Opening Night: New York Times Op-Docs

Description

Op-Docs is the New York Times editorial department’s award-winning section for short, opinionated documentaries, produced with wide creative latitude and a range of artistic styles, covering current affairs, contemporary life and historical subjects. Begun in 2011, Op-Docs films are produced by both renowned and emerging filmmakers who express their views in the first person, through their subjects, or more subtly through an artistic approach to a topic. This program features a selection of Op-Docs, with an emphasis on Bay Area filmmakers.

Bible Belt Atheist
Jason Cohn and Camille Servan-Schreiber
A former Pentecostal preacher starts a secular congregation in the heart of the Bible Belt.

Holocaust Survivor Band
Joshua Z Weinstein
This short documentary profiles two elderly Holocaust survivors in Florida who recently formed their own klezmer band.

Hotel 22
Elizabeth Lo
In Silicon Valley, the region’s homeless use a 24-hour bus line as a shelter at night.

Marathon
Theo Rigby and Kate McLean
An immigrant prep-chef from Ecuador recounts his rise to become one of the fastest runners in the New York City Marathon.

My Enemy, My Brother
Ann Shin
Two survivors of a brutal war in the Middle East meet again years later under astonishing circumstances.

Public Square
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
In Times Square, protesters counter an anti-Islamic speech by pastor Terry Jones… by singing songs by The Beatles.

A Ride Home From Prison
Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega
A profile of a former prisoner who guides men released from life sentences in California through their first hours of freedom.

When Loud Music Turned Deadly
Orlando Bagwell
This film tells the story of a black teenager in Florida who was killed by a white man after an argument over loud music. The slain youth’s father, Ron Davis, shares his loss.