We are thrilled to have this stellar list of NYWIFT members featured at DOCNYC 2025. A place where excellence, highest levels of creativity and contemporary social issue documentaries are showcased and celebrated. It is the gathering of where documentary visionaries are united each year. – NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez
New York Women in Film & Television is excited to share that 27 of our members are involved in films that have been selected for DOC NYC 2025.
DOC NYC’s 2025 edition will take place in person from November 12 – 20 and online from November 12 – November 30. Click here for a full list of 2025 films!
We are delighted to co-present all of the following films by our members, and provide you with a discount code on tickets (capacity permitting)!
Just enter the code at checkout: 25_DOCNYC_PTNR
This code will unlock the following discounts:
Opening Night / Centerpiece / Closing Screenings: $25 (Regular price: $30)
Regular Screenings: $17 (Regular price: $20)
Short List, Weekday Matinees (M-F before 5:46 pm): $11 (Regular Price: $13)
Online screenings: $10 (Regular Price: $13)
American Stories
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Love, Joy & Power: Tools for Liberation
Producer – NYWIFT Member Trevite Willis
The dynamic co-founders of Black Voters Matter, Cliff Albright, April England Albright, and LaTosha Brown, travel across the country in their beloved “Blackest bus in America” to mobilize Black communities ahead of the 2020 election.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Arrest the Widwife
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Members Ruth Ann Harnisch
Amid a looming maternal health crisis and vanishing reproductive freedom, the government interferes in the traditional practice of midwifery in a rural Mennonite community. When three midwives are arrested, the usually sequestered women decide to reclaim their rights by challenging the state’s decision.
Centerpiece
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
The Merchants of Joy
Director & Producer – NYWIFT Member Celia Aniskovich
Five NYC families source, bargain and hustle to sell Christmas trees, blending street smarts and holiday spirit.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Steal This Story, Please!
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Julie Cohen
Producer – NYWIFT Member Caren Spruch
A reporter’s personal journey and major news coverage intersect in this film debuting at DC/Dox, emphasizing journalism’s vital role in revealing truth during an era when independent reporting faces challenges.
Closing Night
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Ask E. Jean
Executive Producers – NYWIFT Members Ruth Ann Harnisch and Sheila Nevins
E. Jean Carroll won two lawsuits against Donald Trump for defamation and battery. Beyond that, she built a career as a successful magazine writer and authored one of America’s longest-running advice columns.
Come As You Are
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
The Dating Game
Director & Producer – NYWIFT Member Violet Du Feng
In a country where eligible men greatly outnumber women, three perpetual bachelors join an intensive seven-day dating camp led by one of China’s most sought-after dating coaches in what may be their last-ditch effort to find love.
DOC NYC Selects Encore
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
Co-Producer – NYWIFT Member Dana J. Kuznetzkoff
Never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from Jeff Buckley’s inner circle paint a captivating portrait of the gifted musician who died tragically in 1997, having only released one album.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Monk in Pieces
Producer – NYWIFT Member Susan Margolin
Co-Producer & Editor – NYWIFT Member Sabine Krayenbühl
Story Consultant – NYWIFT Member Melissa Hacker
The boundary-breaking composer and performer Meredith Monk overcame a hostile critical establishment to become one of the great innovators of her generation. Now, Monk faces mortality: can such singular work be performed without her?
Fight the Power
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
True North
Director – NYWIFT 2024 Muse Honoree Michèle Stephenson
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Leslie Fields-Cruz
Impact Producer – NYWIFT Member Tukio Machini
A documentary on the 1969 Black student protests against racism at Montreal’s Concordia University, highlighting their role in Black liberation movements.
Metropolis Competition
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Samantha Joy Siberini
Sonia Manzano, best known as “Maria” on Sesame Street, shares her inspiring journey from childhood in the Bronx to becoming a trailblazing television icon.
Short List: Features
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Cutting Through Rocks
Directors – NYWIFT Members Sarah Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Sheila Nevins
Special Thanks – NYWIFT Member Jenni Wolfson
First female councilor in her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi challenges tradition by teaching girls to ride motorcycles and fighting child marriage, while facing doubts about her motives.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Heightened Scrutiny
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Ruth Ann Harnisch
Civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio’s courtroom battles against anti-trans laws intertwine with exposing media narratives impacting public perception of transgender rights.
