Ava DuVernay‘s “14th” will open the 12th edition of San Francisco’s documentary film festival Doc Stories on Nov. 5.
The Netflix film, which premiered at New York Film Festival earlier this month, is one of 10 Oscar-contending feature documentaries included in Doc Stories’ lineup. Others include J.M. Harper’s “Soul Patrol,” Sam Pollard’s “Tutu” and James Marcus Haney’s “Black Sunflowers.”
The four-day festival put on by SFFILM will feature 11 short documentaries, including Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Revolution Against Death,” about an aging community and its eccentric efforts to achieve immortality, and Oscar winner Laura Poitras’ “They’re Here,” about ICE agents’ descent on Minneapolis.
“For over a decade, Doc Stories has embodied the best of what SFFILM and the San Francisco Bay Area champion and celebrate in new documentary work,” said SFF Film’s executive director Anne Lai, “Each film is a wonderful portal into better understanding the world we live in. When daily life can feel quite bruising and fractious, documentaries skillfully encourage us to let our guard down and connect with real-life stories and people… sometimes challenging, often invigorating, and always meaningful.”
Since its inception, Doc Stories has attracted the who’s who of the nonfiction community. This year, filmmakers including DuVernay, Pollard, Poitras, Luke Lorentzen, and Ben Proudfoot will attend the prestigious Bay Area event, considered the key Oscar season campaign stop in Northern California. Over two dozen Doc Stories selections have earned Academy Award nominations, and several, including “No Other Land” and “Summer of Soul,” have won.
“This year, I found myself drawn to filmmakers who are looking closely at the forces shaping our lives, while also revealing the humor, beauty, resilience, and contradictions within them,” said SFFILM’s director of programming Jessie Fairbanks. “These are documentaries I believe deserve to be seen, talked about, and experienced together — and I’m thrilled to share them with our audiences.”
Running Nov. 5-8 at the Vogue Theatre, the festival will feature three Doc Talks, including a 60-minute conversation with Poitras and her “They’re Here” co-director, Rachel Lauren Mueller. The duo will discuss making “They’re Here” and the challenges they faced while embedding themselves in a Minneapolis community during a wave of ICE raids.
Beyond the public program, SFFILM’s artist development team will convene Doc Congress, a day of dialogue and networking for filmmakers, funders, and industry professionals. This year’s Doc Congress includes a group discussion on AI use in documentaries featuring Srđan Keča, director of Stanford’s MFA in Documentary Film, and Rachel Antell, co-founder of the Archival Producers Alliance. Artist Development will also host an inaugural Pitch Forum for three local filmmakers.
From Nov. 2-10, SFFILM’s Education team will host students and teachers at Schools at Doc Stories, featuring free screenings at SFMOMA, online classroom programs and filmmaker Q&As. The program includes three selections from the main festival, eight additional programs featuring work by Oscar winners Ben Proudfoot and Vanessa Roth, a showcase of films by Berkeley High School students and a teen filmmaking workshop led by Proudfoot.
Doc Stories will conclude on Nov. 8.
Opening Night: “14th”
THU, NOV 5 AT 6:30 PM PT
Ava DuVernay (USA 2026, 107 min)
Ava DuVernay examines the enduring promises of the 14th Amendment through a powerful chorus of
voices, joining us in person to discuss this vital new documentary.
All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea
SAT, NOV 7 AT 5:00 PM PT
Jeanie Finlay (UK 2026, 99 min)
When a massive sea life die-off threatens his livelihood, lifelong fisherman Stan Rennie rallies his
community in a quest for answers, becoming the unlikeliest of activists.
Black Sunflowers
SAT, NOV 7 AT 8:00 PM PT
James Marcus Haney (Ukraine 2026, 97 min)
Executive produced by Sean Penn, James Marcus Haney’s kinetic, kaleidoscopic portrait of Ukrainian youth is alive with movement, color, and music. Filmed over four years the camera follows artists, drifters, soldiers, and friends as they find pockets of freedom amid mounting uncertainty.
Boatbuilders
SUN, NOV 8 AT 4:30 PM PT
Luke Lorentzen (USA 2026, 103 min)
A visually stunning ode to impeccable craftsmanship and the beauty of Maine, Luke Lorentzen’s latest
documentary profiles the workers of Brooklin Boat Yard, a company building custom wooden yachts since 1960.
Citizen Osama
SUN, NOV 8 AT 11:30 AM PT
Ahmed Hassouna (Palestine, France 2026, 71 min)
A photographer turned war reporter documents life in Gaza while raising his newborn son, confronting the impossible challenge of bearing witness to catastrophe while protecting those he loves.
Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been
FRI, NOV 6 AT 8:30 PM PT
Barry Avrich (Canada 2026, 118 min)
The extraordinary singer Darlene Love has lived a big life with its concomitant ups and downs, and this film covers them all as Love herself charts her career, always leading with joy and humor, featuring Cher, David Letterman, Bruce Springsteen, Dionne Warwick, and many more.
