All The Music In The World(2026) DOC NYC 2026

This is a loving portrait of concert pianist Emanuel Ax as told by his friends and admirers such as Yo-Yo Ma, John Williams, Itzhak Perlman, and others.

This is a sweet biography of a man I never knew of but who has been a force in music for decades. As he says he's been playing Carnegie Hall for 60 years.  Its a film that is going to make you feel good and smile.

This film is pretty much perfect, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Its bad in that there is no real surprises because it hits every point  for a feel good doc exactly right. At the same time the film so enjoyable because the film hits every point for a feel good documentary exactly right.  

Quibbling aside I love this film and had a blast watching.

Recommended.

Lesbian Lines(2026) DOC NYC

 One of the most important films at DOC NYC and of 2026, LESBIAN LINES demands to be seen. The film is the story of a group of women who came together in the bad old days to set up a hotline where lesbians needing advice or hope could call and talk to a friendly voice. Along the way they ended up saving lives and charting the history of what being a lesbian in Ireland was like.

This film is glorious on so many levels. The act of watching it puts you in the darkness of the 1960s and 70s  when one could not be openly queer. The whole film is shot to make us feel what these women felt.  More importantly it gives us the words and thoughts of the women on the line and in the world. It really shows us what dark place these women were in and why we can never go back.

I am somewhere beyond words.

You must see this film because it is a reminder of what the world was once like and how some people had to fight like hell to change the world.

Highly recommended

Mall Country (2026) DOC NYC 2026

Leo Karruli kind of accidentaly purchases a dying mall in Johnstown Pennsaylvania and tries to save it.

One part biography, one part sociological exporation and one part history lesson MALL COUNTRY is a look at the American Mall. Once the place to be and shop, now a place that more often than not is simply becoming a white elephant full of empty stores. Its a film that manages to tell a story on many levels while always remaining the story of a man who wants to keep Americans connected to each other.

This is a really good film. There have been a number of films recently looking at the twlight of the Mall, and they all have played out similarly, focusing on a mall and its seeming end days. MALL COUNTRY breaks the mold and gives us a context for what we are seeing. We get the history  that makes this all more heart breaking

I really liked this film. Actually this is one I want to revisit after DOC NYC when I don't  need to jump right to the next film.

Recommended

Gamer Girls (2026) hit VOD November 13

I’m not really going to review GAMER GIRLS. It’s not that it is a bad film, more I’m exactly the wrong audience for it. Yes, I liked it but watching it I knew that if I was a gamer I would have loved it more.

The plot of the film has group of girls getting together to play games. Along the way they decide to go into a tournament. They initially think that they should have some guys in the mix and then they decide to go it alone.

You can pretty much write it from there. Yes it does what you expect it to, but at the same time it does so in such an entertaining manner you won’t care.

Daylight (2026) DOC NYC 2026

Jon Kasbe's latest film if for the New Yorker. Its a short film about Joe Garcia who twenty odd years before had killed a man in a drug deal gone bad. Going into prison he began to write and eventually found hope in the music of Taylot Swift. Kasbe had read Garcia's story about being a Swiftie that lives in prison and had to meet him. This resulted in a film that discusses Garcia's chage and his move toward release.

This is a lovely film.  While it may seem to be by the numbers at first, but Kasbe works his magic and will have you tearing up by the end. You're going to want to find Garcia and give him a big hug,

I have no notes.

See this film- either at DOC NYC or on YouTube where it is playing on the New Yorker's channel.

Recommended.

80 Angry Journalists (2026)

Director András Földes tells the story of the collapse of the independent Hungarian news site Index in 2020 when the the site gave into Viktor Orban's repressive moves designed to silence opposition. In the wake of the caving 80 journalists, including Foldes waked away. The film charts what happened leading up to the mass exit and what happened afterward.

This is an interesting story of what happened when a bully tried to make sure his lies aren't discovered nor his feelings are hurt. It is a tale that echoes with the media caving into the Trump Administration. Its a story that also echoes what happened in Russia as documented in the MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS films.

While this film was on my must see list of films for DOC NYC, it is actually one of the few films that I am not planning on revisiting. While I think the film is fine for what it is, the film is strangely lacking urgency. Yes want to see what happens, but the telling is much too matter of fact.  I was disappointed.

At the same time the film is good and definitely worth a watch.

Whiddy (2026) DOC NYC

WHIDDY floored me. There is something about this look at when American oil companies decided to build a teminal in Whiddy Ireland because of trouble in the Suez, that was bandoned when the politics changed, that grabbed me at the start and pulled me in. My thought was that I was going to watch a few minutes and then come back later. Instead, I sat there and watched as 90 minutes blew by without a thought.

