse with their hopes for release.

ROLEPLAY (NYC Premiere)

Director: Katie Mathews

Producers: Darcy McKinnon, Jenny Mercein

A timely and lyrical film that follows college students as they grapple with questions of sex, consent, identity, and power while creating a play about their real-life experiences.

SECRET MALL APARTMENT (NYC Premiere)

Director/Producer: Jeremy Workman

In 2003, eight young Rhode Island artists created a secret apartment in a hidden space inside a mall as an act of defiance against gentrification and an expression of bold, ingenious creativity.

WHAT’S NEXT? (NYC Premiere)

Director: Taylor Taglianeti

Producers: Austin Tucker, Stephanie Troise Walter,Taylor Taglianeti

Dr. Howard Tucker has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest practicing doctor, but at 100 years of age, the spirited neurologist is beginning to slow down.

THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk, Pedro Kos

Producers: Justine Nagan, Josh Penn, Noah Stahl

Over the course of three presidential administrations, political and business machinations gradually derail non-partisan efforts to address climate change.

COME AS YOU ARE

STRIVING TO FIND YOUR PLACE

BETWEEN GOODBYES (NYC Premiere)

Director: Jota Mun

Producers: Zoe Sua Cho, Barb Lee

A Korean-born woman raised in the Netherlands struggles to reconnect with her birth family in a unique adoption story of acceptance, forgiveness, and the different meanings of home.

THE FABULOUS GOLD HARVESTING MACHINE (US Premiere)

Director: Alfredo Pourailly De La Plaza

Producers: Francisco Hervé, Annemiek van der Hell, Alfredo Pourailly De La Plaza

Toto has been toiling in the gold mines of Tierra De Fuego for decades, when his son works to build an ingenious invention to free his father from his labors.

FRONT ROW (World Premiere)

Director: Miriam Guttmann

Executive Producers: Sarah Jessica Parker, Alison Benson, Bart Meuter, Jay Ruderman

Producers: Lea Fels, Isidoor Roebers

In the shadow of war, a troupe of Ukrainian ballet dancers take comfort in art and embrace a wounded soldier learning to dance with prosthetics.

GAUCHO GAUCHO (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw

Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, Cameron O’Reilly, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Matthew Perniciaro

An intimate portrait of a small community of iconic gauchos, cowboys and cowgirls who share a sacred bond with their horses and proudly preserve their traditions despite changing modern customs.

MISTRESS DISPELLER (NYC Premiere)

Director: Elizabeth Lo

Producers: Emma D. Miller, Elizabeth Lo, Maggie Li
Desperate to save her marriage, a woman in China hires a professional to go undercover and break up her husband’s affair.

A MOTHER APART (NYC Premiere)

Director: Laurie Townshend

Producers: Alison Duke, Ngardy Conteh George, Justine Pimlott

Poet Stacyann Chin confronts childhood abandonment while she navigates motherhood, embarking on a journey of healing, self-discovery, and familial connection in this authentic and moving exploration of forgiveness and family.

MOTHERS OF CHIBOK (World Premiere)

Director: Joel ‘Kachi Benson

Producers: Jamie Patricof, Katie McNeill, Rachel Halilej

A gripping, emotionally stirring chronicle of a group of Nigerian mothers grappling with the aftermath of the kidnapping of their daughters by Boko Haram.

TURTLE WALKER (World Premiere)

Director: Taira Malaney

Producers: Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Vikram Malaney, Angad Dev Singh, Taira Malaney

The story of a man who spent decades walking most of India’s coastline exploring the wondrous and fragile world of sea turtles.

FIGHT THE POWER

STORIES OF ACTIVISM

BAD REPUTATION (North American Premiere)

Directors: Marta García, Sol Infante

Producer: Micaela Solé

Karina leads fellow sex workers in a campaign to establish their rights and prevent future workers from enduring the horrors of child sexual exploitation, trafficking, abuse, stigmatization and spousal murder.

THE BATTLE FOR LAIKIPIA (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Daphne Matziaraki, Pete Murimi

Producers: Toni Kamau, Daphne Matziaraki

A prescient and urgent documentary on climate change, showing that when resources dwindle, battles arise.

EYES ON THE PRIZE III: WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CANNOT REST (EP. 6 What Comes After Hope? 2008–2015) (World Premiere)

Director: Asako Gladsjo

Producer: Niema Jordan

A history lesson and a propulsive narrative about America’s fight for racial justice, from the election of Barack Obama to Black Lives Matter, and the heroic people who made it happen.

