DOC NYC 2026 Opens Nov. 11 in New York With 200+ Documentaries and an Online Run

DOC NYC calls itself America's largest documentary festival, and its 17th edition runs November 11–29, 2026. According to the festival, the program includes more than 200 films. Its Instagram account says the selection covers over 118 features, 89 competition shorts and 26 World Premieres. The organization is based at 11 Penn Plaza in Manhattan.

Opening night goes to The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs, which follows Shipibo artist Sara Flores. At 75, she travels from the Peruvian Amazon to international acclaim, and the film presents her visionary paintings, rooted in Indigenous knowledge, as a force for cultural and territorial resistance. The centerpiece is Union Town, about New York City delivery workers taking on some of the world's most powerful corporations. Closing night is Totality, an immersive portrait of the 2024 total solar eclipse and of what drew an estimated 50 million North Americans to watch it.

The competition sections each have a featured title. International Competition highlights Into the Jaws of the Ogre, and US Competition features Frida: The Girl Just Doesn't Go Away. Special Presentations features Primetime Preacher$, Shorts Competition features A Song for the Snow Lion, and Metropolis Competition features Make Work. The festival has also announced Short Lists, a Winner's Circle and a Selects Encore section.

You don't have to be in the city to take part. An Online Films Pass gives access to the films on the festival's virtual platform from November 11 to 29. An All Film Pass covers all 200-plus films in the program and is on sale at earlybird pricing. A screening calendar is hosted on the IFC Center ticketing site.

Around the screenings, the festival holds its 13th annual Visionaries Tribute at Gotham Hall on November 11. DOC NYC PRO, the industry strand, offers a 2026 conference and a Solutions Lab. The Lab pairs a field-wide panel on funding, distribution and audience-building with small-group consultations on individual projects. A separate pitch day brings eight projects before industry professionals, with prizes that include $30,000 grants from Outlier Film Fund.