There are numerous reasons that this film works as well as it does. The first is that it is telling us an interesting story most of us have never heard before. It’s also a tale that resonates with what is going on today.  All over the world towns and villages are being sold bills of goods with the promise that this new project will help them. Sometimes it works and a lot of time it doesn’t. Either way it often leaves the towns and villages fragmented.

This is a great film that has haunted me over the weeks since I saw it. I’ve been trying to find the words to really discuss it but I find that I need to see it a second or third time. That is a rave because it means that WHIDDY  is a film that doesn’t wash over you but grabs you by the throat and insists that we engage with it.

This is one of the absolute must sees at DOC NYC and as such is highly recommended.

LANDSCAPES OF MEMORY (2026) DOC NYC

if memories don't change us-what is the point of remembering?

Filmmaker Leah Galant moves to Germany to study how the Holocaust is remembered and ends up pondering notions of memory both personal and shared.

This is a film you will need to see multiple times because if you are like me, the journey through the film is going to kick up things you need to re-experience.

The film begins as a family portrait as Galant is talking to her dad with ALS. She is talking about her family which survived the Holocaust and how they remembered. She then goes to Germany to see how the Germans remember the tragedy. Things then become complicated when Pro-Palestine protests erupt and the specter of the war and what done is raised in a new and seemingly unexpected context.

You will forgive me if I don't do a deep discussion on the film. I only received the film few days ago and I need a second or third viewing to do it justice. There is way too much information and way too many questions for me to hope to properly pull a piece together. Seriously this film raises enough issues that it could have companion volumes.

That is a rave ladies and gentlemen. Seriously, this is certainly one of the great finds of 2026. I'm working on where it belongs on the best of the year list as well.

The reason the film works is that it goes its own way. Galant is reporting on what is in front of her and isn't trying to shape things. It's a great move because I've seen way too many films recently that feel like the filmmakers are moving pieces around.

This film is going to make you sit in silence for a long time when it ends.

Chase this film down

Under Fire (2026) DOC NYC 2026

This is a look at a father and a daughter trying to keep the lines of communication open in the wake of a PTSD diagnosis. He is a fireman who has neglected his family for years. Now the years of stress are coming back to haunt him.

Low key, observational film is going to work better for some people than others. If you go into the film looking for grand drama the odds are you are going to be disappointed. There is a lot of talking and therapy sessions. Other than the odd sequence of the life of a first responder this is kind of sedate.

For me this was a mixed bag. Growing up in a household with a first responder parent I could completely understand the daughter’s feelings of abandonment and uncertainty with her father. I also could understand the father’s refusal to engage his child.  I know the work that has to go into bridging the gap. I was moved by the effort. At the same time, the film is much too low key. Everyone seems to speak in hushed tones and everyone is trying to make an effort, which is good for the people on screen but not good for those in the seats. My interest waned a bit too much.

While the film is well done, and important for what it shows, it isn’t as engaging as it should be.

RARE AS F@*K (2026) DOC NYC 2026

Portrait of  Oliver Scheier, a 17-year-old  who is one of 70 people with a rare degenerative disease which makes everything difficult. Inspired by the film THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY he refuses to lay down and do nothing, Scheier prepares for college and creates his art, which is his way of engaging with the world.

This is a good portrait of a young man taking on life at full steam.  It is an engaging portrait that mixes his words and thoughts with a look at the difficulties of his life. It’s a film that will bring hope to those who are suffering disabilities and feel they can’t do more than sit.

Worth a look

The Hotline (2026) DOC NYC 2026

This is a portrait of the people who man a hotline for drug addicts. The idea is that if they are using alone they can call the hotline  and have the people on the otherside listen while they begin using so if there are signs of overdose they can call for help.

This is a tough film. This is a film that puts us in the room with people on the hot line as calls come in. It's a film that doesn't look away as bad things happen.  We also get to know the people on both sides of the call and the stories are heart breaking. 

Your soul will ache.

Highly recommended for those willing to go there.

WHO MOVES AMERICA (2026) DOC NYC

This is a look at the contract negotiations between UPS and the workers union in 2022 and 2023 as well as a look back to 1997 when the driver went on strike for better wages and hours.

This is a bracing look at the state of big business today. As the big companies try to screw their worker and to make increased profits by cutting wages and benfits the little man is getting screwed and forced to make hard choices. This film is a look at those making those choices.

This is good little film that will oprn your eyes to what is happening in the world around us. Its a wake up call and warning about the things we all may face in the future.