ISLA FAMILIA (World Premiere)

Directors: Abraham Jimenez Enoa, Claudia Calviño

Producer: Claudia Calviño

An independent journalist and a film producer, exhausted by the constant harassment by the Cuban government, decide to brave life in exile.

MY STOLEN PLANET (NYC Premiere)

Director: Farahnaz Sharifi

Producers: Anke Petersen, Lilian Tietjen, Farzad Pak

A heady and provocative mix of a personal narrative and Iran’s history since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS (NYC Premiere)

Director: Jalena Keane-Lee

Producers: Erin Lau, Amber Espinosa-Jones, Jalena Keane-Lee

Hawaiian mothers and daughters come together, not only to protect their land, but to build a communal future where all emerge stronger and fiercer.

THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT (NYC Premiere)

Director: Emily Mkrtichian

Producers: Brock Williams, Mara Adina

The story of the Republic of Artsakh told through four women — Sveta, Siranush, Gayane, and Sose — who try to fight for their motherland even as it is being forcibly taken from them.

GAME FACE CINEMA

THE DRAMA OF SPORT

76 DAYS ADRIFT (NYC Premiere)

Director/Producer: Joe Wein

A harrowing first-person account of Steven Callahan’s disastrous solo trip across the Atlantic Ocean, which left him stranded at sea for nearly 3 months.

MOSES – 13 STEPS (NYC Premiere)

Director: Michael Wech

Producer: Leopold Hoesch

As a college physics major, Olympic track star Edwin Moses calculated the perfect way to dominate the 400 meter hurdles, setting himself on an unprecedented reign of victories.

SOUTHPAW: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF JIM ABBOTT (World Premiere)

Director: Mike Farrell

Producers: John Minton III, Mike Johns, Gus Pfisterer, Mike Farrell

Born without a right hand, pitcher Jim Abbott always stood out, but an unforgettable no-hitter performance at Yankee Stadium etched his name in the history books.

SPACE COWBOY (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Marah Strauch, Bryce Leavitt

Producers: Tyler Measom, Bryce Leavitt, Marah Strauch

After decades of soaring through the stratosphere revolutionizing aerial cinematography, Joe Jennings continues to push boundaries as he attempts to film a car filled with passengers as it tumbles through the sky.

INVESTIGATIONS

EXPOSING THE TRUTH

ETERNAL YOU (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck

Producers: Christian Beetz, Zora Nessl, Lena Raith, Georg Tschurtschenthaler

As AI models become increasingly sophisticated, an application promising to give digital immortality to our dearly departed, raising ethical and moral concerns about our relationship with grief.

EVERYTHING YOU HAVE IS YOURS (US Premiere)

Director: Tatyana Tenenbaum

Producer: Brighid Greene

Choreographer Hana Ahuvia uses folk-inspired contemporary dance to explore the Zionist ideals of her youth, delving into the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship and the universal desire for peace.

OUT OF PLAIN SIGHT (World Premiere)

Directors: Daniel Straub, Rosanna Xia

Producers: Austin Straub, Daniel Straub, Rosanna Xia

A meticulous journalist takes a deep dive into how and why half a million barrels of DDT waste ended up off the Los Angeles coastline.

PLUNDERER (World Premiere)

Director: Hugo Macgregor

Producers: John S. Friedman, Hugo Macgregor, David M.Milch

Bruno Lohse was a Nazi art dealer who stole countless masterpieces from French and Dutch families, but evaded punishment – aided by the unregulated acquiescence of the international art market.

THE SING SING CHRONICLES (World Premiere)

Director: Dawn Porter

Producers: Lauren Capps, Sadie Bass

As a journalist doggedly seeks to exonerate falsely incarcerated individuals at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, he forges a powerful bond with a man serving a life sentence for a crime that he didn’t commit.

SURVEILLED (World Premiere)

Directors: Matthew O’Neill, Perri Peltz

Producers: Ronan Farrow, Beth Morrissey, Matthew O’Neill, Perri Peltz

Ronan Farrow probes the dark underbelly of state-sponsored surveillance and foregrounds a grim reality: privacy is now a luxury no one can afford.  

UNEARTH (World Premiere)

Director: John Hunter Nolan

Co-directors: Auberin Strickland, Dunedin Strickland

Producers: Auberin Strickland, Dunedin Strickland, John Hunter Nolan, Gina Papabeis, Eyal Levy

A team of Indigenous and life-long residents in a pristine area of Alaska fight to prevent a mining company from starting a massive project that will grossly endanger their environment.

