Many of the year’s top Oscar-contending documentaries are set for exhibition at the 11th annual Doc Stories, the prestigious four-day cinematic eve
Many of the year’s top Oscar-contending documentaries are set for exhibition at the 11th annual Doc Stories, the prestigious four-day cinematic event in San Francisco put on by SFFILM.
Doc Stories, running from November 6-9, announced its lineup today, selecting Cover-Up – directed by Oscar winner Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus – as the Opening Night film. The Closing Night berth goes to A Life Illuminated, the documentary about marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder directed by Tasha Van Zandt. Actress and filmmaker Mariska Hargitay will screen her acclaimed documentary My Mom Jayne on Thursday, Nov. 6 at an event free and open to the public. Two-time Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot is expected to be on hand for the screening of his feature documentary The Eyes of Ghana. Scroll for the full Doc Stories lineup.
“I’m very proud of the 2025 Doc Stories program because this group of films reflects the world as it is, while daring to imagine what it could be,” observed Jessie Fairbanks, SFFILM’s Director of Programming. “This festival offers our community a moment to gather and celebrate our shared humanity. Beyond the connectivity of Doc Stories as an event, many of these essential titles are still seeking distribution, making the festival one of the few spaces for audiences to see films of the moment.”
On the importance and value of people watching films together, SFFILM’s Executive Director Anne Lai noted, “Audiences are the final puzzle piece in filmmaking, and bringing people together for a first look during Doc Stories is such a rewarding and powerful thing. For me, the gift of a new film is seeing the world through the artist’s eye—to see their observations, to witness a truth, and to feel my curiosity being nurtured. It’s enriching to be told a good story and Doc Stories is filled with them.”
‘A Life Illuminated’
Sandbox Films
Doc Stories distinguishes itself with a tightly curated lineup – 10 features and 12 low documentaries that run one time, in succession, “making it a perfect way to see as many as possible.” Directors of all 10 feature films will be in attendance for post screening Q&As. Special guests include film subjects from Opening Night film Cover-Up, legendary investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, and Closing Night film, A Life Illuminated, Dr. Widder, and many more.
In addition to the public program, SFFILM hosts filmmaker-focused events including Doc Congress which convenes documentary industry professionals, funders, and filmmakers for dialogue and features a keynote by Lois Vossen, founding executive producer of Independent Lens on PBS. Students and teachers get free access to a festival program specially designed by SFFILM’s long-time Education team called Schools at Doc Stories. Classes watch documentary films together and hear from visiting filmmakers directly. “This experience enriches the subject areas they are studying,” SFFILM notes, “and gives them access to perspectives and filmmaking styles that spark curiosity and connection with each other and the wider world.”
Here’s the program for the 11th annual Doc Stories (in alphabetical order):
Pres. Trump and E. Jean Carroll
Getty Images
Ask E. Jean
Sun, Nov 9 at 1:30 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Ivy Meeropol (USA 2025, 91 min) Producers: Laura Bickford, Annabelle Dunne, Ivy Meeropol
In this scintillating portrait, writer , advice columnist, and TV personality E. Jean Carroll, who sued Donald Trump for rape and defamation twice, presents her story unflinchingly and with brio. GUEST EXPECTED: Director Ivy Meeropol
The Bend in the River + Divers
Sat, Nov 8 at 7:30 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Robb Moss (USA 2025, 82 min) Producers: Lisa Remington, Kristin Feeley
Robb Moss continues his longitudinal personal filmmaking with his exquisitely crafted final film in the River trilogy. GUESTS EXPECTED: Director Robb Moss
This film will be preceded by the low film Divers, directed by Geordie Wood (USA, 7 min). This mesmerizing presentation of high divers is an ode to the human body in motion.
