Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced the slate of films for AFI DOCS 2016, running June 22-26 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD. The 14th edition showcases 94 films representing 30 countries, including three world premieres, seven North American premieres, three U.S. premieres, 12 East Coast premieres and one international premiere. AFI DOCS 2016 screenings will take place in Washington, DC, at the Newseum and the Landmark E Street Cinema, and in Silver Spring, MD, at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center.The lineup at AFI DOCS 2016 illustrates that everyone has a story, and that those stories are as entertaining, twisted and provocative as fiction, said Michael Lumpkin, Director of AFI DOCS. While our artists and policy leaders will engage in the urgent realities presented in these films, audiences will experience the best in documentary cinema today throughout the festival.
As previously announced, the Newseum - this years Official Gala Screening Sponsor - will host the Opening Night Gala and North American premiere of ZERO DAYS (DIR Alex Gibney) and the Closing Night Gala screening of NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU (DIRS Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady).
Also previously announced, AFI will recognize Academy Award -nominated filmmaker Werner Herzog at AFI DOCS as the Charles Guggenheim Symposium honoree at the Newseum on June 24. The Symposium will include a conversation, moderated by Ramin Bahrani, followed by the East Coast premiere of Herzogs latest film LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD.
The Newseum will also host this years Spotlight Screenings - AUDRIE & DAISY (DIRS Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk), CHECK IT (DIRS Toby Oppenheimer, Dana Flor), LIFE, ANIMATED (DIR Roger Ross Williams) and NEWTOWN (DIR Kim A. Snyder) - with panel discussions or extended Q&As with special guests to follow.
Newly announced films from notable documentarians include COMMAND AND CONTROL (DIR Robert Kenner), the world premiere of DOC & DARRYL (DIRS Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio) and MISS SHARON JONES! (DIR Barbara Kopple).
AFI DOCS will offer additional programs for festival filmmakers as a way to connect with film industry and policy leaders. The festival will also include a Filmmaker Forum open to the documentary filmmaking community.
Tickets to AFI DOCS, including Galas and Spotlight Screenings, will be available to AFI members exclusively from May 9-17, and to the public on May 18. Passes for AFI DOCS 2016 are now on sale at AFI.com/afidocs.
AFI DOCS 2016 PROGRAM
OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHT GALAS, SPOTLIGHT SCREENINGS AND CHARLES GUGGENHEIM SYMPOSIUM AND SCREENING
Wednesday, June 22
OPENING NIGHT GALA: ZERO DAYS: DIR Alex Gibney. USA. Academy Award -winning filmmaker Alex Gibney returns to the festival with ZERO DAYS, a fascinating expos of American and Israeli covert operations aimed at Irans nuclear program. North American premiere.
Thursday, June 23
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING: AUDRIE & DAISY: DIRS Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk. USA. Two teenaged victims of sexual assault fight to survive and heal in this riveting examination of what happens when social media spirals frighteningly out of control.
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING: NEWTOWN: DIR Kim A. Snyder. USA. A deeply moving portrait of a community scarred by gun violence yet bound together in their grief and commitment to honor the ones they have lost.
Friday, June 24
THE CHARLES GUGGENHEIM SYMPOSIUM AND SCREENING: The Charles Guggenheim Symposium honors the legacy of the late four-time Academy Award -winning filmmaker Charles Guggenheim. This year, the Symposium pays tribute to legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog. The Guggenheim Symposium will present clips from Herzogs documentary oeuvre along with a discussion with Herzog moderated by celebrated filmmaker Ramin Bahrani. The conversation will be followed by the East Coast premiere of Herzogs latest film LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD. Herzogs non-fiction works include INTO THE ABYSS , the Oscar -nominated ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD , THE WHITE DIAMOND (2004), the Emmy -nominated LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY , FATA MORGANA .
Saturday, June 25
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING: CHECK IT: DIRS Dana Flor, Toby Oppenheimer. USA. A gang of gay and transgender Washington, DC, teens attempts to overcome violence, poverty and prostitution by finding a more productive outlet - through the world of fashion.
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING: LIFE, ANIMATED: DIR Roger Ross Williams. USA. In this joyous and uncommon coming-of-age tale, a boy with autism learns to communicate with his family by reciting lines from his beloved Disney characters.
Sunday, June 26
CLOSING NIGHT GALA: NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU: DIRS Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady. USA. At 93, an energetic, funny and thoughtful Norman Lear looks back on a remarkable career that defined American television in the 1970s.
FEATURE FILM SELECTIONS:
5 OCTOBER: DIR Martin Kollar. Czech Republic/Slovakia. 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.
ABORTION: STORIES WOMEN TELL: DIR Tracy Droz Tragos. USA. Director Tracy Droz Tragos surveys reproductive politics in her native Missouri, which some hope to proclaim the first abortion-free state in the nation.
AFTER SPRING: DIRS Ellen Martinez, Steph Ching. USA. AFTER SPRING follows several residents of Jordans Zaatari refugee camp - the largest in the Middle East - a temporary home to many Syrians fleeing the brutal civil war.
ALL THIS PANIC: DIR Jenny Gage. USA. This sumptuously photographed portrait shot over three years centers on seven teen girls navigating the excitement and anxiety of adolescence in New York.
ALMOST SUNRISE: DIR Michael Collins. USA. Two Iraq War vets hike a 2,700-mile course fro
