Category Archives: Documentary

Time and Water Premieres January 27 at Sundance in Park City

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Time and Water premiered on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at the Park City Library Theater as part of the Premieres section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

The screening was preceded by a press line attended by director Sara Dosa and Icelandic writer and subject Andri Snær Magnason, along with producers Shane Boris, Jameka Autry, and Elijah Stevens.

The documentary centers on Magnason as he confronts parallel forms of loss, the disappearance of Iceland’s glaciers and the fading presence of family memory. Using personal archives, photographs, writing, and folklore, the film approaches climate change through intimacy rather than scale, grounding global urgency in lived experience. The atmosphere surrounding the premiere reflected that tone, measured, quiet, and reflective rather than overtly ceremonial.

The Sundance screening marked the film’s first public presentation. Time and Water continues its festival run with additional in-person and online screenings through February 1.

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‘Spacewoman’ Trailer Arrives Ahead of March Theatrical Release

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spacewomanA new documentary centered on astronaut Eileen Collins is headed to theaters this spring. ‘Spacewoman’ , directed by Hannah Berryman, opens in cinemas beginning March 20, 2026, with an official trailer now released.

The film traces Collins’ career as the first woman to both pilot and command a Space Shuttle, following her path from a working-class upbringing in upstate New York to four increasingly complex NASA missions. Along the way, SPACEWOMAN looks not just at professional milestones, but at the personal cost of pushing into high-risk territory, for Collins and for the people closest to her.

Built around archival footage and first-hand interviews, the documentary features Collins alongside fellow astronauts, engineers, and family members, offering a grounded look at decision-making, responsibility, and the realities behind historic achievements. The score is composed by Marcelo Zarvos.

‘Spacewoman’ has already screened at several major festivals, including DOC NYC, CPH:DOX, Athena Film Festival, and the Boulder International Film Festival.

The film is produced by Keith Haviland and Natasha Dack Ojumu, with Berryman also credited as writer. Collins and Berryman are expected to participate in select interviews ahead of the release.

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Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Joins ‘The Lake’ Ahead of Sundance World Premiere

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The-LakeAhead of its Day One world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions has boarded the feature documentary The Lake as executive producer, alongside Jennifer Davisson and Phillip Watson.

Directed by Abby Ellis (Flint’s Deadly Water), The Lake has quickly emerged as one of Sundance’s most closely watched documentaries. The film examines the accelerating ecological crisis surrounding Utah’s Great Salt Lake, which is rapidly shrinking and exposing a toxic lakebed containing arsenic, lead, mercury, and other heavy metals—posing serious health risks to millions living along the Wasatch Front.

The documentary follows two scientists and a political insider as they race to prevent an environmental catastrophe, offering a rare look at bipartisan efforts to address a crisis with both local and global implications. As Sundance prepares for its final year in Park City, the film’s urgency has drawn significant attention.

Ellis described the project as deeply personal:

“What’s happening in Utah is a microcosm for so many environmental stories around the world… Having the support of Appian Way will only help enhance our reach with this incredibly timely and relevant story.”

Appian Way’s involvement reinforces its continued focus on environmentally driven storytelling. Jennifer Davisson noted that the film aligns closely with the company’s mission to support urgent, impact driven narratives.

Blending scientific reality with moral reckoning, The Lake moves beyond traditional environmental documentaries, asking broader questions about responsibility, complicity, and whether communities can act in time to avert disaster.

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Oscar-Shortlisted Short Documentary Perfectly a Strangeness Sets NYC Screenings

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perfectly-a-strangenessAlison McAlpine’s short documentary Perfectly a Strangeness continues its awards-season run with two upcoming New York City screenings in January, following its inclusion on the Academy Awards’ 2026 shortlist for Best Documentary Short.

The 15-minute Canadian film, which premiered in Official Competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, unfolds in a desert landscape where three donkeys encounter an abandoned astronomical observatory. Blending documentary with elements of myth, science fiction, and philosophical inquiry, the film explores perception, curiosity, and humanity’s relationship to the cosmos through a strikingly sensory approach.

Perfectly a Strangeness has earned significant critical praise, with Deadline calling it “one of the most cinematic documentaries of the year,” and The Film Verdict describing it as “a heady blend of myth, science fiction, documentary, comedy and philosophical exploration.” The film has also screened at TIFF, IDFA, and more than 70 international festivals.

The New York screenings include a January 7 showing at Quad Cinema, followed by a Q&A with critic Jordan Hoffman, and a January 10 screening at DCTV with a post-screening conversation led by filmmaker Penny Lane.

McAlpine, whose previous work includes the acclaimed feature documentary CIELO, is a Guggenheim Fellow and is currently developing her first narrative feature alongside a new hybrid documentary project.

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Award-Winning Documentary ‘Natchez’ Opens at Film Forum

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NatchezSuzannah Herbert’s documentary Natchez will open its U.S. theatrical run at Film Forum on January 30, following its award-winning debut on the festival circuit. The film is executive produced by Sam Pollard.

Set in Natchez, Mississippi, the documentary examines a town long known for its antebellum tourism as it confronts growing challenges to its romanticized portrayal of the Old South. Through interviews with plantation owners, tour guides, activists, and local officials, Natchez explores conflicting narratives about history, memory, and the legacy of slavery.