PORTRAITS

PROFILES OF SINGULAR INDIVIDUALS

BEYOND THE GAZE: JULE CAMPBELL’S SWIMSUIT ISSUE (NYC Premiere)
Director: Jill Campbell

Producers: Jill Campbell, Rob Lyons, Jonathan Gray

Sometimes controversial, yet always eagerly anticipated, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue was ingeniously imagined by editor Jule Campbell, who expanded the possibilities of a sports publication and reinvigorated the iconic brand.

GOOGOOSH – MADE OF FIRE (US Premiere)

Director/Producer: Niloufar Taghizadeh

The moving story of the Iranian pop icon Googoosh – a superstar voice of resistance and a symbol of hope for Iranians living around the globe.

LOOKING FOR SIMONE (World Premiere)

Directors: Nathalie Masduraud, Valérie Urrea

Producers: Julie Guenon Amarante, Justine Henochsberg

This film chronicles the creation of Simone de Beauvoir’s groundbreaking book The Second Sex, linking her pioneering feminist ideas to the ongoing struggles women face.

A MAN WITH SOLE: THE IMPACT OF KENNETH COLE (NYC Premiere)

Director/Producer: Dori Berinstein

Shoe mogul Kenneth Cole’s journey takes him from fashion iconoclast to one of the preeminent philanthropists and advocates for social causes in New York City.

PETRA KELLY – ACT NOW! (North American Premiere)

Director: Doris Metz

Producer: Monika Mack

Activist Petra Kelly, co-founder of the German Green Party, was one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century in the fight for disarmament, the environment, and human rights.

SHAKING IT UP: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LIZ CARPENTER (NYC Premiere)

Directors/Producers: Abby Ginzberg, Christy Carpenter

A thoroughly delightful remembrance of the trailblazing Texan journalist, White House advisor, activist and feminist Liz Carpenter.

SPACEWOMAN (World Premiere)

Director: Hannah Berryman

Producers: Natasha Dack, Keith Haviland

A film about the extraordinary journey of astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle.

WE ALL BLEED RED (World Premiere)

Director: Josephine Links

Producer: Jamila Wenske

World famous portrait photographer Martin Schoeller forms close relationships with his non-celebrity subjects: minorities and others marginalized by society.

RESILIENCE

STANDING STRONG IN THE FACE OF TRAUMA

ALL THE MOUNTAINS GIVE (North American Premiere)

Director: Arash Rakhsha

Producers: Declan Baldwin, Karl Hartman, Kate Bolger

A striking filmmaking debut depicting the perilous lives of two young Kurdish men who make a living by smuggling goods across the treacherous border between Iraq and Iran.

FLAVORS OF IRAQ (North American Premiere)

Director: Léonard Cohen

Producers: Thomas Zribi, Emmanuel-Alain Raynal

French/Iraqi journalist Feurat Alani depicts his connection to his homeland through his relationship with his exiled immigrant revolutionary father.

IN WAVES AND WAR (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Jon Shenk, Bonni Cohen

Producers: Jessica Anthony, Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk

A group of Navy SEAL war veterans, haunted by trauma and physical pain, turn to an experimental hallucinogenic drug as a last resort in their struggle to rejoin civilian life.

TWICE INTO OBLIVION (NYC Premiere)

Director: Pierre Michel Jean

Producers: Maud Martin, Lysa Heurtier Manzanares
A provocative documentary about a troupe of actors brought together, in an effort to process and heal, to recreate the 1937 genocide of Haitians in the Dominican Republic.

SONIC CINEMA

MOVIES ABOUT MUSIC

ANY OTHER WAY: THE JACKIE SHANE STORY (NYC Premiere)

Directors: Michael Mabbott, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee

Producers: Amanda Burt, Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, Michael Mabbott, Justine Pimlott

In her musical prime, trans soul singer Jackie Shane turned away from the limelight, leaving both her estranged family and her new generation of fans in the present wondering: What happened?

BILLY PRESTON: THAT’S THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT (NYC Premiere)

Director: Paris Barclay

Producers: Stephanie Allain, Jeanne Elfant Festa, Nigel Sinclair, Cheo Hodari Coker

Shares the little-known story of organist and songwriter Billy Preston, from child prodigy to collaborations with music greats, exploring his genius, private demons, and undisputed talent.

