The 2024 edition of SFFILM Doc Stories is celebrating a milestone year as the festival toasts its 10th anniversary.
This year’s four-day program will take place from October 17 through 20, and open with Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards’ “One to One: John & Yoko,” about John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 18 months living in the U.S.
The festival will close out with a full circle moment, marking the premiere of Robinson Devor’s “Suburban Fury,” which was funded in part by a 2012 SFFILM Rainin Grant. “Suburban Fury” tells the story of Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to shoot President Gerald Ford on a crowded sidewalk in San Francisco’s Union Square in September of 1975.
The 2024 SFFILM Doc Stories lineup includes 10 features, two shorts programs, two filmmaking and industry talks, and a documentary filmmaking workshop for teens.
The Doc Stories weekend will kick off with a free, retrospective screening of Amy Berg’s “Janis: Little Girl Blue,” which was part of the inaugural Doc Stories program in 2015. The film centers on the legacy of Janis Joplin.
In addition to the main program, SFFILM’s Doc Congress will connect filmmakers, industry professionals, and film funders, and a full program of Schools at Doc Stories designed for students and teachers will run concurrently. Bay Area students will attend free weekday in-person and online matinees of curated Doc Stories film programs. Worldwide filmmaker guests will also visit local classrooms in person and online to discuss their films with students. Finally, SFFILM’s College Days program will bring Doc Stories filmmakers to four Bay Area universities for in-class visits and discussion.
Doc Stories Talks will feature onstage conversations with film industry veterans including Laura Kim, Carrie Lozano, Justine Nagan, and Keri Putnam.
Check out the full lineup below with synopses courtesy of SFFILM Doc Stories.
OPENING NIGHT
“One to One: John & Yoko”
Thursday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Vogue Theatre
Kevin Macdonald (UK 2024, 100 min)
“One to One” is a cunningly crafted mixtape that flips through the private moments of Lennon and Ono’s life alongside seminal cultural moments in our nation’s history.
CLOSING NIGHT
“Suburban Fury”
Sunday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Vogue Theatre
Robinson Devor (USA 2024, 115 min)
For this film, Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to shoot President Ford in Union Square, insists that she be the only one interviewed. The result is one of the most fascinating depictions of an unreliable narrator in the documentary field.
AlphabeticalList of Other Titles
“Architecton”
Sunday, Oct. 20 at 11:00 a.m. at Vogue Theatre
Victor Kossakovsky (Germany/France/USA 2024, 98 min)
Victor Kossakovsky returns to SFFILM with a visually stunning meditation on stone and steel as he probes the incredible wreckage wrought upon the planet in our endless quest to build bigger and better.
“Ernest Cole: Lost and Found”
Saturday, Oct 19 at 11:00 a.m. at Vogue Theatre
Raoul Peck (France 2024, 105 min)
Eight years after his magisterial portrait of “James Baldwin I Am Not Your Negro,” master documentarian Raoul Peck turns his considered focus to the life and career of South African photographer Ernest Cole, with a vocal performance from LaKeith Stanfield.
“Janis: Little Girl Blue”
Thu Oct 17 at 4:00 PM at Vogue Theatre Amy Berg (USA 2015, 105 min)
This illuminating film explores the tumultuous development of Janis Joplin’s iconic and primal style returns for Doc Stories’ 10th Anniversary.
“Janis: Little Girl Blue” will be offered as a community screening, free and open to the public. Attendees must RSVP for tickets at sffilm.org
“Mistress Dispeller”
Friday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Vogue Theatre
Elizabeth Lo (China/USA 2024, 94 min)
Elizabeth Lo’s strikingly intimate portrait of a woman in China who hires a professional to infiltrate her husband and mistress’s private lives to bring an unassailable end to their affair.
“New York Times Op-Docs”
Friday, Oct. 18 at 5:00 p.m. at Vogue Theatre (81 min)
SFFILM’s celebrated collaboration with the New York Times continues into its tenth year, this time showcasing five films that provocatively explore the complex and precarious spaces that various women occupy in an ever-modernizing world.
“No Other Land”
Saturday, Oct. 19 at 6:00 p.m. at Vogue Theatre
Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor (Palestine/Norway 2024, 95 min)
Made by a four-person collective of Israeli and Palestinian activists, this unflinching, prize-winning documentary depicts the harrowing conditions of a mountain village living under constant violence.
“No Other Land” is presented in collaboration with SFFILM’s partners at the Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) and the Jewish Film Institute (JFI). Directors Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra are expected to attend.
“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin”
Saturday, Oct. 19 at 8:30 p.m. at Vogue Theatre Benjamin Ree (Norway 2024, 104 min)
Director Benjamin Ree skillfully and compassionately recreates the experiences of the late Mats Steen in World of Warcraft, where he developed heartfelt friendships and profoundly impacted the lives of other gamers across Europe.
Shorts Block: “The Persistence of Dreams”
Sunday, Oct. 20 at 1:30 p.m. at Vogue Theatre (98 min)
Harnessing the power of short-form non-fiction film, each character-driven story in this block is a cinematic demonstration of perseverance.
“Union”
Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1:30 p.m. at Vogue Theatre
Brett Story, Stephen Maing (USA 2024, 104 min)
Amazon is notorious for being anti-union. Some brave workers in various locations are taking organizing matters into their own hands however, and this rousing documentary takes a deep dive into the efforts of one such group in Staten Island.
“The White House Effect”
Sunday, Oct. 20 at 4:30 p.m. at Vogue Theatre
Bonni Cohen, Pedro Kos, Jon Shenk (USA 2024, 97 min)
From Bay Area alumni filmmakers, this timely, tense documentary is a breathtaking excavation of squandered opportunities for significant environmental change that also illuminates a path forward for demystifying political obfuscation.
TALKS + WORKSHOPS
Doc Stories Talk: Building Solutions with Audience Demographics
Friday, Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. at Vogue Theatre
Former Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam presents her research that uses quantitative data to examine alternative pathways for engaging audiences and ensure that non-fiction filmmaking continues to thrive.
Doc Stories Talk: A Call to Action: Non-Fiction Leaders in Dialogue
Saturday, Oct. 19 at 4:15 p.m. at Vogue Theatre
The golden era of documentaries is at an end and what comes next is one of the most fiercely debated topics in our industry. Join us as we welcome Laura Kim, Carrie Lozano, Justine Nagan, and Keri Putnam for a timely discussion on the state of affairs within non-fiction filmmaking.
Documentary Filmmaking & Activism Workshop for Teens
Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. at SFFILM FilmHouse (120 min)
Join Jalena Keane-Lee, award-winning filmmaker and director of “Standing Above the Clouds,” for a social justice-focused documentary workshop for teens.