Natches premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, where it won Best Documentary, along with special jury awards for cinematography and editing. The film has since earned additional honors, including audience and documentary prizes at multiple festivals, and was named one of the National Board of Review’s Top 5 Documentaries of the Year.

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‘Suspicious Minds’ Season One Concludes With AI-Focused Finale

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By Armando

Suspicious-MindsThe first season of Suspicious Minds, the documentary podcast and video series examining the psychological impact of artificial intelligence, has concluded with its finale episode, “Why Is AI Making Us Crazy?”

Created and directed by filmmaker Sean King O’Grady, the season explores how emerging technologies can influence belief systems and mental health, particularly as AI tools become increasingly personalized, emotionally responsive, and difficult for some users to distinguish from human authority.

The finale revisits ideas from Suspicious Minds: How Culture Shapes Madness, the book by psychiatrist Dr. Joel Gold and philosopher Ian Gold, focusing on how long-standing psychological mechanisms such as pattern-seeking and suspicion can be intensified in contemporary digital environments. Rather than framing AI as a singular cause, the episode situates it within a broader cultural context that can amplify existing vulnerabilities.

Produced by Wondermind and Agoric Media, Suspicious Minds premiered in October 2025 and has ranked among the year’s top podcasts, combining expert analysis with firsthand accounts to examine how technology can shape, and in some cases destabilize, individual perceptions of reality.

The series is now available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major platforms.

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Documentary Glendora to World Premiere at Dances With Films NY 2026

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GlendoraThe feature documentary Glendora will make its world premiere at Dances With Films: New York 2026. Directed by Isabelle Armand in collaboration with the Glendora community, the 74-minute film screens January 16 at Regal Union Square.

Set in the Mississippi Delta, Glendora offers an intimate portrait of a small, predominantly African American town, shaped by decades of economic hardship yet sustained by strong communal bonds and cultural traditions.

Developed over five years, the documentary is told through the voices of multiple generations and captures everyday rituals that define life in the town.

Blending personal testimony with observations of daily life, the film situates Glendora’s present-day experiences within a broader American history marked by racial injustice and structural inequality, while emphasizing the community’s resilience and collective memory.

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Michael Apted’s The Long Way Home Returns in Remastered, Expanded Form at MoMA Festival

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michael-apted The Long Way HomeMichael Apted’s documentary The Long Way Home will receive its world premiere in a newly remastered and expanded edition at To Save and Project: The 22nd MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation in January.

The 2026 version has been restored from the only surviving 16mm print under the supervision of producer Steven Lawrence and editor Susanne Rostock. The updated edition also includes a newly created epilogue examining the later life of Soviet rock icon Boris Grebenshchikov, whose career and exile following the release of his Western album Radio Silence are revisited decades after the film’s original release.

Originally released in the late 1980s, The Long Way Home follows Grebenshchikov as he became the first Soviet underground rocker to record in the West during the early days of Glasnost. The film documents his collaborations with Western musicians including Dave Stewart, Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde, Ray Cooper, and members of Crosby, Stills & Nash, while also capturing tensions with his longtime band Aquarium and his Russian audience.

The remastered edition will screen at MoMA on January 28, with an in-person introduction by Lawrence and Rostock.

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“One Battle After Another” Dominates National Board of Review Awards

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national-board-of-reviewPaul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another continued its awards-season surge, leading the 2025 National Board of Review honors with five major wins, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Supporting Actor for Benicio Del Toro, and Breakthrough Performance for Chase Infiniti.

The strong showing follows the film’s recent victories at both the Gotham Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle, positioning the Warner Bros. title as one of this season’s most formidable contenders.

Rose Byrne was named Best Actress for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, continuing her streak across multiple critics groups. Other notable winners included Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Sentimental Value, Ryan Coogler for Sinners (Best Original Screenplay), and Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar for Train Dreams (Best Adapted Screenplay).

NBR also recognized Arco as Best Animated Feature, It Was Just an Accident as Best International Film, and Cover-Up as Best Documentary. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning earned the group’s stunt artistry honor, while Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw received Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography.

As usual, the organization released additional top-ten lists spanning films, international selections, documentaries, and independent features, which continue to serve as an early barometer of industry consensus.

The winners will be celebrated at the NBR’s annual gala on January 13, 2026, in New York City.

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Documentary “More Than Santa Baby” Honors Composer Philip Springer

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The new documentary short More Than Santa Baby shines a spotlight on the remarkable life of composer Philip Springer, best known for writing the holiday classic “Santa Baby.” Directed by his daughter, Tamar Springer, the film reveals an artist whose career stretches across eight decades and far beyond his most famous song.

Running 39 minutes, the film blends archival footage, rare recordings, and interviews to trace Springer’s creative journey from 1940s Tin Pan Alley to the studio eras of New York and Hollywood. Along the way, his work connected with icons including Eartha Kitt, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Judy Garland.

The documentary has quickly become a festival favorite, premiering at Dances With Films in Los Angeles, winning the Documentary Short Audience Award, and continuing with a successful multi-city run, including the Big Apple Film Festival.

Set partly in New York City, the film serves as both a tribute to the Golden Age of American songwriting and a personal look at resilience, legacy, and lifelong creativity. Now 99, Springer continues to compose, making the film a timely portrait of enduring artistry.

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