BORN TO BE WILD: THE STORY OF STEPPENWOLF (North American Premiere)

Director: Oliver Schwehm

Producers: Markus Hilss, Lisa M. Roth

Featuring interviews with band members and rock icons, this rock doc explores Steppenwolf’s rise from underground psychedelic blues band to hard-rock pioneers, their hits, and the clashes that led to their breakup.

DEVO (NYC Premiere)

Director: Chris Smith

Producers: Danny Gabai, Chris Smith, Anita Greenspan, Chris Holmes

Chronicles the trajectory of this subversive and satirical ՚70s music sensation, best known for their cutting-edge MTV videos, outlandish headwear, and iconic hit “Whip It.”

DIANE WARREN: RELENTLESS (NYC Premiere)

Director: Bess Kargman

Producers: Michele Farinola, Peggy Drexler, Bess Kargman

Explores Diane Warren’s journey from an awkward, bullied kid to a prolific hit songwriter, featuring candid stories from top singers and a deep dive into her eccentric, creative genius.

DISCO’S REVENGE (International Premiere)

Directors: Peter Mishara, Omar Majeed

Producers: Christina Piovesan, Noah Segal, Sam Sutherland, Dave Harris
Chronicles disco’s journey from 1970s underground gay clubs to mainstream fame, exploring its rise, backlash, and reinvention, while celebrating its vibrant legacy of freedom, community, and inclusivity.

HARLEY FLANAGAN: WIRED FOR CHAOS (World Premiere)

Director: Rex Miller

Producers: Elisabeth Haviland James, Laura Lee Flanagan

From a harsh Bronx childhood to punk legend at 13, Harley Flanagan’s story unfolds through gritty NYC footage and interviews with icons like Flea and Ice-T, capturing his journey from chaos to peace.

JANIS IAN: BREAKING SILENCE (World Premiere)

Director: Varda Bar-Kar

Producers: Varda Bar-Kar, Alessandra Pasquino, Brooke Wentz

Janis Ian’s remarkable songbook and complex life story are compelling echoes of a generation of American women who came of age in the 1960s and ՚70s, discovering and voicing their power.

THIS IS A FILM ABOUT THE BLACK KEYS. (NYC Premiere)

Director: Jeff Dupre

Producers: Carter Little, Jeff Dupre, Elizabeth Gregory

Follows The Black Keys’ journey from Ohio garages to global fame, showcasing their unique blues-inspired sound, collaborations, and the pressures of fame that threaten their creative partnership.

YACHT ROCK: A DOCKUMENTARY (World Premiere)

Director: Garret Price

Producers: Adam Gibbs, Garret Price, Madison Cross

Traces yacht rock’s evolution, highlighting artists like Steely Dan, Toto, and Michael McDonald, revealing the genre’s lasting cultural impact and universal appeal.

VOICES OF CANADA

A showcase of the Canadian titles that are represented throughout the festival’s sections.

Co-presented by the Consulate General of Canada in New York.

Feature Films:

ANY OTHER WAY: THE JACKIE SHANE STORY

BORN TO BE WILD: THE STORY OF STEPPENWOLF

DISCO’S REVENGE

A MOTHER APART

Short Films:

Am I the Skinniest Person You’ve Ever Seen?

Bloody Mess

Create; Survive

Delta Dawn

Hairy Legs

A History of Sadness

Losing Your Home

Master’s Tale: The Perfect Jib Bap

Power of the Walk

Tailor Made

Uncle Bardo

We’re All We Got

SHORTS PROGRAMS

There are 94 shorts participating in the juried Shorts Competition, in the following 20 programs:

SHORTS: THE AMERICAN DREAM

Calling out the contradictions – and sometimes hypocrisies – of the American Dream.

Cashing Out (Dir: Matt Nadel/Prods: Luke Hodges, Matt Nadel)

The Devil Is Busy (Dirs: Christalyn Hampton, Geeta Gandbhir/Prods: Christalyn Hampton, Amber Fares)

Hold the Line (Dir: Daniel Lombroso/Prod: Devon Blackwell)

A Letter to the Letter (Dir: Haneul Lee/Prods: Fanyu Sun, Grice Xu)

SHORTS: ARTSCAPES

Glimpses into the artistic processes of brilliant creators across disciplines.

