DOC NYC‘s 11th annual Visionaries Tribute gala will honor documentary filmmaker Alan Berliner, Firelight Media president and co-founder Marcia Smith, director Lucy Walker, and CEO of Chicken & Egg Pictures Jenni Wolfson.
The gala will take place on Nov. 13 at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall and marks the opening day of the 15th annual DOC NYC film festival. The event attracts the who’s who of the doc community from both coasts. Hundreds of documentary filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, editors, publicists, and distributors hobnob with Academy doc branch members in hopes of winning their votes.
“For more than a decade, we’ve been proud to present the DOC NYC Visionaries Tribute, a cherished opportunity to assemble over 500 documentary professionals for a celebration of excellence in our field,” says DOC NYC co-founder and director of special projects Thom Powers, who oversees the event. “Alan Berliner is one of the most inventive practitioners of the documentary form. Marcia Smith is esteemed both as a producer and an organization leader at Firelight Media. Lucy Walker has a directing career of extraordinary depth and breadth. And Jenni Wolfson has supported filmmakers all over the world as the head of Chicken & Egg.”
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Berliner and Smith will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors individuals with a substantial body of documentary film work.
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Known as the virtuoso of essayistic doc, Berliner films include: “Letter to the Editor,” an eclectic meditation on newspaper photograph, “First Cousin, Once Removed,” about a poet’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease, and “Wide Awake” about the director’s experiences with insomnia.
Smith formally launched Firelight Media in 2000 with her partner, the filmmaker Stanley Nelson. The nonprofit organization supports, resources, and advocates on behalf of documentary filmmakers of color. Over the past 25 years, Firelight Media’s artist programs have supported over 250 filmmakers. Smith has written several docs alongside Nelson including “Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom,” “Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities,” “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple” and “The Murder of Emmett Till.”
Past Visionaires Tribute Lifetime Achievement honorees include Nelson, Michael Moore, Barbara Kopple, Frederick Wiseman, Martin Scorsese, Sheila Nevins, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Albert Maysles and Errol Morris.
Walker, an Oscar-nominated director, will receive The Robert and Anne Drew Award for Documentary Excellence. The prize is named for the pioneering husband and wife filmmaking team. The award includes a $5,000 cash prize contributed by Drew Associates and honors a mid-career filmmaker or partnership that excels in observational filmmaking.
Walker’s latest doc, “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa” premiered last year at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival and is curently streaming on Netflix. Walker’s previous docus include “Bring Your Own Brigade,” about forest fires; “The Crash Reel” about extreme sports and brain injuries; and “The Waste Land,” which is set in a Brazilian and focuses on a garbage dump.
Jill Drew, the general manager of Drew Associates, who established the DOC NYC award says that Walker “has captured so many indelible moments. She has a great perseverance to follow stories wherever they may lead that perfectly embodies this award.”
Three of the past six recipients of The Robert and Anne Drew Award have gone on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary. They are: Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert (“American Factory”); Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (“Free Solo”); and Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”).
Wolfson will be honored with the Leading Light Award, which is presented to an individual making a critical contribution to documentary in a role other than as a filmmaker. Under Wolfson’s leadership since 2013, Chicken & Egg Pictures has steadily expanded its grant making and mentorship programs for women and gender-expansive filmmakers, deepening its commitment to social change through narrative storytelling. Prior to her tenure at Chicken & Egg, Wolfson was the managing director at Witness, the international human rights video advocacy organization founded by musician Peter Gabriel.
Past recipients of the Leading Light Award include Erika Dilday, Tabitha Jackson, and Tom Quinn.
DOC NYC’s 2024 festival will take place both in person and online beginning on Nov. 13 and conclude on Nov. 21. The in-person events will take place at New York City’s IFC Center, SVA Theatre, and Village East by Angelika. The fest’s online presentations will extend through Dec. 1, with online screenings available to viewers across the U.S.
