AFI Docs Unveils 2019 Line-Up With ‘American Factory’ as Centerpiece
By Dave McNary
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The AFI Docs Festival has selected the Steven Bognar-Julia Reichert documentary “American Factory” as its centerpiece film, screening on June 21.
The event will take place at the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
“” centers on the aftermath of the 2014 purchase of a General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, which had closed in 2008. A Chinese billionaire reopened the facility as Fuyao Glass America, with the promise of giving work to more than 2,000 local residents, along with bringing hundreds of Chinese workers to Ohio. Tensions mount among the Americans due to low wages and concerns about safety.
The festival revealed its full slate of films Wednesday for the 2019 edition, the 17th year, with 72 films representing 17 countries. The festival runs June 19–23 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, Md.
As previously announced, the festival will open with the world premiere of “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality” and closed with “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins.” Special screenings include the world premiere of “Chasing the Moon” along with “Ruth – Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words,” “Sea of Shadows” and “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am.”
“Each year, the DOCS slate includes a variety of films exploring topical issues, intriguing personalities and compelling voices,” said Michael Lumpkin, director, AFI festivals. “This year’s festival offers audiences a chance to discover new perspectives on familiar topics and unique stories they may be hearing for the first time — demonstrating the power of documentary film to connect and inspire across a diverse range of subjects. We are happy to announce that 48% of this year’s slate is directed by women, with 68% produced by women.”
2019 PROGRAM
GALAS
OPENING NIGHT SCREENING – June 19
TRUE JUSTICE: BRYAN STEVENSON’S FIGHT FOR EQUALITY: DIRS & PRODS Peter Kunhardt,
George Kunhardt, and Teddy Kunhardt. USA.
CLOSING NIGHT SCREENING –, June 23
RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS: DIR Janice Engel. PRODS James Egan, Janice
Engel, and Carlisle Vandervoort. USA.
CENTERPIECE SCREENING – June 21
AMERICAN FACTORY: DIRS Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert. PRODS Steven Bognar, Julia
Reichert, Jeff Reichert and Julie Parker Benello. USA.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
CHASING THE MOON: DIR and PROD Robert Stone. USA.
RUTH – JUSTICE GINSBURG IN HER OWN WORDS: DIR Freida Lee Mock. PRODS Freida Lee
Mock and Meghan Hooper. USA.
SEA OF SHADOWS: DIR Richard Ladkani. PRODS Walter Köhler and Wolfgang Knöpfler. Austria.
TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM: DIR Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. PRODS Timothy Greenfield-
Sanders, Johanna Giebelhaus, Chad Thompson, and Tommy Walker. USA.
FEATURE FILM SELECTIONS
PORTRAIT
17 BLOCKS: DIR Davy Rothbart. PRODS Alex Turtletaub, Michael Clark, Marc Turtletaub and Rachel
Dengiz. USA.
THE AMAZING JOHNATHAN DOCUMENTARY: DIR Ben Berman. PRODS Miranda Bailey, Ben
Berman, Russell Groves, Amanda Marshall and Jacob Perlin. USA.
CHEZ JOLIE COIFFURE: DIR Rosine Mbakam. PRODS Geoffroy Cernaix and Rosine Mbakam.
Belgium.
FOR SAMA: DIRS Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts. PROD Waad al-Kateab. Syrian Arab Republic.
MAIDEN: DIR Alex Holmes. PRODS Victoria Gregory and Alex Holmes. UK.
MIDNIGHT FAMILY: DIR Luke Lorentzen. PRODS Kellen Quin, Luke Lorentzen, Daniela Alatorre and
Elena Fortes. Mexico, USA.
MIKE WALLACE IS HERE: DIR Avi Belkin. PRODS Rafael Marmor, John Battsek, Peggy Drexler,
Christopher Leggett, Avi Belkin and Zoë Morrison. USA.
RECORDER: THE MARION STOKES PROJECT: DIR Matt Wolf. PRODS Kyle Martin, Andrew
Kortschak and Walter Kortschak. USA.
SEARCHING EVA: DIR Jasmina Vignjevic. PRODS Erik Winker and Martin Roelly. Germany.
TRUTH AND JUSTICE
AFTER PARKLAND: DIRS Jake Lefferman and Emily Taguchi. PRODS Jake Lefferman, Emily
Taguchi, Jeanmarie Condon and Steven Baker. USA.
ALWAYS IN SEASON: DIR Jacqueline Olive. PRODS Jacqueline Olive and Jessica Devaney. USA.
BORDER SOUTH (FRONTERA SUR): DIR Raúl O. Paz Pastrana. PRODS Jason De León, Cecilia
Girón Pérez and Raúl O. Paz Pastrana. Mexico, USA.
COLD CASE HAMMARSKJÖLD: DIR Mads Brügger. PRODS Peter Engel, Andreas Rocksen and
Bjarte M. Tveit. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium.
ERNIE & JOE: DIR and PROD Jenifer McShane. USA.
THE GREAT HACK: DIRS Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim. PRODS Karim Amer, Geralyn Dreyfous
and Judy Korin. USA.
HUMAN NATURE: DIR Adam Bolt. PRODS Meredith DeSalazar and Sarah Goodwin. Australia, Spain,
Turkey, USA.
IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS: DIR Tamara Hardman. PRODS Maya Newell, Sophie Hyde, Rachel Naninaaq
Edwardson and Larissa Behrendt. Australia.
ONE CHILD NATION: DIRS Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhanig. PRODS Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang,
Christoph Jörg, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements and Carolyn Hepburn. China, USA.
SLAY THE DRAGON: DIRS and PRODS Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance. USA.
WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS: DIR Linda Goldstein Knowlton. PRODS Katie Flint and Linda
Goldstein Knowlton. USA.
WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS?: DIR Liz Garbus. PRODS Liz Garbus and Kimberly Launier.
USA.
A WOMAN’S WORK: THE NFL’S CHEERLEADER PROBLEM: DIR Yu Gu. PRODS Yu Gu, Elizabeth
Ai and Jin Yoo-Kim. USA.
SPECTRUM
AQUARELA: DIR Victor Kossakovsky. PRODS Aimara Reques, Heino Deckert and Sigrid Dyekjær.
Germany, UK.
AUTONOMY: DIR Alex Horwitz. PRODS Christopher Boyd, Kevin Mann and Michael Mann. USA.
THE ELEPHANT QUEEN: DIRS Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone. PRODS Lucinda Englehart and
Victoria Stone. Kenya, UK.
MADE IN BOISE: DIR Beth Aala. PRODS Beth Levison and Beth Aala. USA.
PICTURE CHARACTER: DIRS Martha Shane and Ian Cheney. PRODS Jennifer 8. Lee, Ian Cheney,
Martha Shane. USA.
WE BELIEVE IN DINOSAURS: DIRS Monica Long Ross and Clayton Brown. PRODS Amy Ellison,
Monica Long Ross, and Clayton Brown. USA.
ANTHEM
THE APOLLO: DIR Roger Ross Williams. PRODS Lisa Cortes, Nigel Sinclair, Jeanne Elfant Festa,
Cassidy Hartmann and Roger Ross Williams. USA.
DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME: DIR A.J. Eaton. PRODS Cameron Crowe, Michele Farinola
and Greg Mariotti. USA.
GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH: DIR David Charles. PRODS Bud Johnston and Jesse Moss. USA.
LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE: DIRS Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. PRODS
James Keach, Michele Farinola, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. USA.
MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL: DIR Stanley Nelson. PRODS Stanley Nelson and Nicole
London. USA.
MOONLIGHT SONATA: DEAFNESS IN THREE MOVEMENTS: DIR Irene Taylor Brodsky. PRODS
Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tahria Sheather. USA.
SHANGRI-LA: DIRS Morgan Neville and Jeff Malmberg. USA.
CINEMA’S LEGACY
AN AMERICAN FAMILY: ANNIVERSARY EDITION (2011): DIRS Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond.
PROD Craig Gilbert. USA.
LAW AND ORDER – 50th Anniversary Screening (1969): DIR and PROD Frederick Wiseman. USA.
TONGUES UNTIED – 30th Anniversary Screening (1989): DIR Marlon Riggs. PRODS Marlon Riggs
and Brian Freeman. USA.
SHORT FILM SELECTIONS
ALL INCLUSIVE: DIR Corina Schwingruber Ilić. PROD Stella Händler. Switzerland.
THE CLINIC: DIR and PROD Elivia Shaw. USA.
CONCEPTION: MELISSA: DIRS Margaret Cheatham Williams and Ella Dobson. PROD Margaret
Cheatham Williams. USA.
CRANNOG: DIR Isa Rao. PROD Tom van den Hurk. UK.
DEPARTING GESTURE: DIRS and PRODS Brian Bolster and Jonathan Napolitano. USA.
DULCE: DIRS Guille Isa and Angello Faccini. PRODS Darrell Hartman, Oliver Hartman, and Annie
Bush. Colombia, USA.
ENFORCEMENT HOURS: DIR and PROD Paloma Martinez. USA.
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SUDDEN BIRTH* (*BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK):
DIR and PROD Scott Calonico. Germany.
EXIT 12: DIR Mohammad Gorjestani. PRODS Taylor Feltner and Erick Kwiecien. USA.
GHOSTS OF SUGAR LAND: DIR Bassam Tariq. PRODS Farihah Zaman and Bassam Tariq. USA.
IN THE ABSENCE: DIR Yi Seung-Jun. PROD Gary Byung-Seok Kam. South Korea, USA.
IT’S GOING TO BE BEAUTIFUL: DIRS and PRODS Luis Gutierrez Arias and John Henry Theisen.
Mexico, USA.
LIFE IN MINIATURE: DIR and PROD Ellen Evans. UK.
LIGHTNING VS THUNDER: DIRS AJ Schnack and Nathan Truesdell. PRODS Brian Dietzen, AJ
Schnack and Nathan Truesdell. USA.
A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA: DIR Sophia Nahli Allison. PRODS Janice Duncan, Fam Udeorji and
Sophia Nahli Allison. USA.
MACK WRESTLES: DIRS Erin Sanger and Taylor Hess. PRODS Erin Sanger, Taylor Hess and Gentry
Kirby. USA.
QUILT FEVER: DIR Olivia Loomis Merrion. USA.
SCENES FROM A DRY CITY: DIRS and PRODS Francois Verster and Simon Wood. South Africa, USA.
ST. LOUIS SUPERMAN: DIRS Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan. PRODS Smriti Mundhra, Sami Khan,
Poh Si Teng and Cheyenne Tan. USA.
STAY CLOSE: DIRS Luther Clement and Shuhan Fan. PRODS Ashley Brandon, Nevo Shinaar, Luther
Clement and Shuhan Fan. China, USA.
SWATTED: DIR Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis. PROD Luc-Jérôme Bailleul. France.
SWEETHEART DANCERS: DIR Ben-Alex Dupris. USA
TAKE ME TO PROM: DIR and PROD Andrew Moir. Canada.
A TALE OF TWO KITCHENS: DIR Trisha Ziff. PRODS Isabel del Rio and Marta Núñez Puerto. USA,
Mexico.
THE TRIAL: DIR and PROD Johanna Hamilton. USA.
A VERY THIN LINE: DIR Nathan Truesdell. PRODS Nathan Truesdell and J. Gonçalves. USA.
