AFI DOCS REPORT

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS JUNE 24

AFI DOCS Charles Guggenheim Symposium and Screening
with Honoree Werner Herzog,
Day Two of the Filmmaker Forum

Washington, DC, Friday, June 24, 2016 — AFI DOCS presents a full schedule of Friday events that include the Charles Guggenheim Symposium and Screening celebrating Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Werner Herzog. The Symposium will include a conversation followed by the East Coast premiere of Herzog’s latest film LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD. Meanwhile, the Filmmaker Forum continues at the DOCS Festival Hub at the District Architecture Center.

WHAT: THE GUGGENHEIM SYMPOSIUM AND SCREENING
This year’s Symposium pays tribute to legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, with clips from Herzog’s documentary oeuvre along with a discussion moderated by filmmaker Ramin Bahrani. The conversation will be followed by the East Coast premiere of Herzog’s LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD.

WHO: Filmmaker Werner Herzog, filmmaker Ramin Bahrani and AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale

WHERE: Newseum, Annenberg Theatre, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC

FILMMAKER FORUM: DAY TWO

8:30 a.m. –3:00 p.m. Festival filmmakers and industry professionals will meet at the AFI DOCS Festival Hub at 421 7th St. NW in Washington, DC, for Day Two of the four-day Filmmaker Forum. Each day, the Forum explores a unique topic with keynote presentations, conversations, panel discussions and micro-meetings. Friday’s Filmmaker Forum schedule will include:

Toward Sustainability
On its second day, the 2016 AFI DOCS Filmmaker Forum turns its focus to the industry and institutions that play roles, for better and for worse, in either driving the diversification of documentary filmmaking forward or holding it back. The relevance of the issues behind the #OscarsSoWhite campaign to the documentary world, where white male directors continue to dominate just as they do in feature films, will be examined, as will the role played by industry gatekeepers. Efforts within public media to identify, train and retain a diverse group of senior and executive producers and other content leaders will also be highlighted.

A LOOK BACK AT THURSDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, June 18, AFI DOCS kicked off the four-day Filmmaker Forum at the District Architecture Center. Day one of the Forum included filmmaker conversations and presentations on diversity and inclusion in the documentary field. Thursday’s film programming included the Spotlight Screenings NEWTOWN and AUDRIE & DAISY, followed by panel discussions, at the Newseum. Post-screening panel discussions included guests such as NEWTOWN director Kim A. Synder and producer Maria Cuomo Cole, and AUDRIE & DAISY directors Bonni Cohen and John Shenk. VISITOR’S DAY had its world premiere on Thursday at the AFI Silver Theatre.

A LOOK BACK AT WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

At the Newseum on Wednesday, June 22, AFI DOCS kicked off its 14th edition with the Opening Night Gala and North American Premiere screening of ZERO DAYS, from Academy Award®-winning director Alex Gibney.  A panel discussion with Gibney, film subjects Eric Chien and Liam O’Murchu and The New York Times’ David Sanger, moderated by The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday, was followed by a reception

OTHER FRIDAY EVENTS

11:45 a.m. SHORTS: THE NATURE OF THINGS
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
Featuring BIRD STRIKE NETHERLANDS, BISONHEAD, THE BOTANIST, THE ART OF FLYING NETHERLANDS and SNAILS.

12:30 p.m. 5 OCTOBER
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
Facing a surgery with a 50/50 chance of survival,
a man vagabonds across Europe. Solemn yet upbeat, 5 OCTOBER delivers a beautiful portrait of humanity in limbo, both geographical and mortal. North American premiere.
Followed by: TWO WORLDS

12:30 p.m. TWO WORLDS
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
TWO WORLDS is a delightful portrait of a teenage girl who navigates life with her deaf parents in rural Poland. North American premiere. Expected guests include director Maciej Adamak.
Preceded by: 5 OCTOBER

1:15 p.m. A FAMILY AFFAIR
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 7
In this intriguing and intimate documentary, Dutch filmmaker Tom Fassaert probes the dark corners of his family history in an attempt to understand his enigmatic grandmother. Expected guests include director Tom Fassaert.

1:30 p.m. ABORTION: STORIES WOMEN TELL
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 6
Director Tracy Droz Tragos surveys reproductive politics in her native Missouri, which some hope to proclaim the first abortion-free state in the nation. Expected guests include director Tracy Droz Tragos. Panel moderated by The Undefeated’s Soraya Nadia McDonald.

1:45 p.m. FOLLOWING SEAS
AFI SILVER THEATRE 3
Utilizing beautiful archival 16mm footage, FOLLOWING SEAS recounts Bob Griffith and Nancy Hirsch’s adventures on the high seas, from Polynesia to circumnavigating the Arctic Circle. Expected guests include directors Tyler J. Kelley and Araby Williams.