Worth a look.

Ebenezer (2026)

The story of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol returns to theaters in a film that is largely a frightening film with humor. It is a film where Scrooge is scared straight. It is also a version of the tale filled with an abundance of humanity.

When I told people that EBENEZER looks and feels like a Hammer Horror film from the 1960’s I got one of two reactions, the first was from people who only know the story from the movies and that is shock, because to them the ghosts are only scary in the future portion of the story. Here the other ghosts are scary as well. The other reaction I got were smiles from those who know the novel because they know that the ghosts are supposed to be scary. If you read the book, you know the ghosts had to be frightening so that Scrooge truly changes. I am mentioning this up front because this film is going to scare the snot out of some people, particularly little kids. This is very much a horror film and parents should probably see this first before showing it to their kids.

Past the horror angle, which I love, I am all over the place concerning this film.  While the film contains some of the best moments in any version of A Christmas Carol, the film also has some turns that make scratch my head.

The first problem is the humor in the film. Mostly centered in the first part of the film there is not only a flatfooted nature to the jokes, but also a meanness and an unearned cruelty There is no reason for it. Yes, making Marley a bastard like Scrooge makes his dire warning more meaningful (he is truly frightened for his friend) but the jokes that are supposed to show the love between them land wrong with their meanness making you want them not to be saved but to burn in perdition. A bigger problem is many of the jokes are also there just to give Depp a moment to be funny. However, since the early jokes are cruel the edge comes off of the humor. 

At the same time, I need to be very clear about this that the humorous sequences aside this maybe Depp’s best role ever. There is a real character here, who truly arcs, and he breaks your heart in the best way. The humor diminishes that.

The second problem is that the film blows past moments we need to set things up. Yes, most of the abbreviated scenes are the stock scenes we all know. I don't know whose idea was to chop them down, it could have been studio mandated time thing, but the loss of the "full" scenes hurts the development of the characters. I say that because these are NOT the stock Christmas Carol characters, but mostly well-done rethinks and the early cutting hobbles them later in the film. Later scenes take time to click instead of letting the story flow.  For example, in the early scene before the ghosts when, everyone goes into Scrooge’s office the films blow through everyone coming and going. The film has the attitude that we know these things and that we can just jump past them.  Scrooge’s nephew is short changed. Bob Cratchit is short changed. We don’t get to full embrace the characters and the film is lessened by it. I say that because the later scenes that are not trimmed, where we hear the words and see the actions from the novel the film has a great deal of weight. I’m not certain if the issue stems from an uneven script or because of the editing process. (is there a director's cut?)

Another problem is that the film adds things, some of which we don’t need. I know the death of Marley scene was added because you have Ian McKellen and you want to really give him something to do, but the scene is flat. The other thing that is a mixed bag is Scrooge being chased by the ghosts of the unsaved. The idea is wonderful, but the execution is not. They don’t look good, so it comes off as something riffing on the Disney Haunted Mansion. I do think the back story of Scrooge's lost love pays off big time.

Another thing the film does with mixed effect is it riff or steals moments from other versions of the story and other films. Some of them work, and some of them don’t and some of them kind of work but probably didn’t need to be there, for example Scrooge being sucked into his bed which echoes his death in A NIGHTMARE ON ELMS STREET.

To be honest the problems early on had me wanting to walk out on the film because I didn’t like the editing nor did I like the jokes. However, once the film gets going with the Ghost of Christmas Past(an unrecognizable and heart breaking Andrea Riseborough), who is as chilling a specter as you will ever see in film, not because she is scary but because she gets under your skin, I was happy to stay (even if some bits in Christmas Future and the pot through the window made me want to scream at the swerve into silliness)

Issues aside I have to state quite forcefully that for me a good chunk of the film is the best version of the tale I have ever seen.

I adore the horror angle. I love that the ghosts are all pained by their fates. There is a desperate need to get Scrooge to do the right thing so that their pain is eased. I like that the film doesn’t shy away from the idea that there is terrible pain in the afterlife since the arc of Scrooge has genuine added weight. I love that for the first time we see the change over time Christmas Present endures. It's referenced in the novel, but we've never seen it until now, so we get a big kick about the fleeting nature of life.

When he stops clowning Depp is magnificent. We have a full-fledged Scrooge. We see how he became who he is and we see the flicker of humanity that allows him to change. Depp’s Scrooge is the most human, with the scenes of him remembering his sister and lost love ripping out our hearts.

