Voyage Out (2025) DOC NYC 2025

Tech entremanure Mansal Denton goes on an 8 day hunting trip with hunter  Mark Warnke and survial expert Callie Russell in order to clear out his head and get refocused.

This film plays very much like an inde narrative about people trying to some to terms with life and death. I know that may turn off some people who don't like inde narratives, but if you decide not to choose to see the film you are going to miss a beautiful and frequently medatative film that may resonate with you.

Much of the film has a great deal of power.  There is a magic in the images that seem to connect us to nature and the world around us. I was drawn into the film and moved. The framing of the images is such that it makes some the sequences where the characters speak of their lives and troubles they have overcome kind of redundant. This isn't to sell the personal stories short, rather that the film is so well made that we don't need so many words.

This is a small gem of a film.  

Gas Station Attendant (2025) DOC NYC 2025

Wth THE GAS STATION ATENDANT playing DOC NYC here is a repost of my review from when it premiered

Karla Murthy's THE GAS STATION ATTENDANT is amazing. The film is Murthy's meditation of her life and a celebration of her father who never gave up on the American dream. It is a film that is full of life and humanity.

Constructed largely from home movies and the phone conversations Murthy had with her dad while he was working as a gas station attendant the film is a very open discussion of life between a father and daughter as the talk filled the quiet times at night. Her dad talks about his life and journey to America and trying to make a life for his family. Murthy then uses his words to explore her life as a first generation American of mixed cultural parents (her dad is from India, her mom from the Philippines).

You will get lost in this film. I started the film and promptly fell into it. Murthy's storytelling is masterful, there is a simplicity to it that allows the tale to fully resonate and for all the themes it is exploring to fully shine through. By the end of the film I wanted to hug both Murthy and her dad for within them I see the best of us.

A staggering achievement and an absolute must see.

The Spiritual Advisor (2025) DOC NYC 2025

There seems to be no purpose in it except to prove we can do it- Reverand Doctor Jeff Hood

This is the story of Reverend Doctor Jeff Hood who acts as the spiritual advisor to men on death row. We watch him over the last few days before an execution in Oklahoma. 

What is the cost of executing  man on death row? Very often we are not just executing one man but we are also effecting the lives of the prisoners family. What is justice? Should we be executing a man who is debilitated and can't move himself? What is the cost of trying to do the Christian thing and minister to the condemned man?

A quiet face punch of a film this is one that is going to sit with you long after you see it.  I say that because there is a moment towards the end when  Hood the loquacious kind of breaks and goes silent. It is in that moment breaks our heart. In that moment the weight of eveything the film wants us to consider drops from above. 

I can't say more than that.

This is one of the best films at DOC NYC.

Sunset and the Mockingbird (2025) DOC NYC 2025

Heart breaking portrait of Junior Mance and his wife, Gloria Clayborne Mance. as he begins to slip away through dementia. However, as his mind goes his love of Gloria, his soul mate and of music remain.

This is an unflinching look at love and loss. Its film that cuts the legs out from under you, while reminding us that there are somethings that transcend disease. I was moved to tears.

This is a glorious film filled with love and amazing music. It's a big example as to why you cannot sleep on the DOC NYC shorts- they are simply some of the best films of any length you will see all year

Artists in Residence (2025) DOC NYC 2025

This is a portait of three women who live in one house and create art. 

I'm not going to say a great deal on this film. Not because it's bad but because you need to meet these  ladies yourself.  They are absolutely joys to sit and listen to.  I don't want to ruin the stories.

What I absolutely love about this film is that this is the best sort of documentary, one that doesn't do anything and just lets the story/subject tell itself. In this case Katie Jacobs simply turns on the camera and just lets the ladies go. There are no bells and whistles, there is simply great story telling.  Jacobs knew the way to make us fall in love with her subjects was just introduce us.

I'm not selling the film short. There is a great deal going on here. Not only is this a look at artists, but its also a wonderful look at women who fought like hell to simply get by. Yes, they wanted to make art but they had to fight to do so because of their gender.