2:00 p.m. THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
For more than five decades, photojournalist Enrique Metinides roamed the streets of Mexico City capturing images that reveal the drama of disaster in a single frame. Expected guests include director Trisha Ziff.
Preceded by: THE DIVER.

3:30 p.m. MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
Co-directors Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack present a lovingly crafted and stunningly comprehensive portrait of the esteemed Dr. Maya Angelou. Expected guests include director Rita Coburn Whack.

4:00 p.m. TEMPESTAD
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 6
A haunting, beautifully shot portrayal of violence and corruption in Mexico revealed through evocative imagery showing a society where fear is a fact of life. Expected guests include director Tatiana Huezo and producer Jim Stark.

4:00 p.m. THOSE WHO JUMP
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 7
This riveting depiction of human desperation chronicles a community of men from across Africa in Morocco and their attempts to scale a fence to gain entry to Europe. Expected guests include producer Heidi Elise Christensen.

4:15 p.m. AFTER SPRING
AFI SILVER THEATRE 3
AFTER SPRING follows several residents of Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp — the largest in the Middle East — a temporary home to many Syrians fleeing the brutal civil war. 
Expected guests include directors Ellen Martinez and Steph Ching.

4:45 p.m. THE LOVERS AND THE DESPOT
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
This stranger-than-fiction tale chronicles the amazing story of director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee, who were kidnapped by North Korea and forced to work as Kim Jong-il’s personal filmmakers. East Coast premiere.

6:15 p.m. GLEASON
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
GLEASON is an unflinchingly honest portrait of football star Steve Gleason, who was diagnosed with a rapidly progressive form of ALS at age 34. Expected guests include director Clay Tweel.

6:30 p.m. HAVEABABY
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 7
HAVEABABY focuses on
a group of aspiring parents who enter a controversial video contest held by a Las Vegas fertility clinic. Expected guests include director Amanda Micheli and producer Serin Marshall.

6:45 p.m. ALMOST SUNRISE
AFI SILVER THEATRE 3
Two Iraq War vets hike a 2,700-mile course from the Midwest to the California coast in order to heal from their time in combat. Expected guests include director Michael Collins and impact producer Erin Sorenson.

6:45 p.m. TICKLED
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 6
A New Zealand reporter stumbles across a mysterious American website for tickling fetishists and uncovers much more than he bargained for in this wildly entertaining exposé. East Coast premiere. Expected guests include director David Farrier.

7:15 p.m. IN THE SHADOW OF THE HILL
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
The disappearance of a bricklayer from Rio’s largest slum exposes the dark side of pacifying police units charged with sanitizing favelas in the lead-up to the World Cup and Summer Olympics. U.S. premiere. Expected guests include director Dan Jackson and associate producer Jazba Singh.

8:45 p.m. SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 7
Four Latina lesbians in San Antonio fight to clear their names after being convicted of the sexual abuse of two young girls.

9:00 p.m. MISS SHARON JONES!
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
Director Barbara Kopple trains her lens on the inspiring and soulful chanteuse Sharon Jones as she fights a yearlong battle with cancer. Expected guests include director Barbara Kopple and film subject Sharon Jones.

9:15 p.m. TOWER
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 6
The ingenious blend of animation, narration and live action focuses on a fateful day in 1966 when a sniper climbed the bell tower at the University of Texas at Austin. Expected guests include producer Megan Gilbride and animation producer Steph Swope.

9:15 p.m. CINEMA, MON AMOUR
AFI SILVER THEATRE 3
As the last of Romania’s once great movie palaces slowly shutters its doors, theater owner Victor and his staff go to ridiculous lengths to save their now run-down theater.

9:45 p.m. ALL THIS PANIC
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
This sumptuously photographed portrait shot over three years centers on seven teen girls navigating the excitement and anxiety of adolescence in New York. 

TICKETS / MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT AFI DOCS

About AFI DOCS
AFI DOCS is the American Film Institute’s annual documentary festival in the Washington, DC area. Presenting the year’s best documentaries, AFI DOCS is the premier festival in the U.S. dedicated to screenings and events that connect audiences, filmmakers and policy leaders in the seat of our nation’s government. The AFI DOCS advisory board includes Ken Burns, Davis Guggenheim, Chris Hegedus, Werner Herzog, Rory Kennedy, Barbara Kopple, Spike Lee, Errol Morris, Stanley Nelson, D A Pennebaker, Agnès Varda and Frederick Wiseman. Now in its 14th year, the festival will be held June 22–26, 2016 in landmark Washington, DC venues and the historic AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD.  

PROGRAM

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