LINCOLN SQUARE—Chicago’s longest-running documentary film festival, Doc10, returns for its 11th year with an expanded lineup of features, shorts and events, spanning 10 days of screenings and special guests.
The festival runs April 24-May 3 at its perennial home, the Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave. Doc10 will feature 12 feature documentaries in its official selections, as well as a “Speak Truth” program of hard-hitting, topical documentaries meant to inspire discussion on timely, critical issues facing America and the world.
Just after Chicago’s longest-running documentary festival, Doc10, finished its 10th edition last year, Chicago Media Project organizers learned that the National Endowment of the Arts was rescinding their funding, after the Trump Administration’s call to eliminate the agency.
“They’re not our sole funder by any means,” Froehle told Block Club, “but they weren’t insignificant.” The news came as a shock to the organizers of the fest, who then spent the next couple months reorganizing and deciding how to move forward.
Froehle and the CMP team chose to not only return this year, but expand the festival’s offerings by a week, with funding gaps shored up by individual philanthropists.
“They’re the reason Chicago Media Project is in existence,” Froehle said. “We would not exist without individuals who believe in the power of media to bring about change.
“Much of the folks in power understand how media, and manipulation of that media, can really have an impact. We agree; media is powerful. In our case, we can use media to bring people together, to help them see they’re not alone in their fear and rage and desire to learn more.”
A still from Doc10 selection “Steal this Story, Please!”, which chronicles the career of “Democracy Now!” host Amy Goodman.
One of the ways the Doc10 team chose to answer this call is to add a new program to the festival called “Speak Truth,” aiming to expand the festival’s reach by screening documentaries focused on a timely, important issue, followed by discussions with filmmakers and community leaders and supported by various community partners.
Froehle explains that she wanted to “literally lay the bedrock of this festival” on this idea, building new avenues to spark conversations about issues ranging from the war on journalism to climate to free speech.
Doc10 kicks off April 24 with the first of several “Speak Truth” screenings, a 7 p.m. presentation of “Sabbath Queen,” Sandi DuBowski’s 21-year profile of Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, the latest in a long line of Orthodox rabbis who reinvents his faith through drag. (DuBowsky and Rabbi Lau-Levie will be in attendance for a Q&A).
Highlights of the “Speak Truth” program include an April 25 screening of last year’s “The Librarians,” about the fight for access to knowledge in an age of school-library censorship; Emmy-winning actor and producer Henry Winkler will attend a Q&A after the screening at 6 p.m. Former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger will also attend a Zoom Q&A following a presentation of his doc, “The Last Republican” at 7 p.m. April 28.
The headlining documentary of Doc10’s official selections is the upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 Documentary “Give Me the Ball!,” about legendary tennis pro Billie Jean King and her trailblazing struggles through sexual identity and gender parity in the sport.
Billie Jean King in the documentary “Give Me the Ball!” by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff. Credit: Ellen Griesedieck
Doc10’s lineup also includes several connections to Chicago, whether through subjects or filmmakers. “American Doctor,” a documentary about three doctors who volunteer to work in Gaza, features Dr. Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian emergency room doctor who hails from Chicago.
“Not only is Dr. Ahmad a leader to Palestinians in Chicago, he’s actually a leader of our time for Americans as a whole,” director Poh Si Teng told Block Club.
Ed Emanuel, Jerry Brock, Ellis Gates, Thad Givens, Franklin Swann, Lawton Mackey and Donald Mann appear in “Soul Patrol” by J.M. Harper. Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
“Soul Patrol” comes from director J.M. Harper, who grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and lived for some time in Chicago; it explores the first elite unit of Black Special Ops fighters in the Vietnam War, centering on Ed Emanuel (the author of the book on which the doc is based).
“It’s kind of a homecoming for me,” Harper told Block Club. “It’s going to be a powerful experience watching Chicago audiences watch the film, and showing it to people I consider to be family.”
Perhaps most timely is the Speak Truth presentation “ICE Under Watch,” a 40-minute presentation of short films from local Chicago filmmakers who monitored and witnessed ICE activity in Chicago during last year’s Operation Midway Blitz, in which federal agents descended on the city and commit injustices in the name of immigration enforcement.
Andrew Freer, local filmmaker and founder of Go Forth Media, is pleased to have some of his short films included in the program.
“This has been potentially one of the most consequential things that’s happened in the last fifty years for our democracy,” Freer tells Block Club. “I’m glad to be included, and that more of this information is getting out there.”
The program screens at noon May 3.
Other highlights of the festival’s official selections include:
“Cookie Queens:” Alysa Nahmias’ endearing, heartfelt profile of four young Girl Scouts, varying in age, socioeconomic status and identity, navigating a particularly challenging cookie-selling season. A Q&A with Nahmias will follow.
The closing night of last year’s Doc10 at the Davis Theater. Credit: Victoria Sanders
“Everybody to Kenmure Street”: Felipe Bustos Sierra uses archival footage, interviews, and surprising reenactments (featuring actors Emma Thompson and Kate Dickie) to piece together the case study of a 2021 protest in Glasgow, where citizens rebelled against immigration enforcement attempting to deport two Muslim neighbors. Sierra will also appear for a Q&A.
“Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie”: Acclaimed documentarian Alex Gibney turns his lens to the 2022 assault on world-renowned author Salman Rushdie, showing his emotional path to recovery and the power of resilience. Gibney and Rushdie, along with journalist Bethany McLean, will field questions after the film.
Tickets for each screening are $20, with discounts for students, seniors, military and first responders. There is also an Official Selections Pass for $350, which includes one ticket to every screening.
For more information on Doc10, visit the festival website.
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