Create; survive (Dir: Alex Anna/Prod: Kélyna N. Lauzier)

Gods of Clay (Dir/Prod: Amit Bhattacharya)

Spina Americana: A Photographer’s Journey (Dir: Jack Highberger/Prod: Adrien Hoppenot)

The Story of Ne Kuko (Dir: Festus Toll/Prods: Janneke Doolaard, Harmen Jalvingh)

Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way (Dir: Hao Zhou/Prod: Tyler Hill)

SHORTS: CARETAKERS

Tenderhearted people taking care of each other.

As Long as We Can (Dir/Prod: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan)

Death By Numbers (Dir: Kim A. Snyder/Prods: Janique L. Robillard, Kim A. Snyder, Maria Cuomo Cole)

A Good Death (Dir: Mia Hagerty/Prods: Shubhra Dubey, Anna O’Donnell)

Women’s Work (Dir: Joseph Duque/Prods: Angela Larson)

SHORTS: A CHILD’S EYE

Witnessing life through the eyes of youth.

Grief Camp (Dir/Prods: Sean Clark, Jace Freeman )

Kismet (Dir/Prod: Everett Ravens)

Summer Camp (Dir/Prod: Dahee Kim)

We’re All We Got (Dir: Alex Takats/Prods: Tévan Wilson, Alex Takats) 

SHORTS: CLIMATE COUNTDOWN

The ticking clock of our climate crisis.

Chasing Time (Dirs: Jeff Orlowski-Yang, Sarah Keo/Prods: Brette Ragland, Larissa Rhodes, Jeff Orlowski-Yang, Stacey Piculell)

The Last Observers (Dir: Maja Karlsson/Prod: Adam Mikkelsen)

Qotzuñi: People of the Lake (Dir/Prods: Gastón Zilberman, Michael Salama)

SHORTS: COLLECTIONS

Dedicated to the art of collecting toys, memorabilia, and works of art.

The Collector (Dirs: Carrie Wachob, Jim Picariello/Prod: Carrie Wachob)

My Back Pages (Dir/Prods: Nick Canfield, Paul Lovelace)

The Puzzle Palace (Dir: Jenny Schweitzer Bell/Prod: Jenny Schweitzer Bell, Brian Bell)

The Reunion (Dir/Prod: Matt Morris)

Stephen & David’s Toy Cupboard (Dir/Prod: Blair Stewart)

SHORTS: FAR FROM HOME

Humans on the move!

A Border Between Us (Dir: Riad Arfin/Prod: Charlotte Hailstone)

The Cleaning Lady (Dir: Ericka de Alexander/Prods: Carlos Ibarra, Andrew McLain)

A Move (Dir: Elahe Esmaili/Prod: Hossein Behboudi Rad)

Pink Moon (Dir: Meray Diner/Prod: Reece Cargan)

Salah Elmur: Fixing Time (Dir: Matteo Lonardi/Prod: Ian Forster)

SHORTS: GATHERED ECHOES

The past reverberates in our present reality in these conceptual documentaries.

Aggregat (Dir: MJ Whelan/Prods: Siobhan Fanning, Gary Lennon)

All This Wasted Space (Dir: Cris Bringas/Prod: Mark Cyril Bautista)

For Those That Lived Here (Dir/Prod: Shawn Antoine II)

Hand Me Down: Xiaohui (Dir/Prod: Diana Mulan Zhu/Prod: Ryan Fitzmartin)

Institution (Dir/Prod: Jonathan Wysocki)

Uncle Bardo (Dir/Prod: Luke Mistruzzi)

SHORTS: GENERATIONS

What binds and separates generations of families.

Are You My Brother? (Dir/Prod: Daniel A. Nelson/Prod: Daniel Lombroso)

CHamoru: A Lost Language (Dir: Brian Muna/Prod: Marissa Muna)

A History of Sadness (Dir/Prod: Layla Tosifi)

If I’m Being Honest (Dir/Prod: B. A. Williams)

We Exist in Memory (Dir: Darian Woehr/Prods: Hailey Sadler, Bruna Kadletz, Argenia Centeno)

SHORTS: HIDDEN HISTORIES

Discovering the illuminating backstories of various touchstones in our culture.

Madwomen in the Attic (Dir/Prod: Tamara García Iglesias/Prods: Katixa de Silva, Pako Ruiz)

Space Coast (Dir: Justin Barber/Prods: Adrienne Hall, Elliot Feld, Josh Rosenfield) TR(ol)L (Dir/Prod: Yourgo Artsitas)

Watching Frank (Dir/Prod: Dorenna Newton)

SHORTS: INSIDE AND OUT

Identifying the borders and institutions that divide us.