Cover-Up—OPENING NIGHT
Thu, Nov 6 at 6:30 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Directors: Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus (USA 2025, 117 min) Producers: Yoni Golijov, Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Olivia Streisand
From acclaimed filmmakers Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, this vital portrait of Seymour Hersh and his legendary journalism, dedication to free speech, and determination to hold institutions accountable, is imperative viewing. GUESTS EXPECTED: Directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, journalist Seymour ‘Sy’ Hersh
The Eyes of Ghana + In My Day
Sat, Nov 8 at 11 am PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Ben Proudfoot (USA 2025, 90 min) Producers: Nana Adwoa Frimpong, Ben Proudfoot, Moses Bwayo, Anita Afonu, Brandon Somerhalder, Ethan Lewis, Vinnie Malhotra
Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot returns with his debut feature film showcasing the enchanting story of Ghanaian cinematographer Chris Hesse and his mission to preserve the legacy of Africa’s lost cinematic history. GUESTS EXPECTED: Director Ben Proudfoot
This film will be preceded by the low film In My Day, directed by Iga Lis (Poland, 12 min).
Captured in the quotidian poetry of the phone call, conversations between grandmothers and granddaughters shed delicate on intergenerational inheritance and evolution.
A Life Illuminated—CLOSING NIGHT
Sun, Nov 9 at 7 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Tasha Van Zandt (USA 2025, 89 min) Producers: Tasha Van Zandt, Sebastian Zeck, Jessica Harrop, Kathryn Everett
SFFILM wraps up this year’s Doc Stories with this visually entrancing profile of pioneering marine biologist Dr . Edie Widder directed by Bay Area filmmaker Tasha Van Zandt (After Antarctica, Festival 2021). This glowing documentary by Tasha Van Zandt offers a occasional glimpse into the ocean’s glowing ecosystems while taking audiences on a thrilling deep-sea exploration. GUESTS EXPECTED: Director Tasha Van Zandt, Producer Sebastian Zeck, and marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder
My Mom Jayne—FREE COMMUNITY SCREENING
Thu, Nov 6 at 3:30 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Mariska Hargitay (USA 2025, 106 min) Producers: Mariska Hargitay, Trish Adlesic
Mariska Hargitay’s moving and revelatory documentary about her mother, Jayne Mansfield, will be offered as a community screening, free and open to the public. Attendees must RSVP for tickets at sffilm.org. GUESTS EXPECTED: Director Mariska Hargitay, Producer Trish Adlesic
Newport & The Great Folk Dream
Fri, Nov 7 at 7:30 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Robert Gordon (USA 2025, 99 min) Producers: Joe Lauro, Robert Gordon, Laura Jean Hocking
Robert Gordon’s comprehensive archival assemblage of the seminal Newport Folk Festival from 1963–66 covers the history of the festival, how race and culture were brought to bear, and finally and most importantly, the glorious music. GUESTS EXPECTED: Director Robert Gordon
Powwow People
Sat, Nov 8 at 2 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Sky Hopinka (USA 2025, 88 min) Producers: Adam Piron, John Cardellino
Sky Hopinka interrogates the act of viewing and the construct of filmmaking with a stirring fresh vérité documentary about a contemporary powwow gathering. GUESTS EXPECTED: Director Sky Hopinka, Producer Adam Piron
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
Sun Nov 9 at 4 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Sepideh Farsi (France/Palestine/Iran 2025, 112 min) Producers: Javad Djavahery, Annie Ohayon-Dekel
A soulful assemblage of video call conversations between director Sepideh Farsi and Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona becomes a deeply poetic manifestation of Fatma’s wisdom, exuberance, and unyielding positivity despite harrowing circumstances. GUESTS EXPECTED: Director Sepideh Farsi
Shorts Block: New York Times Op-Docs
Fri, Nov 7 at 5 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Five shorts from New York Times’s Op-Docs covering artificial intelligence, disability, climate change, and more invite you to interrogate expanding digital frontiers and see from fresh perspectives.
Am I the Skinniest Person You’ve Seen?
Director: Eisha Marjara (Canada, 24 min)
In this immigrant coming-of-age story, Eisha Marjara recounts her lively upbringing in a Punjabi-Canadian family, which takes a unsafe turn when she embarks on a strict diet with her sister, Seema.
