The SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which takes place each year just before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes to determine its Oscar finalists, has revealed the names of the 10 documentaries it will highlight in this year's edition of his Docs to Watch panel, a 90-minute discussion on the challenges and benefits of documentary filmmaking.
The films that will be represented in this year's panel – which will take place at the Lucas Theater on the evening of Wednesday 30 October and will be moderated by yours truly for the eleventh consecutive year – and will also be screened during the fest, followed by a question session and answers with their directors, will be:
- Black Box Diaries (MTV Documentary Films), represented on the jury by the director Shiori Ito – the director documents the investigation into her sexual assault by a powerful man in Japan
- Carville: Winning is everything, stupid (CNN Films), represented on the panel by the director Matt Tyrnauer — a profile of the legendary political strategist as he leads efforts to convince Joe Biden not to seek re-election
- Daughters (Netflix), represented on the panel by the co-director Natalie Rae — a look at a pilot program that offers incarcerated men and their young daughters a chance to reconnect
- Hollywoodgate (self-distributed), represented on the jury by the director Ibrahim Nash'at – the director joins the Taliban in the year following America's withdrawal from Afghanistan
- Piece by piece (Focus Features), represented on the panel by the director Morgan Neville – Pharrell Williams' rollercoaster life and career are told through interviews and LEGO animations
- Porcelain war (Picturehouse), represented on the panel by the co-director Brendan Bellomo (co-director Slava Leontyev will be present at the festival) – the life of married artists in what is now Ukraine is turned upside down by the Russian invasion
- Sugar cane (National Geographic Documentary Films), represented on the panel by the co-director Julian Brave NoiseCat (co-director Emily Cassie will be at the festival) — the discovery of unmarked graves at an Indian residential school in Canada forces a shocking reckoning with the past
- Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros.), represented in the panel by the director Pietro Ettegui – The life, work and tragic accident of a beloved movie star are examined by family and friends 20 years after his death
- Union (Level Ground), represented in the panel by the co-director Stephen Maing — a chronicle of the David versus Goliath effort by union leaders and employees at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island to form a union
- Will and Harper (Netflix), represented on the panel by the director Josh Greenbaum – Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, an old friend of Saturday evening live who recently came out as a trans woman, embarks on a journey across America
Over the course of Docs to Watch's decade, 47 films represented on the jury received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature, and eight of them ultimately won that award: the 2015 film Amy2016 OJ: Made in America2017 Icarus2018 Free soloist2019 American factory2021 The summer of the soul2022 Navalny and 2023 20 days in Mariupol.
“I am excited about this year's Docs to Watch program, which offers a powerful and urgent overview of the world we live in,” said SCAD Savannah Film Festival Executive Director. Cristina Routhier said in a statement. “These films address pressing issues with depth and artistry, reflecting the diverse voices shaping today's documentary landscape, and represent a unique opportunity for the SCAD community to engage with a dynamic group of filmmakers and stories.”