DC/DOX, the acclaimed documentary festival in the nation’s capital, will kick off its third edition with the world premiere of Steal This Story, Pl
DC/DOX, the acclaimed documentary festival in the nation’s capital, will kick off its third edition with the world premiere of Steal This Story, Please!, a film about Democracy Now! host and author Amy Goodman.
Oscar nominees Carl Deal and Tia Lessin directed the film focusing on the investigative journalist, columnist and Gandhi Peace Award winner who has become a key figure opposing the rightwing populist swing of the country under Pres. Trump.
Deal and Lessin earned an Academy Award nomination for their 2008 film Trouble the Water, about a remarkable rap artist who was trapped in New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. The filmmakers have been closely associated with some of Michael Moore’s best-known work, working on the production of both Fahrenheit 9/11 and Fahrenheit 11/9.
DC/DOX
DC/DOX, running June 12-15, announced its Signature Screenings, including the opening, closing and Centerpiece films (the full lineup will be revealed next week). Founded in 2022, it has rapidly become one of the most essential nonfiction film festivals in North America.
“As we kick off our third year, DC/DOX’s mission feels more vital than ever,” said DC/DOX co-founder and festival director Sky Sitney. “Art can offer escape, but it also has the power to confront us with what’s worth fighting for. The subjects of our Signature Screenings embody that spirit — challenging, inspiring, and reminding us of the stakes in our world today.”
DC/DOX co-founder Jamie Shor commented, “In the face of a changed Washington, DC/DOX is committed now more than ever to bringing these important stories to the nation’s capital, our backyard, and these four films all have something to say about the moment we find ourselves in.”
This year’s closing night film will be Bodyguard of Lies, directed by two-time Oscar nominee Dan Krauss (Extremis, The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club). The documentary, from Amblin Entertainment and Jigsaw Productions, “exposes the tangled web of deception fed to the American public by the U.S. government during its 20-year war in Afghanistan.”
‘The Alabama Solution‘
HBO Documentary Films
The Alabama Solution, directed by Emmy winner Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, will serve as the festival’s Centerpiece Screening on Friday, June 13. The documentary investigates the shocking abuse of inmates in the Alabama penal system, leveraging videos shot surreptitiously by prisoners who obtained black market cell phones.
“We knew that the prisons in Alabama were troubled, but we had no idea how serious the situation was until these men started reaching out to us,” Jarecki told Deadline at the Sundance Film Festival, where The Alabama Solution premiered. “The physical plant of each prison is in dilapidated condition, but more important, it’s that the prisons have been allowed to run essentially unmonitored… There is no control over the behavior of guards or over the ability to provide any kind of basic level of humane treatment for people who are mentally ill or people who are troubled or just people who are vulnerable.”
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) in ‘State of Firsts’
Level Ground Productions/XTR
The DC/DOX Spotlight Screening, on Sunday, June 15, will be Chase Joynt’s State of Firsts, a timely portrait of Rep. Sarah McBride that documents her “historic run to become the first trans member of Congress, the backlash that ensues, and her fight for change amidst intensifying political extremism.” Republican members of Congress have repeatedly and deliberately misgendered McBride on the House floor, in an attempt to humiliate or intimidate the legislator from Delaware.
DC/DOX was founded “with the goal to bring together innovative visions, bold voices, and timely stories in our nation’s capital,” notes a release. Last year’s edition featured over 90 films from 17 countries, including the world premieres of Breaking the West, The Calling, Majority Rules, One South: Portrait of a Psych Unit, Paint Me A Road Out Of Here, and Wild Wild Space. The festival also screened the DC premieres of Black Box Diaries, Porcelain War, Soundtrack To A Coup D’etat, and Sugarcane, all of which went on to be Academy Award nominees for Best Documentary Feature, and the DC Premiere of The Only Girl In The Orchestra, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. Special guests included former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Christy Turlington Burns, Alexandra Reeve Givens, Natasha Lyonne, and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter.
DC/DOX 2025 Signature Screenings
Opening Night Screening: Thursday, June 12
STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!: DIRS Carl Deal and Tia Lessin. PRODS Karen Ranucci, Tia Lessin, and Carl Deal. USA.
Amy Goodman’s personal story, her hot and radical spirit, and her utterly fearless reporting are interwoven with the monumental events she has covered over decades, spotlighting the critical role of journalism in shaping our understanding of truth—and in compelling action at a time when independent journalism is under attack.
Centerpiece Screening: Friday, June 13
THE ALABAMA SOLUTION: DIRS Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman. PRODS Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman. CO-PRODS Alelur “Alex” Duran, Page Marsella, and Beth Shelburne. USA.
Incarcerated men defy the odds to expose a cover-up in America’s deadliest prison system.
Courtesy of HBO.
Closing Night Screening: Saturday, June 14
BODYGUARD OF LIES: DIR Dan Krauss. PRODS Alex Gibney, Brad Hebert, Ahmad Sharifi, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Susan Zirinsky and Terence Wrong. USA.
Through shocking testimonies from government insiders, confidential documents, and private audio recordings from the highest level of the military, BODYGUARD OF LIES exposes the tangled web of deception fed to the American public by the U.S. government during its 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Courtesy of Paramount+.
Spotlight Screening: Sunday, June 15
STATE OF FIRSTS: DIR Chase Joynt. PRODS Jenna Kelly and Justin Lacob. USA. A portrait of Sarah McBride’s historic run to become the first trans member of Congress, the backlash that ensues, and her fight for change amidst intensifying political extremism.
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