Short List Shorts: Family Albums
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
All the Empty Rooms
Production Accountant – NYWIFT Member Lizbett Perez
A longtime TV journalist teams up with a photographer to document empty bedrooms of children lost to gun violence, revealing spaces where grief speaks louder than statistics and memory refuses to fade.
Short List Shorts: Records of Now and Then
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
All the Walls Came Down
Director of Photography – NYWIFT Member Jendra Jarnagin
After losing her home in the 2025 Eaton Fire, Ondi Timoner turns the camera on herself and her neighbors, revealing profound racial and economic inequities exposed by disaster descending on Altadena, California.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Tessitura
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Jenni Wolfson
Transgender opera singers navigate and reshape the rigid boundaries of their art, intertwining personal stories with history to challenge tradition and reveal the evolutionary fluidity of voice and gender.
Short List Shorts: Speaking Up
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Children No More: Were and Are Gone
Producers – NYWIFT Members Sheila Nevins and Yael Melamede
In Tel Aviv, silent vigils mourn Gaza’s children—absent, yet achingly present in large-scale photographs. Defying public scorn to confront a war’s toll, the activists’ quiet protests echo louder than words.
Shorts: Creators
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Women Laughing
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Ruth Ann Harnisch
In Women Laughing, longtime New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly sets out to explore her lifelong passion for humor and cartooning by speaking, laughing, and drawing with a diverse group of remarkable women who create cartoons for the iconic magazine.
Shorts: Heartbeats
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Hold Me Close
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Jenni Wolfson
Two Queer Black women, Corinne and Tiana, navigate the ups and downs of life together in their shared home. Their powerful bond is tested as they face joy and heartache, revealing the intricacies of their relationship.
Shorts: Get Up, Stand Up
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
The Long Walk: The Story of the Bharat Jodo Yatra
Director – NYWIFT Member Shruti Ganguly
An exploration of a massive protest march across India, why this historic event was largely ignored by the media, and its significance for the survival of the country’s secular democracy.
Shorts: Gotham
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
The New Yorker Theater: The Talbots’ Legacy
Producer – NYWIFT Member Cara Yeates
For more than six decades, the Talbots were pioneers in exhibiting and distributing the most artistic cinema from around the globe, changing American film culture forever. This short documentary chronicles the humble beginnings of their remarkable career.
Special Presentation
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Black is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Robin Bronk
A celebration of Black history, art, culture and Brathwaite’s rise to a position of huge influence against the backdrop of the second Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, and the evolution of modern art.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Mad Hot Ballroom
Editor – NYWIFT Member Sabine Krayenbühl
Sound Editor – NYWIFT Member Margaret Crimmins
The students of several New York City elementary schools learn ballroom dancing and compete in a city wide dance competition.
Winner’s Circle
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Life After
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Ruth Ann Harnisch
In 1983, disabled Elizabeth Bouvia sought right to die, sparking national debate. After legal battles, she vanished. Disabled director Reid Davenport explores her fate and story’s relevance today.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
The Librarians
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Ruth Ann Harnisch
Producer & Second Camera – NYWIFT Member Janique L. Robillard
Co-Producer – NYWIFT Member Cynthia Kane
Librarians unite to combat book banning, defending intellectual freedom on democracy’s frontlines amid unprecedented censorship in Texas, Florida, and beyond.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Seeds
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Leslie Fields-Cruz
A look into the lives of Black generational farmers, unveiling the challenges of maintaining legacy and the value of land ownership.
Photo courtesy of DOC NYC
Where the Light Enters You
Producer – NYWIFT Member Cynthia Kane
In the wake of personal loss, an unexpected sisterhood unites an ambitious New York healthcare worker with a spirited girl from a nomadic tribe in India.
DOC NYC PRO’s 2025 in-person edition will take place from November 13 – 20, 2025 at Village East by Angelika – Day Passes and Multi-Day Pass Packs are available now. Previously recorded online PRO events and classes from 2020-2024 are now available to a global audience. An overview of current and past events is available here.