What a delight.

If you want to see one of the hidden gems of DOC NYC the see this film.

EVERY CONTACT LEAVES A TRACE (2025) IDFA 2025

Lynn Sachs' latest film is an interesting look at how all our interactions connect to each other. Nominally the film is a look at the thousands of business cards collected over a lifetime. Who are all the people and businesses that they represent? Sachs goes back and investigates them while all taking a look at forensics.

This is a typical Sach's examination of a subject that isn't quite about what we think going in and instead ends up being about something else, or not. Sachs makes films that you have to wrestle and so they are films you remember long after other films have faded.

More than some other of Sachs films this is a film you need to see before we can discuss it. I say that because the seeming fragmentary nature of the various narratives only really begin to form a single thread the closer you get to the end. The need to stay with a Sachs film to the end to fully understand what is  is what makes me like her films so much. You have to go see the film for the initial ride and then rewatch the film seeing all of the bits you missed along the way. At the same time, it also makes the films tough to write on since what I want to write on may not seem interesting until you see the film.

Sachs' film is one you will want to see multiple times. It's a film about connections and it requires you to make connections, hence the need to see it a second time. There is much food for thought here that weeks on I am still pondering how we all connect.

You will want to see this film. Trust me, just see it.

Recommended.

BITS and BYTES at Blood in the Snow 2025

These are the films from this collection that I was granted acess to for review 

BUNKER TIME
Told in the form of a TV show, a woman, a former children's show host,and her rat companion argue over a crack that is in the wall of their bomb shelter. The slow unraveling of a woman at the end of the world is amusing if slightly too long.

GHOSTING
An episode of a ghost hunting TV Show that mixes reality TV show and celebrity nonsense. 
Really mixed and assumes to l this sort of thing.

The Shorts playing with the Features at Blood in the Snow 2025

Thiese are reviews of the short films playing with features that I was sent for review

 BREACH

GRAIN
A deeply disturbing film about a woman who turns into a grainball when she eats. This is one that is going to hang with you

APPENDAGE
An amusing short about appendages from space. Its a funny blackout sketch

HEIRLOOM
In cleaning out her deceased mothers home a woman finds....
Even if we've kind of been there before, this is a solid thriller with several scares.

TINGLING
An ASMR relaxation tape goes wrong.
Short and sweet.

PARIAH
A post apocalyptic tale of survival.
This is a solid little film.

A pointer toward The Garden of Maria (2025) DOC NYC 2025

This is just a short piece to point you toward THE GARDEN OF MARIA.  The film is a look at Guarani Mbya elder Maria and her thoughts on the jungle and her efforts to keep it safe. 

On it's own terms its a good film. At the same time I can't honestly review the film. I say that because over the last couple of years I've seen several films with similar subjects and despite how good this film I can't pry it loose from the other similar films in order to give the film a fair shake.

If the subject interests you, do go see the film at DOC NYC.

Creede USA (2025) DOC NYC 2025

This is a look at Creede Colorado, a former mining town that was revitalized when it started a theater in 1966. The trouble was that the  while the town began to thrive the theater brought in ideas that challenged their entrenched ideas.

This is a nice portrait of a small town in America and the battles that are being fought everywhere. As the film makes clear it’s not that everyone isn’t nice, its more that many people are set in their ways  and not willing to move.  

What makes the film work is that the filmmakers don’t just let things blindly play out. We get a sense of the people and the town and where everyone is coming from. We don’t get hot button sound bites but the reasoning for it. For example the sheriff explains why he is in favor of someone in the school be allowed to carry a gun- because if something happens and because the area they are responsible for is so large it might be 20 minutes or more before an officer can arrive. Other issues are less solidly supported, but at the same time we do get a reason as to why people feel as they do.

I liked this film a great deal. It goes a long way into getting us to a starting place where we can close the national divide.

Recommended.

