MoMA ANNOUNCES FINAL SELECTIONS FOR DOC ... - MoMA Press

MoMA ANNOUNCES FINAL SELECTIONS FOR DOC FORTNIGHT 2016, THE 15TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF DOCUMENTARIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD Presenting New Films by Beth B, Natalie Bookchin, Jihan El-Tahri, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, John Gianvito, Thomas Jenkoe, Sergei Loznitsa, Naeem Mohaiemen, Tadhg O’Sullivan, Thomas Østbye, Jacques Perconte, Rithy Panh, Qiu Jiongjiong, Billy Woodberry, Zhang Yang, and Others Introducing Feature Debuts by Sara Fattahi, Betzabé García, K8 Hardy, Ane Hjort Guttu, and Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil Doc Fortnight 2016: An International Festival of Nonfiction Film at MoMA February 19–29, 2016 The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters NEW YORK, January 29, 2016–The Museum of Modern Art announces the full slate for Doc Fortnight 2016, its 15th annual showcase of recent documentary film that examines the relationship between contemporary art and nonfiction practices and reflects on new areas of documentary filmmaking, from February 19 through 29, 2016. This year’s festival includes an international selection of 20 features and nine short films, with many of the directors present for discussions following their films. These screenings represent the North American, U.S., or New York premiere of every film featured in the festival—and the world premieres of Natalie Bookchin’s Long Story Short (2016), Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil’s INAATE/SE/ [it shines a certain way. to a certain place./it flies. falls./] (2016), Beth B’s Call Her Applebroog (2016), Seoungho Cho's Scrumped (Extended Version) (2016), Ashley Sabin and David Redmon’s Neige (2016), and Othmane Balafrej's Sbitar (2016). Doc Fortnight 2016 is organized by Sally Berger, Assistant Curator, Department of Film, with David Neary, Festival Liaison. The selection committee consists of Yto Barrada, artist; Toby Lee, Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies, New York University; and Sally Berger. Featuring films produced in Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, Syria, and the United States, this year’s selection covers a range of contemporary issues such as the war in Syria (Coma, 2015, and My Aleppo, 2015), the migrant crisis in Europe (The Great Wall, 2015, and Out of Norway, 2014), and the hidden effects of poverty (Long Story Short) in a range of compelling styles reflecting our rapidly evolving digital age. Little-known histories are wrought in epic scope and intimate detail, and through formal innovation. Billy Woodberry’s And When I Die, I Won't Stay Dead (2015), which opens the festival, explores the roots of the Beat movement and the life and writings of African American Beat poet Bob Kaufman, one of his generation's most talented, overlooked artists. The festival closes with Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil’s INAATE/SE/ [it shines a certain way. to a certain place./it flies. falls./], which relates the story of the ancient Ojibway Seven Fires Prophecy, using performances, drawings, and

interviews combined with historical details to explore the make-up of contemporary indigenous identity in the town of Sault Ste. Marie, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The transformation within the People’s Republic of China of the 1950s and 1970s, which tore many families apart, is brought to life through inventive theatrical staging and firsthand interviews in Qiu Jiongjiong’s Mr. Zhang Believes (2015). The social and environmental impact of the U.S. presence in the Philippines, from the Philippine-American War of the late 1890s to the current resurgence of U.S. naval bases, is comprehensively detailed in John Gianvito’s monumental Wake (Subic) (2015). Revelatory new ways to use archival footage are demonstrated in three political documentaries. Utilizing old newsreels and Egyptian feature films, along with interviews of people in opposing parties, Jihan El-Tahri’s Nasser (2015) carefully details the rise to power of Gamal Abdel Nasser, illuminating Egypt’s role on the contemporary world stage. The Event (2015) revisits the fall of Communism in Russia through on-the-street footage so pristine the viewer feels more a participant than a spectator. In France Is Our Mother Country (2015), master Cambodian director Rithy Panh satirizes the legacy of French imperialism in Southeast Asia, weaving together home movies, silent travelogues, and propaganda clips into a sly revision of colonialism. Artists illuminate the social and political role of creativity in today’s world by playfully examining art-world conceits and social media. K8 Hardy’s cinematic debut Outfitumentary (2016) documents more than 10 years of exploring her queer identity through daily thrift-store costume changes. Influential New York artist Ida Applebroog looks back over her life and career, facing the personal and artistic struggles that fed her creativity with the help of her daughter, filmmaker Beth B, in Call Her Applebroog. And Ane Hjort Guttu’s Time Passes (2015) follows the travails of a young art student as she attempts to break down barriers between herself, her classmates, and a Roma street beggar. In addition to the works of many debut filmmakers, esteemed artists marking their return to Doc Fortnight include Nikolaus Geyrhalter, John Gianvito, Naeem Mohaiemen, and Thomas Østbye. Special thanks to Chi-hui Yang, Program Officer, Just Films, Ford Foundation; Mahen Bonetti, Executive Director, African Film Festival, Inc.; and Carlos Gutiérrez, Executive Director, Cinema Tropical. No. 3 Press Contact: Sara Beth Walsh, (212) 708-9747, [email protected] For downloadable high-resolution images, register at moma.org/press. *************************

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