MoMA Announces Initial Selections fo Doc Fortnight 2016

The Museum of Modern Art announces initial selections and the opening- and closing-night films for Doc Fortnight 2016, its 15th annual showcase of recent documentary film that examines the relationship between contemporary art and nonfiction practices and reflects on new areas of documentary filmmaking, from February 19 through 29, 2016. To date, this year's festival includes an international selection of 16 features and six short films, with many of the directors present for discussions following their films. These screenings represent the North American, U.S., or New York premiere of every film featured in the festival-and the world premieres of Natalie Bookchin's Long Story Short (2016), Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil's INAATE/SE/ [it shines a certain way. to a certain place./it flies. falls./] (2016), and Sbitar (2016), Othmane Balafrej's intense observational documentary short about an emergency room in Rabat, Morocco. Doc Fortnight 2016 is organized by Sally Berger, Assistant Curator, Department of Film, with David Neary, Festival Liaison. The selection committee consists of Yto Barrada, artist; Toby Lee, Associate Professor of Cinema Studies, New York University; and Sally Berger.

Featuring films produced in Austria, Bangladesh, China, France, Ireland, Lebanon, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Syria, and the United States, this year's slate covers a range of contemporary issues such as the war in Syria (Coma, 2015, and My Aleppo, 2015), the migrant crisis in Europe (The Great Wall, 2015), and the hidden effects of poverty (Long Story Short) in a range of compelling styles reflecting our rapidly evolving digital age.