Panel Featuring Top Documentary Directors
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which takes place each year shortly before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes to determine its Oscar shortlists, has revealed the names of the 10 documentary features that it will highlight on this year’s edition of its Docs to Watch panel, a 90-minute discussion about the challenges and rewards of documentary filmmaking.
The films that will be represented on this year’s panel — which will take place at the Lucas Theatre on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 30, and will be moderated by yours truly for the 11th year in a row — and will also screen during the fest, followed by a Q&A with their director(s), will be:
- Black Box Diaries (MTV Documentary Films), represented on the panel by director Shiori Ito — the filmmaker 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 director Matt Tyrnauer — a profile of the legendary political strategist as he leads the effort to convince Joe Biden to not seek re-election
- Daughters (Netflix), represented on the panel by co-director Natalie Rae — a look at a pilot program that offers incarcerated men and their young daughters the chance to reconnect
- Hollywoodgate (self-distributed), represented on the panel by director Ibrahim Nash’at — the filmmaker embeds with the Taliban in the year after America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan
- Piece by Piece (Focus Features), represented on the panel by director Morgan Neville — the rollercoaster life and career of Pharrell Williams is told through interviews and LEGO animation
- Porcelain War (Picturehouse), represented on the panel by co-director Brendan Bellomo (co-director Slava Leontyev will also be at the fest) — the lives of married artists in present-day Ukraine are upended by the Russian invasion
- Sugarcane (National Geographic Documentary Films), represented on the panel by co-director Julian Brave NoiseCat (co-director Emily Kassie will also be at the fest) — 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 on the panel by director Peter Ettedgui — 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 on the panel by co-director Stephen Maing — a chronicle of the David vs. Goliath effort of labor organizers and employees at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island to form a union
- Will & Harper (Netflix), represented on the panel by director Josh Greenbaum — Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, an old friend from Saturday Night Live who recently came out as a trans woman go on a road trip across America
Over the decade of Docs to Watch, 47 films that were represented on the panel went on to receive an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature, and eight of them ultimately won that award: 2015’s Amy, 2016’s O.J.: Made in America, 2017’s Icarus, 2018’s Free Solo, 2019’s American Factory, 2021’s Summer of Soul, 2022’s Navalny, and 2023’s 20 Days in Mariupol.
“I’m thrilled about this year’s Docs to Watch lineup, which offers a powerful and urgent panorama of the world we live in,” SCAD Savannah Film Festival executive director Christina Routhier said in a statement. “These films tackle 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.”