New Jersey Documentary Film Festival

The VIP Pass allows you to access to ALL films being shown in both June 27th & 28th!

This block explores the passion, perseverance, and creativity that drive artistic expression and cultural innovation. Through stories of imagination, reinvention, and dedication, these films celebrate the individuals and movements that continue shaping the American creative spirit across generations.

Pinball- The American Game
Finally, a Pinball Documentary that deserves an Extra Ball.
Pinball The American Game is the most complete and visually dynamic documentary ever made about Pinball. From its origins in the 1600s, through its wartime survival, cultural reinventions, up to its current-day resurgence, Pinball The American Game takes you on an amazing journey. This show explores the modern-day business of pinball and dives into its unique connection with Hollywood, Rock Music Icons, and American pop culture. This documentary also confronts the game’s public image problems and its decades-long battle with sexism, gambling, and the rise of the almighty video game. Over fifteen years in the making, this is the definitive, high-energy story of an Iconic American Game.

Dreamlab:
Dreamlab follows the emotional and physical journey of creating art. Shot on location in the artist's place of creation, Dreamlab hones in on the question "Why do we create art?"

Two intimate documentaries exploring families who challenge conventional expectations of identity, caregiving, and belonging. Through deeply personal stories, these films examine the resilience of love, the weight of caregiving, and the freedom to define oneself outside of society’s prescribed roles.

What's Next For Jayden? A young boys journey as a level 3 autistic:
What’s Next for Jayden is an intimate documentary following a single mother and her young son with Level 3 autism as they navigate the challenges of daily life, caregiving, and isolation. Through moments of struggle, resilience, and deep connection, the film sheds light on one of the least understood forms of autism and the quiet strength it takes to show up every day.

Changing Shapes:
Raised by two mothers, a high school freshman explores what it means to grow up without a father in a world shaped by traditional masculinity. Through conversations with family, the film becomes a coming-of-age story about identity, gender, and defining yourself beyond stereotypes.

WRIGHT OF PASSAGE:
In Wright of Passage, Lee Giat, a determined pilot, faces the aftermath of his dad’s fatal plane crash, embarking on a redemption-filled odyssey. Guided by his father's legacy of using aviation as a means for positive change, Lee pilots the "Spirit of Science" aircraft on a solo flight halfway across the planet.

Amidst perilous landings, cultural clashes, and unforeseen emergencies, Lee's mission to inspire and uplift becomes a testament to the unbreakable human spirit. This documentary chronicles his journey to heal old wounds, reshape destinies, and redefine limits, showcasing the power of courage, community, and aviation as a catalyst for change.

Fatherhood takes many forms in this deeply personal documentary block about identity, accountability, and belonging. Together, these films challenge assumptions about what makes a father, while exploring the emotional consequences of connection, abandonment, and generational healing

Dad Genes:
Dad Genes is a documentary that tells the story of a former sperm donor whose carefree bachelor life takes an unexpected turn two decades later. After registering with a DNA ancestry site, he discovers he may have dozens of children, leading to an unprecedented family reunion, a surprising romance with the mother of a donor child, worldwide media attention, and a remarkable experiment in instant family and an unconventional fatherhood.

Who I'm Trying To Be:
When Derrick Coney learns the man raising him is not his biological father, he begins a journey of identity, heritage, and belonging. Through conversations with family, the film explores fatherhood, culture, and the truth that family is defined by love and commitment, not blood.

Black Fatherhood- The Other Hood:
BlackfatherHOOD - The Other Hood tells the stories of Black fathers committed to staying present in their children’s lives despite daily challenges and societal stereotypes. Through their experiences, the film highlights the love, sacrifice, and dedication of Black men, aiming to challenge misconceptions and reshape perceptions of Black fatherhood.

How to Kill a Mermaid: The Linnea Mills Story:
How to Kill a Mermaid: The Linnea Mills Story is a heart-wrenching, true-crime feature documentary that examines the death of 18-year-old Linnea Mills during a 2020 cold-water scuba diving class in Montana's Glacier National Park. This intimate portrait of a beautiful life tragically cut short reveals never-before-seen footage as it reexamines the fatal dive and the investigation that followed. Grief collides with treachery as Linnea’s family relentlessly pursues truth, accountability and resilience following unimaginable loss.

These films celebrate the individuals who carry America’s stories forward — veterans, artists, inventors, firefighters, historians, and public servants whose lives and work preserve the nation’s memory and spirit

Saving An American Hero:
In 2024, the Battleship New Jersey—America’s most decorated battleship—entered dry dock for the first time in more than 30 years. Saving an American Hero follows the massive restoration effort to preserve the legendary ship, featuring stories from the sailors who served aboard her through World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. Now a museum and memorial on the Camden waterfront, the battleship continues its mission of honoring history, sacrifice, and service for future generations.