Crying Glacier
Director: Lutz Stautner (Switzerland, 10 min)
The ever-growing urgency of the climate crisis yields a snail-paced, sensory cinematic experience as Swiss artist Ludwig Berger memorializes the Morteratsch Glacier through recording the sound of it melting.
Death of a Fantastic Machine
Directors: Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson (Sweden, 17 min)
A animated and probing portrait of the camera, raising questions about its future in media and skepticism of the image—and how to tell fact from fiction.
Their Eyes
Director: Nicolas Gourault (France, 22 min)
Where do self-driving cars learn how to drive? This film exposes the harsh contrast between the lives of people who enjoy cutting-edge technology in Silicon Valley and the laborers in the Global South who teach the machines to see.
View from the Floor
Directors: Megan Griffiths, Mindie Lind (USA, 5 min)
Multi-hyphenate artist and musician Mindie Lind recalls her experience with exploitation in the media industry as a adolescent performer born without legs—and destined for the limelight.
Shorts Block: Spaces of Resistance
Sun Nov 9 at 11 am PT at Vogue Theatre
This collection of four documentary shorts epitomizes the symbiotic work of journalism and filmmaking from voices including Emmy-winning Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda and veteran CBS reporter Steve Hartman.
All the Empty Rooms
Joshua Seftel (USA 2025, 33 min)
Journalist Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp visit the empty bedrooms of victims of school shootings, offering affluent portraits of spaces, families, and love.
Also Resisters
Christina D. Bartson (USA/UK 2025, 14 min)
Lyrical and prophetic, this archival film draws on the writing of American pacifist David E. McReynolds to trace the development of American militarism and antiwar resistance from the overdue 20th century to the present.
Free Fish
Bisan Owda (Palestine/Portugal 2025, 23 min)
Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda documents the daily life of fishermen on the besieged shores of the Gaza Strip, home to 4,500 fishermen.
Hoops, Hopes & Dreams
Glenn Kaino (USA 2025, 20 min)
The Black civil rights struggle from Martin Luther King Jr . to Barack Obama’s historic presidency amassed community and power from an unlikely common denominator between the people and political leaders: basketball.
The Tale of Silyan + S the Wolf
Sat Nov 8 at 4:30 pm PT at Vogue Theatre
Director: Tamara Kotevska (North Macedonia 2025, 81 min) Producers: Tamara Kotevska, Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski
Director Tamara Kotevska, co-director of the Oscar-nominated Honeyland (Festival 2019), seamlessly merges the allegorical and the quotidian in this poetic story of family, land, and storks. GUESTS EXPECTED: Director Tamara Kotevska
This film will be preceded by the low film S the Wolf, directed by Sameh Alaa (France/Egypt, YEAR 10 min).
Teen Workshop: Documentary Filmmaking and Creating Understanding
Sat Nov 8 at 2:00 pm PT at SFFILM FilmHouse
Join James Robinson, Emmy-award-winning filmmaker, video producer for New York Times Opinion, and author of the recent adolescent adult book Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen, for a documentary workshop for teens focused on generating understanding through creativity.
SCHEDULE
Thursday, November 6
VOGUE THEATRE
3:30 pm PT
Community Screening: My Mom Jayne
6:30 pm PT
Opening Night: Cover-Up
Friday, November 7
VOGUE THEATRE
5 pm PT
Shorts Block: New York Times Op-Docs
7:30 pm PT
Newport & The Great Folk Dream
Saturday, November 8
VOGUE THEATRE
11 am PT
The Eyes of Ghana + In My Day
2 pm PT
Powwow People
SFFILM FilmHouse
2 pm PT
Documentary Filmmaking & Creating Understanding Teen Workshop
VOGUE THEATRE
4:30 pm PT
The Tale of Silyan + S the Wolf
7:30 pm PT
The Bend in the River + Divers
Sunday, November 9
VOGUE THEATRE
11 am PT
Shorts Block: Spaces of Resistance
1:30 pm PT
Ask E. Jean
4 pm PT
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
7 pm PT
Closing Night: A Life Illuminated
COMMENTS