However, the thing that makes the film truly shine is the humanity we see in the film and in particular in Scrooge. It is the genuine love of mankind still burning inside him that lifts this film up. While there was talk the studio head wanted the film to paint greed as good, the truth is this film is a call for humanity and a call against greed. The small moment of Scrooge offering his coat to the dying Ghost, or Scrooge connecting to his nephew, or the final moment of asking the beggar to come in for tea says more than the huge moments we all know. Some of the final words of the dying Christmas Present about what is right and important plant a flag in the soul of the audience.

And let me step out and say that Tramell Tillman as Christmas Present gives of the best performances I've seen this year. He will not get awards, but god damn he deserves everyone possible. It is one of the most complex performances of any actor in any film this year and it breaks us.

I loved much of this film - as I said when this film is on it hits as the best version of the story out there.

Very recommended

LISTEN (2026) DOC NYC 2026

A sound specialist records the wilds of Alaska to play for his mother who is suffering from dementia.

This film will hit you in the face. 

A slowly builfing film, this film at first had me puzzled. I had heard a lot of good things about the film and at first the  images of  dound being recorded didn't seem to live up to what I had been told. Sure the image and sound (see this with great sound) were wonderful, but I didn't see the magic...

...that was my bad because there is a point where everything quietly came together and I found myself falling into the film and getting misty. The second half of the film with it marriage of sound and image and wisdom rocked me. I completely understood why this film was high on so many people's listed.

You need to see and hear this film

Recommended.

Boomerang Atomic (2026) DOC NYC 2026

A look at the French atom bomb tests in the Algerian desert largely via a collection  of archival footage.

An interesting trip back in time to when atomic weapons were viewed differently and France was looking for entry into the atomic bomb club. The film clearly shows that the French didn't quite respect its colonies since it didn't take the best precautions.

While the film is informative, I wish that there are been some form of context for what we are seeing. There is an assumption that we know about what we are seeing, I wanted to know more, particularly about the underground test that went wrong and breached the side of the mountain.

The need for more information aside this is a good film and worth seeing.

The Ascent (2026) DOC NYC

Portrait of amputee athlete Mandy Horvath, who decides to attempt climbing Mount Kilamanjaro despite having no legs.  

This film is so perfectly put together that there really isn't anything fo me to talk about. The film expertly tells Harvath's story as it should be told and and in such a way that you will have no notes. Covering her attempt to get to the summit as well as her attempting to fully figure out what happened to her that she lost her legs. Its a moving story expertly told.

Destined for a long life and many awards THE ASCENT is highly recommended.

NAZA (2026) DOC NYC

The people responsible for  sending out the drones and missles to level Gaza, as well as soldiers who were tasked with burning down the homes of the people who fled the bombing so they would have nothing to come back to, speak to the filmmakers and calmly tell the stories of many (but not all) of the terrible things they did. 

Naza is the term used by the Israeli military for collateral damage instead of Palestians, refugees or human beings (Men, women, children or babies) so that the deaths they caused were not seen as real people in the eyes of the soldiers.

Before the New York Festival screening of NAZA there were some quiet protests. Box trucks with LED screens drove around the festival site saying that the stories of NAZA were false and hand not confirmed. There were also four protesters holding signs outside Alice Tully. They had not seen the film.

The audience inside Alice Tully was openly sobbing during the screening. Several people around me took out their rosaries and were praying. The film laid the the audience out. Finally the weight of what was happening was sinking into the public. The war crimes are at last being noticed.

The point of the film, as stated by the directors during the Q&A, is not to dispute the right of Israel to defend itself or to get justice for the 1200 people killed on October 7 but to question the right of a government to kill well over 75,000 people, wound almost 200,000 more, and destroy the homes of even more in attacks that are exponetially greater. The want to know why all this death and destruction against people who have almost no connection to the bad guys, and simply living in the same building as them. Why is it necessary to wipe out the homes of people who simply share their national background and did nothing wrong on October 7, and drive them into the desert without food or water or shelter? The point is to make an accounting of the crimes being committed not against the people responsible but everyone around them. As one person said it was sometimes okay to take out 500 innocent people to get one suspected bad guy. What sort of madness makes that okay?

The mind boggles even more when you consider that the choice of targets is often picked by an AI program that is frequently wrong. Yes- the Israeli military is using an AI program to choose its targets but it often picks the wrong people.

Is it any wonder people are upset? Not only are war crimes being revealed but so is gross incompetence.