Beneath the Same Sky (Dir/Prod: Christine Kane/Prods: Aaron Hosé, Rick Brunson)

Deadlock (Dirs: Lucien Beucher, Mahdi Boucif/Prods: Germain Robin, Myriam El Mounsif)

The Past is Waiting Up Ahead (Dir: Gerardo del Valle/Prod: Veronica Gonzalez)

Promisedland™ (Dir: Frank Eli Martin/Prods: Frank Eli Martin, Tal Elkayam)

Weekend Visits (Dir: Pete Quandt/Prod: Hannah Whisenant)

SHORTS: LET’S EAT  

Dine on these delicious food films.

Hidden Stories: Foraged and Found (Dirs/Prods: Adam Levin, Riley Patterson)

Mama’s Sundry (Dirs: Brody Kuhar, Joshua Cannon/Prod: Zaire Love)

Mango Movie (Dir/Prod: Jayme Kaye Gershen/Prod: Oscar Lobo SVC)

Master’s Tale: The Perfect Jib Bap (Dir/Prod: Shanghoon)

Usugilix Awakun (Dirs: Palmer Morse, Matt Mikkelsen/Prods: Shayla Shaishnikoff, Kanesia McGlashan-Price)

Where the Wind Blows (Dir: Hana Elias/Prods: Asmahan Bkerat, Anakha Arikara)

SHORTS: LOVE FOR THE GAME   

Sports stories with clear eyes and full hearts. 

Delta Dawn (Dir: Asia Youngman/Prod: Mike Johnston)

Don’t Look Down (Dir/Prod: Ilanna Barkusky)

Mr. Cato (Dir: Ryan Ross/Prods: Carly Chaben, Kong Yang)

A Race in the Sun (Dir/Prod: K. Nicole Mills)

Through The Storm (Dirs: Charles Frank, Fritz Bitsoie/Prod: Emma Jackson)

SHORTS: MAKE ME LAUGH

Three humorous shorts that will make you laugh and cry at the same time.

Berthe is dead but it’s ok (Dir/Prod: Sacha Trilles/Prod: Berthe Juillerat)

Humor Me (Dir: Kaitlyn Calta/Prod: Matthew Berger)

What Happened To You (Dir: Alec Goldberg)

SHORTS: NEW YORK, NEW YORK  

Our beloved city through the eyes of many.

The Guy Who Got Cut Wrong (Dir/Prod: Dana Ben-Ari/Prods: Nikola Duravcecic, Joanne Nerenberg, Kate Novack)

Keeper (Dir/Prod: Hannah Rafkin)

Orgy Every Other Day (Dir/Prod: Samuel Döring)

Under The Glass Skylight (Dir/Prod: Joshua Charow/Prod: Clare Stukel)    

SHORTS: OUR BODIES  

A program dedicated to learning and loving our bodies.

Am I the skinniest person you’ve ever seen? (Dir: Eisha Marjara/Prods: Joe Balass, Ariel Nasr)

Big Moves (Dir: Sarah Grant/Prods: Sophie Chater, Jack Gemmell)

Bloody Mess (Dir/Prod: Megan Wennberg)

Fox Chase Boy (Dirs: Gerad Argeros, Kaya Dillon/Prods: Kaya Dillion, Gerad Argero)

Hairy Legs (Dir: Andrea Dorfman/Prods: Liz Cowie, Rohan Fernando)

SHORTS: THE PEOPLE VS.  

Stories about those who fight for a better future for all.

51st STATE (Dir/Prod: Hannah Rosenzweig/Prods: Liat Z. Rubin, Ray Whitehouse)

Jerhy (Dir/Prod: John Ortiz)

Losing your home (Dir: Emmanuel Rioux/Prod: Romane Gagnon)

Projecting Protest (Dir/Prod: Tom Clement)

SHORTS: A PLACE LIKE THIS

Capturing the magic of the places that bring us together.

Bay Ridge Express (Dir/Prod: Neville Elder)

How the Land Remembers Us (Dir: Jared Wahkinney/Prods: Francesca Pine-Rodriguez, Brendan Hall, Gabriella Canal)

Limbo (Dirs: Ben Ivers, Christian May/Prods: Ben Ivers, Rod Jonas)

The People Could Fly (Dir: Imani N. Dennison/Prod: Bryn Silverman)

Saving Superman (Dirs: Adam Oppenheim, Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian/Prods: Adam Oppenheim, Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian, Julie Spiller)

We are on the map (Dir: Santiago Rodríguez Cárdenas/Prod: María Paula Carvajal Agudelo)

SHORTS: PROFILES

Portraits and profiles of unique individuals with filmmaking to match.

