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. 29, and will be moderated by yours truly for the 12th year in a row — and will also screen during the fest, followed by a Q&A with their director(s), will be:
- 2000 Meters to Andriivka (PBS), represented on the panel by 20 Days in Mariupol Oscar winner Mstyslav Chernov — a filmmaker embeds with a Ukrainian platoon as it attempts to cross a mile of forest and liberate a Russian-occupied village, capturing the horrors and toll of a still-unfolding war
- The Alabama Solution (HBO), represented on the panel by Capturing the Friedmans Oscar nominee Andrew Jarecki or Charlotte Kaufman — a depiction of the bleak conditions and corrupt governance of Alabama prisons made in collaboration with incarcerated inmates operating contraband cell phones
- Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix), represented on the panel by The Edge of Democracy Oscar nominee Petra Costa — a study of the rise of Christian Nationalism on the far-right in Brazil in the wake of the nation’s own version of Jan. 6
- Come See Me in the Good Light (Apple), represented on the panel by Ryan White — a portrait of Colorado poet laureate Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley confronting Gibson’s diagnosis of incurable cancer
- It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (Magnolia), represented on the panel by Deliver Us from Evil Oscar nominee Amy Berg — a chronicle of the extraordinary rise and tragic death at 30 of a generation-defining singer whose only released album was a highlight of 1990s music
- My Mom Jayne (HBO), represented on the panel by Mariska Hargitay — a filmmaker endeavors to learn more about her movie star mother Jayne Mansfield, who died when she was just three, and decides to share a long-held family secret
- Natchez (Oscilloscope), represented on the panel by Suzannah Herbert — an exploration of a small Mississippi town’s antebellum history with slavery and its racial reverberations in the present day
- The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix), represented on the panel by Geeta Gandbhir — an illustration of the dangers of Florida’s “stand your ground laws” using police bodycam footage of the leadup to and aftermath of a tragic confrontation
- Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber), represented on the panel by Andres Veiel — a filmmaker granted exclusive access to the archives of Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler’s go-to propagandist, presents new evidence that suggests she wasn’t honest in her lifetime about how much she knew during World War II
- The Tale of Silyan (Nat Geo), represented on the panel by Honeyland Oscar nominee Tamara Kotevska — an account of a struggling North Macedonian farmer and an injured White stork that he saves and bonds with, interwoven with a folktale about a boy who quarrels with his father and turns into a stork
Over the past 11 years, 24 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.
“Now in its 12th year, Docs to Watch has become a cornerstone of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, shining a spotlight on the most compelling and timely documentaries of the year,” Christina Routhier, the fest’s executive director, said in a statement. “We are honored to welcome these visionary filmmakers to share their work and insights with our audiences. With the guidance of Scott Feinberg and The Hollywood Reporter, this roundtable continues to provide our students with extraordinary access to artists whose stories illuminate the world in profound and powerful ways.”