While the audience around me was left broken, the film was a bit less moving me. It was not because of the lack of weight of the film and it's revelations but because, as a good friend pointed out, I have been aware of this bullshit for years. Within my circle and social media follows I have been hearing about all of the charges leveled here since they started. I have read the articles upon which this film is based when they first appeared. This is a one stop shop for those who haven't been paying attention. For those who have been paying attention is this a somber summing up that rocks the soul.

As a film I can't really review it. This is not a film so much as pained cry from caring humans who want to pain and suffering to stop. Its a film made by Israelis who want to their country to come to their senses and stop killing people. Its the culmination of two years of work that puts it all together so that people can bare witness (and who, as made clear in the film, are remaining in the shadows because the evil that is directing the attacks on innocent people would turn and attack them). This is a scream not a piece of cinema.

NAZA is a vital and a live film. It is a call for peace and sanity. It is a film looking to find the better part of humanity by revealing its dakest heart. You must see this film.

Because of the need to get the film out so that people can see it, the film will be released to theaters and on line in the next couple of days. The hope is that with the release changes will come. And perhaps many of the voices who are claiming it is all not true will see that it is true- that it all is horribly and terribly true.

Bitter Christmas (2026) opens Friday

Cult film director who works in advertising has a panic attack and decides to go away…

...however...

...she is a character created by  a film director writing a new screenplay for his first film in five years that is based on the people around him

Pedro Aldomavar returns with a good, but lesser by his standards, film that seems less a finished film then an effort to keep his regular trip to the festivals going (a point mentioned in the film). Honestly if it wasn’t Pedro this film would never have gotten into many festivals. (And I am pointing this out in a year I published a piece taking the NYFF to task about all the Hong Sang-soo films- because it clearly isn't just Sang-soo getting special treatment)

That should not be read as it being bad, it is not, more that the film is full of ideas, and scenes, but there is very little to tie them together. Even if the film with in a film doesn't all tie together, its being written as we watch, the real world should all hang together. It might have worked if there was an ending but there really isn’t one, just a place where it stops.

Part of the problem is that the “real world” characters feel less constructed. What we get from them is really from the film with in the film counterparts and that isn’t always accurate. I have no real sense of them other than as mouthpieces for Pedro’s words.

At the same time the ideas about grief, reality, creation are stunning. Pedro has a great deal to say about a lot of things; he just doesn’t have a narrative to hang them on.

I like the film, but as I said above this is a lesser film from a great director and exists just to get him into a festival.

Still if you are a fan it’s a must.

Space Cadet (2026) opens Friday in select theaters

There are spoilers ahead....

This is the story of a young woman who graduates from the space academy and heads off into the stars, while the robot parent who raised her after her mother passed away on a similar mission waits on earth for her return.

This film crushed the life out of me.

This film is not for kids. Kids will not get it.  Adults will get it but may find its tale of fading memory in ourselves and loved ones heartbreaking on a level they may not want to deal with. This is an allegory about growing old, getting ill and the death of parents.  Told largely as a memory play,  most of the film follows the robot as it goes through its day remembering her human child. Memory is everything in this film and when that fades, even for a robot, what is left?  

The film came into my life at not the best time as several friends and family have begun the slow slide into forgetfulness. The climax of the story where the robot essentially gives its happiest memories to her daughter in the only way she was capable before expiring broke me in ways that few pieces of art ever had. I desperately needed not to be in a theater full of children at a film festival right before going to lunch with a friend. I needed to be in a room alone with a box of tissues where I could scream out the pain.(Writing this damn near broke me again).

At the same time, I need to say that the tale of the young girl is not up to the robot. Yes, it reveals how we go off and live our live and not fully engage with our parents while trying to cover the same ground, but the story of her stranding on a far-off world is just okay. Its not quite as well thought out as the stuff at home. But then again it isn’t what you are going to remember.

This is a film about ourselves and our parents and our memories. As a representation of life this film is as fine a film as has ever been made… it just may break your heart.

(You may have to search this one out- in the New York Metro area it is in two theaters one in Pallisades New Jersey and the other is the AMC 25-where it is getting one show a day-at 8pm)

HOME OF THE BRAVE, LA TIERRA DEL VALOR (2026) doc nyc

In 2025, as the Trump Administration tries to remove anyone who isn't what they deem as being an American recording artist Nezza takes the stage and sings the Nation Anthem at a Dodgers home game.

This is an okay look at the state of America today and how some people are standing up to the bullying by the current American government. The film gives us a nice sense of what it means to be on ICE's hit list.  The problem with the film is that the film also wants to be a biography of Nezza. There isn't anything wrong with that, rather it's simply that the film is much to short to do everything the film wants to do. This should have been longer than 20 minutes.

My feelings aside the film is still worth a look.