If These Walls Could Rock (2025) DOC NYC 2025

Portrait of the Sunset Marquis in Los Angeles. The hotel is the place where the rich and famous can stay and no one will pay then no mind, even if they are rock stars behaving badly.

This may not be the best film at this year's DOC NYC, but it maybe the most fun. The film is an endless collection of stories by the people who lived them. Some are safe for families, some are not, but either way they are a lot of fun.

To be certain this film doesn't reinvent the wheel, it simply tells us some great stories that will make us smile as we become unindicted co-conspirators to truly questionable behavior.

Highly recommended.

I, Poppy (2025) DOC NYC 2025

A look at the problem poppy farmers face in India, where corruption, class and government oppression hinder their ability to make a living supplying poppies for the making or morphine.

This is one of the best films about the troubles of being a farmer in the world today. While the situation for these farmers is more dire than most other farmers, the struggles still carry over. 

What makes this film work is that the filmmakers are truly there at every point. We get to know the farmers, we see them farming, and we see them fighting the battles to make a human wage. the filmmakers never look away.  I started the film figurig that the film would be something I had seen before in some variation and instead I put my notebook down and just watched and was moved by what I was seeing.

This is a wonderful film and one of the must sees at DOC NYC

Shifting Base Lines (2025) DOC NYC 2025

This is a dystopian black and white nightmare that seems more like an offbeat art house narrative but it's real.  

SHIFTING BASE LINES is about the area around where Elon Musk is building and launching rockets into space or attempting to. Over the course of the film, we watch as the wildlife that once was in abundance is dying, the company grabs more land, and they spread litter everywhere. The people take everything in stride, but at the same time they are annoyed by some of the nonsense. 

This feels like a quiet inde drama that is very dry, low key and deliberately obtuse, but the fact is this is what the Musk's neighbors are experiencing. The only difference is they see it all in color not black and white.

This is a small quiet gem of a film. While it probably won't play well for everyone, but for those who click with its sensibilities its going to be gangbusters.

Monsters & Martians at Blood in the Snow 2025

The reviews here are for the titles that were sent to me. Anything not covered was not given to me to see. 

ASTERIA
An interstellar runaway break into a house.
This is interesting but doesn't quite go anywhere. I wanted a bit more.

STRANGERS
A man ducks into a basement to hide from an alien invasion. This feels like the start of a feature. It ends just as it is getting good- and there is a cool monster. 

HE
A woman breaks the rules when a shapeshifting entity agrees to fulfill her dreams.
This is good, I can't say why because it will give too much away, but it has a some moments that will hang with you.

ECHO
A woman's partner returns froma mysterious crash.
A good film that doesn't go as expected. Definitely worth a look.

The Pink Pill: Sex, Drugs & Who Has Control (2025) DOC NYC 2025

 THE PINK PILL is a look at the pill that has been labeled by some the female Viagra. The film is a look at efforts to get the FDA to approve it and why it should be.

Despite what you think the pill will not turn women into nymphomaniacs. Actually, what the pill will do is make women more open to sex. As one person points out the ill will make sex more likely to happen than before, say one a month instead of twice a year.

This is a good film that explains the battle to get the pill approved and how the forces of the right are trying to control women by controlling them. Never mind that the men against it might actually get laid more often with it, some people don’t want women to feel joy.

As good as the film it suffers from the fact that there was a certain point where I realized that there isn’t a lot the write up on the film doesn’t tell you. If you’ve read the blubs, you know what the film is going to tell you. If you are fine with that you’re going to love the film, if not you’ll be like me and just like it.

ARCO (2025)

The weakest image in the film is the one they are using for the poster

In the far flung future 10 year old Arco borrows his sisters time traveling cloak  and ends up getting trapped in 2075, where clinmate changed weather ravages the world.

This visually stunning animated film is being put into the Oscar mix by some pundits. I don't think the film belongs there, largely because I think many people saying that haven't seen enough animated films, but I think it's a good, if preachy family film.