Soul Patrol
SAT, NOV 7 AT 2:00 PM PT
J.M. Harper (USA 2026, 100 min)
This moving, creative, and seminal documentary depicts the final reunion of an all-Black six-man patrol
team in Vietnam, ensuring that their courage and experiences are not lost to history.
Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing
SUN, NOV 8 AT 1:30 PM PT
Erik Shirai (Japan, USA, UK, Denmark 2026, 99 min)
Erik Shirai cinematically captures the spectacle of strength that is the world of professional sumo wrestling, and shines a rare spotlight on the secrecy of the sport and its formidable competitors.
Closing Night: Tutu
SUN, NOV 8 AT 7:30 PM PT
Sam Pollard (UK 2026, 102 min)
A revelatory portrait of Desmond Tutu, the beloved South African archbishop whose fearless moral voice,
infectious humor, and unwavering commitment to justice helped reshape a nation and inspire generations.
Doc Talks: Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller
Total Runtime: 60 min
SAT, NOV 7 AT 1:30 PM PT
Join us for an intimate and candid fireside conversation with filmmakers Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren
Mueller, who will discuss the challenges they faced while embedding themselves in a Minneapolis
community during a wave of ICE raids in their film, They’re Here.
Doc Talks: Jeanie Finlay, Luke Lorentzen, and Erik Shirai
Total Runtime: 60 min
SAT, NOV 7 AT 3:30 PM PT
Doc Talks continues with filmmakers Jeanie Finlay (All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea), Luke Lorentzen (Boatbuilders), and Erik Shirai (Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing), as they discuss the cinematic power of observational storytelling and their unique approaches as both directors and cinematographers.
Doc Talks: Sam Pollard and J.M. Harper
Total Runtime: 60 min
SUN, NOV 8 AT 2:30 PM PT
Doc Talks’ final gathering profiles the esteemed and prolific Sam Pollard and rising star J.M. Harper. Pollard and Harper will discuss their newest features, Tutu and Soul Patrol, and their processes of excavating history, culture, and politics in their work.
Community Screening: Title to Be Announced
THU, NOV 5 AT 3:30 PM PT
Join us for a community screening of a very special documentary from a notable local Bay Area filmmaker that takes viewers behind the scenes of a major film production. The title of the film will be revealed in late October. Free and open to the public. Attendees must RSVP for tickets at sffilm.org.
Shorts Block: New York Times Op-Docs
Total Runtime: 99 min
FRI, NOV 6 AT 5:45 PM PT
Films are in alphabetical order rather than order of play.
The Ones Who Stay
Olivier Côté, Jean-François Bouchard (Canada, Cuba 2026, 22 min)
Amid a national migration crisis, four young Cuban artists go against the tide and choose to stay.
The Revolution Against Death
Joshua Oppenheimer (Denmark, Sweden 2026, 23 min)
Joshua Oppenheimer gazes into the world of an aging community and their eccentric efforts to achieve
immortality.
Son
Leona Cauklija (Sweden 2026, 13 min)
A Swedish mother’s love knows no bounds, using graffiti to track down her long lost son.
The Tuners
Paweł Chorzępa (Poland 2026, 23 min)
Distinguished tuners work tirelessly to achieve perfect pitch for their instruments at a renowned piano
competition.
A Wolf in the Suburbs
Amélie Hardy (Canada 2026, 18 min)
A Mississaugan man revives his former Olympian mindset in a fight to preserve his lawn’s overgrowth.
Shorts Block: Sensory Experience
Total Runtime: 100 min
FRI, NOV 6 AT 3 PM PT
Films are in alphabetical order rather than order of play.
Chuuraa
Evgenia Arbugaeva (UK 2026, 18 min)
A Sakha scientist journeys into Siberia’s melting permafrost, where the past emerges alongside ancestral
beliefs.
Listen
Taliesin Black-Brown (USA 2026, 15 min)
As memory fades and nature changes, an Alaskan sound recordist listens closely to what remains.
Pelo Lindo
Josue Garcia Prado (Guatemala 2026, 24 min)
Decades after her son’s forced disappearance, a Guatemalan mother’s enduring faith keeps his memory
alive.
Still Standing
Victor Tadashi Suárez, Livia Albeck-Ripka (USA 2026, 10 min)
After the Eaton Fire, Altadena residents confront toxic contamination in homes insurers insist are safe to
inhabit.
They’re Here
Laura Poitras, Rachel Lauren Mueller (USA 2026, 25 min)
When masked ICE agents descend on Minneapolis, neighbors mobilize, tracking the movements of officers to protect one another.
You Do Not Exist
Dwayne LeBlanc (USA 2026, 8 min)
Beneath passing planes, a man reflects on memory, belonging, and the paths not taken.
Teen Workshop: Creating Untold Stories
Total Runtime: 120 min
SAT, NOV 7 AT 1 PM PT
Join Ben Proudfoot, two-time Academy Award®-winning filmmaker and the founder and CEO of
Breakwater Studios, for a teen-centered documentary workshop.