Frank (Dir: David Gauvey Herbert/Prods: Lance Oppenheim, Nate Hurtsellers, Abigail Rowe, David Gauvey Herbert)

Georgie (Dir/Prod: Jennie Butler)

Houston’s Whitebeam (Dirs: Alex Darby, Jake Morris/Prod: Alex Darby)

Music for Flying Cars (Dir: Christina Amundsen/Prod: Sylvia Simiao Sun)

Power of the Walk (Dir: Rob Viscardis/Prods: Rob Viscardis, Linda Viscardis)

Tailor Made (Dir: Quan Luong/Prods: Quan Luong, Stephen Ground, Sarah Koehn, Meegwun Fairbrother)

SHORTS: SHE STORIES

Women share their stories from in front of, and behind, the camera.

Bucking on the rez (Dir/Prod: Ziyi Xu)

Is Gay Marriage Next? (Dir/Prod: Emily Clark)

M/OTHER (Dir/Prod: Iris Zaki)

Plunge (Dir: Ellie Land/Prods: Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Daria Nitsche) 

We Did Not Consent (Dir: Dorothy Allen-Pickard/Prod: Rosa Harris Edmonds)

DOC NYC U COMPETITION

DOC NYC U features 12 short documentaries from students across the five boroughs. These two programs showcase competition finalists from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Fashion Institute of Technology, Hunter College, The New School, New York Film Academy, New York University, Pratt Institute, and the School of Visual Arts. 

DOC NYC U: COMMUNITY

This collection of student shorts capture the essence of community, whether it’s the sounds of a city, or the people we meet along the way.

The Anarchist and The Fridge (Dir/Prod: Yunchang Zhang, School of Visual Arts)

I breathe what I hear (Dir/Prod: Boyi Xu, New York University)

Her Legacy (Dir: Adebowale Williams/Prod: Maxine Williams, New York Film Academy)

Keepsake (Dir/Prod: Nichole McMinn, New York University)

Plus Minus One (Dir/Prod: Lynn Ma, CUNY)

Tasting Two Worlds (Dirs: Daisy Palaguachi, Amina Sarfraz/Prod: Aaliah Hamilton Gibbons, Brooklyn College)

The Scars We Choose (Dir/Prod: Christian R. Colón, CUNY)

DOC NYC U: FAMILY MATTERS

Students from the five boroughs document family stories across the globe.

Dark Chambers (Dirs/Prods: Jordan Salyers, Kanette Salyers, The New School)

Find Me (Dir/Prod: Hsi Cheng, School of Visual Arts)

If You Forget, I’ll Remember (Dir/Prod: Jean Kim – Fashion Institute of Technology)

Leslie (Dir/Prod: Lisa Dodell – Pratt Institute)

Remission (Dir/Prod: John Mastriano – Hunter College)

SHORTS: IN THE MAKING

Screening as an out-of-competition special presentation, Season 3 of this short film series from American Masters and Firelight Media follows artists on their way to becoming masters of their disciplines.

Camille A. Brown: Giant Steps (Dirs: Michelle Parkerson, Shellée M. Haynesworth/Prod: Shellée M. Haynesworth)

Danielle Scott: Ancestral Call (Dir/Prods: Sonia Kennebeck, Tetiana Anderson)

Edel Rodriguez: Freedom is a Verb (Dirs: Mecky Creus, Adrienne Hall/Prod: Adrienne Hall)

Gioncarlo Valentine: Exposures (Dir: Zeshawn Ali/Prod: Sarah Ema Friedland)

House of Aama: Threads of Legacy (Dir: Jamal Ademola/Prods: Kris Simms, Jamal

Ademola)

Maryam Taghavi: Estranged Letters (Dir: Assia Boundaoui/Prods: Naeema Jamilah

Torres, Assia Boundaoui)

Norman Teague: Love Reigns Supreme (Dir: Adewole A. Abioye/Prod: Aderemi Abioye)

Sarah Thankam Mathews: After All This (Dir: Andrew Nadkarni/Prods: Maryam Mir, Andrew Nadkarni)

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