My feelings for the film are mixed to positive. While I love the visuals, (above movie poster aside), the script is uneven. I am impressed that the film's view of the immediate future is bleak. No American studio would have allowed for that to happen. And while the film doesn't go whole hog into fractured families, I am impressed that the film's ending is as bittersweet as it is. Yes, it speaks of a families love for each other but but it also speaks of the cost. at the same time the film can be very by the numbers in the over all plotting.  Even if there are some (unexpected) dark turns we still know that things will be okay.

I'm also kind of not a fan that the film is getting a dubbed US release. While I have not seen the original French language track friends  who have have said that the French is more alive. I can kind of agree. I think the English voices, with the exception of Will Ferrell who is magnificent,  are kind of blah.

While this film film should have and could have been great, there is enough here, especially if you don't want another Disney Pixar clone - this is more like a dark Ghilbi riff- tht I can recommend it.

Our Land (2025) DOC NYC 2025

This is a look at the battle between land owners and the public who want to roam. Looking at the history of how England was devided up into estates and places lorded over by lords, the film than shows how that has influenced how and who controls the land. The problem is that the general public would like to spend time in the country.

This is a good look at how the land in the country is used. While focused on England the truth of th matter is it is a situation that plays out across the globe in one way or another.

I liked this film. As some one who loves the English country side the film  gave me a great deal to consider.

Worth a look.

IMAGES FROM TUVALU (2025) DOC NYC 2025

 

IMAGES FROM TUVALU is one of the best films at DOC NYC and one of the most important films of 2025. Dylan Werkman‘s short look at global warming and how we view the situation is telling and quietly crippling. It is a film that says volumes not only about the threat to the environment  but also our attitude towards it.

The film is a dual film. The film is nominally Werkman‘s footage of the Pacific Island of Tuvalu which is slowly disappearing thanks to the rising waters caused by global warming.  In it we see how the islanders deal with the crisis and try to remain in their homes.  At the same time Werkman shows us a several groups of people as they sit and watch the film. We see the audience’s reaction to the film.  The footage of the island is heartbreaking… as is some of the footage of the audiences since it’s clear that some people don’t care.

I was rocked. There is so much to take in.

The most important thing about the film is that for the first time that I’ve seen some one has made a piece of art that makes clear just how dire the crisis is on every level. Not only do we see what is happening to the world  but we also see how those not instantly affected by the rising waters are apathetic to the problem. It’s a film that shows us painfully clearly that we are doomed.

IMAGES FROM TUVALU is a master piece and it demands to be seen.

Death Education (2025) DOC NYC 2025

Every March a teacher holds a death education  class by taking them to help lay to rest the unknown people of their town. The idea is to help his students come to terms with death.

Deeply moving and incredibly moving film is less a  straight on documentary and more a meditation on death an how we view it. Little is said. There are long silences. However the images are haunting and they pull us into the events on screen. We are quietly give much to thin about.

I can not image what this film is going to do to any film that follows it in a festival. This is a film I'm glad I saw divorced of a shorts collection because when it was done I just sat quietly and contemplated life. If I had seen this in a shorts collection I probably would have gotten up and walked out  and done something similar. Quite honestly this film kicks up way too much to the point that nothing can follow it closely.

It is certain to stay with you until year's end.

One of the great films to come out of Sundance. 

Traces of Home (2025) DOC NYC 2025

Colette Ghunim looks at the history of her family. Her mom is from Mexico and left because of domestic violence. Her dad is from Palestine and was moved by the Israelis. As she gets to know the history of the family, she plots to take her parents home to the places they came from years before.

What starts off as a kind of run of the mill family documentary gets better as it goes on as the cliches of these sorts of films are overtaken by the history of the family. Not just the lives of her parents, but her brother and the extended family which is why it blossoms. You have to stick with the film for a bit before things get interesting, but once you do this film really shines. There are stories here and sides of life that we don't get to see on screen.

If you want to see something you haven't seen before, give TRACES OF HOME a shot, just give it about 20 minutes to find its footing.