Through Our Eyes

Robert De Niro, Sr., was a celebrated painter obscured by the pop-art movement. His life and career are chronicled in the artist's own words by his contemporaries and, movingly, by his son, the actor Robert De Niro.

Sisters-in-law Derrica and Natalie Wilson dedicated their lives to locate Black people who are missing by bringing awareness to their cases, which have often been marginalize by law enforcement and traditional media. DOC NYC will preview one episode of the upcoming four-part HBO series about their work that was created by Soledad O’Brien and Geeta Gandbhir. We watch as the Wilsons use their experience to put the mother of the missing Michelle Green on The View, prompting a tip that leads to a hopeful turn in the case.

A short documentary exploring the connection between Christianity and homophobia in the wake of the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

Prison Dogs is a story of redemption, strength, fear, love, and dedication. In this wonderfully human tale, prison inmates, along with veterans suffering with PTSD, find a path to a second chance at life through their love and care of a puppy.

The modern criminal justice system is hindered by the fact that countless rape kits remain untested in police evidence storage facilities across the United States. Only eight states currently have laws requiring mandatory testing of rape kits.

Through first person accounts and searing archival footage, this documentary tells the story of the local movement and young Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizers who fought not just for voting rights, but for Black Power in Lowndes County, Alabama.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers acquaints us with the personal side a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the wake of Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake.

The cost of college is forcing students to make choices that put eating regular meals and their education at odds. Director Geeta Gandbhir and executive producer Soledad O’Brien’s poignant film follows four college students as they navigate food insecurity in their attempt to change their lives for the better. Homelessness, abandonment and mental health issues loom as students are caught between educational institutions’ pursuit of profit during “the best time of their lives.”

A cinematic tale of deportation, migration, displacement and opportunistic capitalism, Call Center Blues follows four characters as they struggle to make sense of their lives in Tijuana. Each with a vastly different story, they are all linked by their displacement and the sole choice of call center work they have in a country that is so unfamiliar and oftentimes frightening, yet other times a ray of hope. Tijuana becomes their home, a place defined by the border but yet defiant towards it, a no man's land where everything and everyone feels transient. These characters paint a picture of love, loss and longing - for home, for an American Dream deferred, and for justice.

Over the course of more than a decade, 4-time WNBA champion and Olympic Gold medalist Maya Moore and her family have been fighting for the release of a wrongfully convicted man named Jonathan Irons. This short film intimately follows Moore as she embarks on a road trip from Atlanta, GA to Jefferson City, MO to bring home the man who, after 23 years behind bars, has not only become a part of her family, but has also strengthened her faith and inspired her pursuit of criminal justice reform.

For generations, the Public Theater has been the beating heart of New York City’s cultural scene. And now, as New York City staggers back after a deadly pandemic, the Public Theater is once again in the spotlight with a new all-black production of Merry Wives - bringing back Free Shakespeare in the Park after Covid shut it down for the first time in its 67-year history. This documentary chronicles the behind-the-scenes story of the Public Theater as it returns to the stage, and shows New Yorkers and the world that despite everything, art and artists will always survive and indeed thrive.

Cindy Shank, mother of three, is serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement with a Michigan drug ring years earlier. This intimate portrait of mandatory minimum drug sentencing's devastating consequences, captured by Cindy's brother, follows her and her family over the course of ten years.

Maya Moore was one of the best women’s basketball players in the world when she stepped away from the sport in 2019 for a remarkable reason: to fight for a man she believed was wrongly imprisoned. “Breakaway” chronicles a search for justice, and a relationship that changed the lives of two people forever.

The '40s and '50s were a classic period in New York City nightlife, when the saloonkeeper was king and regular folks could drink with celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason. In this documentary, Kristi Jacobson profiles her grandfather, the king of kings: Toots Shor of the eponymous restaurant and saloon, which was once the place to be seen in Manhattan.

Using personal stories, this powerful documentary illuminates the plight of the 49 million Americans struggling with food insecurity. A single mother, a small-town policeman and a farmer are among those for whom putting food on the table is a daily battle.

The Teamster's Union goes on strike against Overnite Transportation, a nationwide freight company that has resisted unionization. The Union, however, faces its own internecine battles as factions inside the organization, one led by James P. Hoffa (son of the infamous Jimmy Hoffa), vie for power.

When Ellen Latham lost her dream job, she thought she lost everything. She was a 54-year-old, single mom who didn't know how she would pay the bills. But, she shifted her perspective, dug into her strength as a fitness instructor and moved forward. Ellen's in-home training eventually grew into Orange-theory Fitness.

There are 100,000 US citizens in solitary confinement across the country, a staggering number prompting comment from both President Obama and the Pope. Situated in rural Virginia, 300 miles from any urban center, Red Onion State Prison is one of over 40 supermax prisons across the US built to hold prisoners in eight-by-ten-foot cells for 23 hours a day. Filmed over the course of one year, this eye-opening film braids stark prison imagery, stories from correction officers, and intimate reflections from the men who are locked up in isolation. The inmates share the paths that led them to prison and their daily struggles to maintain their sanity.

A SUITABLE GIRL follows three young women in India struggling to maintain their identities and follow their dreams amid intense pressure to get married. The film examines the women's complex relationship with marriage, family, and society.

Bruce Franks Jr. is a 34-year-old battle rapper, Ferguson activist and state representative from St. Louis, Missouri. Known as Superman to his constituents, he is a political figure the likes of which you've never seen - full of contradictions and deep insights, who has overcome unspeakable loss to become one of the most exciting and unapologetic young leaders in the country. This short verité documentary follows Bruce at a critical juncture in his life, when he is forced to deal with the mental trauma he's been carrying for the nearly 30 years since his 9-year-old brother was shot and killed in front of him, in order to find peace and truly fulfill his destiny as a leader for his community.

A verité documentary that follows three young children and their families as they grapple with housing insecurity in Los Angeles.

A verité documentary that follows three young children and their families as they grapple with housing insecurity in Los Angeles.