Joy Ride:
t’s 3:07pm in the afternoon and a blue Lincoln Continental is barreling down a narrow Maryland backroad at 50 miles per hour. Undeterred by the approaching curve and his passenger’s plea for safety, the daredevil is forging ahead. It could be two teenagers on a joy ride. But on this day - June 20, 1973 - it’s happening under the guise of international diplomacy. And the men in the front seat, left to their own devices, are the leader of the Communist party and the President of the United States.

Sheepdogs:
In the desert town of Twentynine Palms, artist Ted Meyer works with veterans and trauma survivors to transform their physical scars into art. Sheepdogs explores how creativity, vulnerability, and shared experience help participants reclaim their stories, revealing that healing is not about erasing scars, but understanding them. Sheepdogs scored a 9 out of 10 on Filmthreat.com!

The Original Badass:
The Original Badass is a fast-paced, visually driven documentary celebrating decades of American innovation, culture, music, sports, and social progress. Created to inspire hope and unity in a divided nation, the film serves as a powerful reminder to protect the American experiment. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Simantini Chakraborty and co-directed by legendary filmmaker Godfrey Reggio, creator of the Qatsi trilogy.

Dempster Fire Training Center:
A short documentary following a day of fire fighter training drills at the Dempster Fire Training Center in Mercer County, NJ.

Through stories of survival, resistance, and displacement, this powerful documentary block confronts the human cost of immigration policy, institutional power, and a justice system that often fails to account for lived reality. Together, these films ask what happens when compassion collides with the law.

Set Her Free:
Set Her Free shines a light on women incarcerated at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, many serving long sentences tied to surviving domestic violence. The documentary follows five formerly incarcerated women—Jamila T. Davis, Donna Hylton, Nafeesah Goldsmith, Dawn Jackson, and Cass Severe—as they fight alongside Angela McKnight to pass New Jersey’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act. Centered on Cass Severe’s battle to free her friend Natasha White, the film highlights hope, redemption, and the urgent push for justice reform and second chances.

Arrested at Delaney Hall:
A standoff at an immigrant detention center in Newark, NJ leads to the arrest of Mayor Ras Baraka.

The Migrant Chef:
Chef Lalo Garcia is now one of the most famous chefs in Latin America, with a deep commitment to sustainable food. But to understand why, you have to go back to his origins - both in rural Mexico, and as a migrant farmworker in the US, a journey that also reveals the degradation of our food system and the low value it places on workers.

Bound by themes of survival and resistance, this powerful documentary block shines a light on lives shaped by institutional neglect, social stigma, and violence. Yet within each story emerges something equally profound: resilience, community, and the refusal to disappear.

Diverse House:
In Paraguay, a country where homophobia, violence, and discrimination against transgender people are unfortunately all too common, there is a unique refuge: Casa Diversa. This haven is a symbol of hope and dignity for all people, regardless of their gender identity.

Crisis:
As the future of healthcare in America grows increasingly uncertain, Minnesota emerges as a battleground in the fight for universal healthcare. Exploring the impact of UnitedHealthcare’s business model on patients and broader systemic failures that affect millions, "Crisis" highlights the efforts of ordinary Americans standing up to insurance companies that prioritize profits over people.

The Strength Of Silence:
In the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the documentary The Strength of Silence follows the life of Letebirhan, a 17-year-old girl whose life was fractured by war. Kidnapped, a survivor of sexual violence, and left to raise a child born from trauma, she faces rejection from her community and family. Her survival relies not only on the bread she bakes to sustain herself but also on an ancestral ritual: the coffee ceremony, where women like her transform silence into a powerful act of resistance and sisterhood.

Set against moments that reshaped the modern world, this documentary block examines the fragile line between observer and participant. Through stories of journalism, exile, and survival, the films reveal the human cost of documenting truth during times of political transformation

Tiananmen Tonight:
In these perilous times for American journalism comes a story of truth telling in service to democracy. Tiananmen Tonight reveals the powerful human drama of Dan Rather and the CBS Evening News team battling for life and reputation while courageously reporting the extraordinary student uprising in 1989 that brought China to the brink of democratic reform.

Baghdad Graphic:
Based on fragments from a never finished graphic novel, Baghdad Graphic presents an unflinching account of an Iraqi journalist and his desperate effort to survive the invasion of his country. An intensely personal portrait of the costs of war.

These unique documentary's pairing pulls back the curtain on two professions rarely examined. At opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, these films explore the unseen people responsible for helping others through moments of joy, anticipation, grief, and remembrance

Before We Get Started:
Known as one of the hardest jobs in comedy, the audience warm-up. They have to be just as funny as your favorite late night host, but they’re also legally obligated to point out the fire exits, and no one has come to see them. In this feature documentary we dive into the trenches of this little known job with long-time warm-up comedian Ryan Riess who meets some familiar faces along the way that cut their teeth in the role before breaking out in front of the camera, and a few who just never made it out.

The Dying Business:
A quirky Italian-American family attempts to innovate their third-generation funeral home in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.