SFFILM

The Bay Area's home for the world's finest films and filmmakers.

Doc Stories

Returning Nov 2—5, 2023

Browse the 2022 program below.
This vital documentary showcase celebrates many of the year's most important nonfiction works, all premiering for the first time in the Bay Area. The 2022 program focuses on the wondrous aspects of the human condition, exposing our vast capacity for change and creativity. With nine features and 12 short films, the program includes portraits of renowned individuals such as Louis Armstrong, Nan Goldin, former Governor Jerry Brown, and Robert Downey Sr., along with inspirational stories about the French Laundry’s original owner Sally Schmitt; the first female mayor in Afghanistan, Zarifa Gahfari; and a motley crew of Wisconsin-based flagmakers. We will be joined in person by Academy Award-winning directors including Laura Poitras, Cynthia Wade, and Ben Proudfoot, along with multi-hyphenate Sacha Jenkins, and Iron Man himself: Robert Downey Jr.
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Live Events

Browse the live events in the 2022 Doc Stories program. Each of these events occur at a specific time.

Opening Night: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

Thu, Nov 3 at 7:00 pm
Nov 03

Opening Night: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

November 3, 2022 at 7:00 pm PT Vogue Theatre

Governor Jerry Brown has had a storied political life, and Marina Zenovich’s tremendous portrait ...

USA | Documentary | 95

World Premiere

Shorts Block: New York Times Op-Docs

Fri, Nov 4 at 5:00 pm
Nov 04

Shorts Block: New York Times Op-Docs

November 4, 2022 at 5:00 pm PT Vogue Theatre

Op-Docs is the New York Times’ award-winning series of short-form documentaries by independent fi...

Documentary | 93

Centerpiece: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Fri, Nov 4 at 8:00 pm
Nov 04

Centerpiece: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

November 4, 2022 at 8:00 pm PT Vogue Theatre

Nan Goldin is renowned for her vivid, vérité portraits; frames of ordinary people captured in the...

USA | Documentary | 117

Sansón and Me

Sat, Nov 5 at 12:30 pm
Nov 05

Sansón and Me

November 5, 2022 at 12:30 pm PT Vogue Theatre

Bay Area filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes reimagines the framework for documentary reenactments with this ...

Mexico | Documentary | 83

Lakota Nation vs. United States

Sat, Nov 5 at 3:00 pm
Nov 05

Lakota Nation vs. United States

November 5, 2022 at 3:00 pm PT Vogue Theatre

The Black Hills in South Dakota are sacred land to the Lakota people. Long desired by the America...

USA | Documentary | 120

In Her Hands

Sat, Nov 5 at 6:00 pm
Nov 05

In Her Hands

November 5, 2022 at 6:00 pm PT Vogue Theatre

Zarifa Ghafari is one of the few women ever elected to government in Afghanistan. With grit and d...

Afghanistan | Documentary | 93

All That Breathes

Sat, Nov 5 at 8:30 pm
Nov 05

All That Breathes

November 5, 2022 at 8:30 pm PT Vogue Theatre

Beautifully attuned to poetic detail in word, sound, and visual presentation, this Sundance prize...

India | Documentary | 94

Mickey: The Story of a Mouse

Sun, Nov 6 at 10:30 am
Nov 06

Mickey: The Story of a Mouse

November 6, 2022 at 10:30 am PT Vogue Theatre

Walt Disney famously stated that “it all started with a mouse.” Director Jeff Malmberg has put to...

USA | Documentary | 89

Shorts Block: Human Exposure

Sun, Nov 6 at 1:00 pm
Nov 06

Shorts Block: Human Exposure

November 6, 2022 at 1:00 pm PT Vogue Theatre

This eclectic group of joyous shorts uses immersive, kinetic visuals to take a fresh look at the ...

Documentary | 100

Closing Night: “Sr.”

Sun, Nov 6 at 3:00 pm
Nov 06

Closing Night: “Sr.”

November 6, 2022 at 3:00 pm PT Castro Theatre

This loving portrait of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. captures his life and body of work in its unc...

USA | Documentary | 89

Community Screening: Louis Armstrong’s Black &...

Sun, Nov 6 at 4:00 pm
Nov 06

Community Screening: Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues

November 6, 2022 at 4:00 pm PT Vogue Theatre

Louis Armstrong is rooted in our collective memory as a legend, but few understood the man. Viewe...

USA | Documentary | 104

At Rush!

Streaming Programs

Browse the streaming events in the 2022 Doc Stories program. Each of these events have an expiring window of availability.

Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

Governor Jerry Brown has had a storied political life, and Marina Zenovich’s tremendous portrait of him captures the highs and lows, augmented by present-day interviews with her protagonist. Ahead of his time in many ways, especially as an environ...

USA | Documentary | 95

Streaming Window Ended

Mickey: The Story of a Mouse

Mickey: The Story of a Mouse

Walt Disney famously stated that “it all started with a mouse.” Director Jeff Malmberg has put together a loving tribute to one the most recognizable icons of all time. Malmberg presents Mickey’s legacy as being rooted at the forefront of art and ...

USA | Documentary | 89

Streaming Window Ended

Sansón and Me

Sansón and Me

Bay Area filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes reimagines the framework for documentary reenactments with this powerful story of a young man whose life is irretrievably altered by the carceral system.

Mexico | Documentary | 83

Streaming Window Ended

Shorts Block: Human Exposure

Shorts Block: Human Exposure

This eclectic group of joyous shorts uses immersive, kinetic visuals to take a fresh look at the human condition around the world.

Documentary | 100

Streaming Window Ended

Shorts Block: New York Times Op-Docs

Shorts Block: New York Times Op-Docs

Op-Docs is the New York Times’ award-winning series of short-form documentaries by independent filmmakers. Always a Doc Stories highlight, this year’s selection explores the history behind the French Laundry, Mardi Gras traditions, a unique neurol...

Documentary | 93

Streaming Window Ended