SFFILM Doc Stories Opens with Ava DuVernay’s “14th,” “Tutu,” “Black Sunflowers,” “Soul Patrol” and More

Oscar winners and Oscar-nominated filmmakers will gather in San Francisco for the 12th edition of Doc Stories, the prestigious nonfiction film festival presented by SFFILM. Running November 5–8, the event will open on the 14th with Ava DuVernay’s incisive examination of threats to the protections and rights provided by the Fourteenth Amendment. The festival […]

Academy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated filmmakers gather in San Francisco for the 12th annual Doc Stories, the prestigious nonfiction film festival presented by SFFILM.

The film event, which runs November 5-8, opens on the 14th with Ava DuVernay's penetrating examination of threats to the protections and rights afforded by the Fourteenth Amendment. The festival ends with Tutu Sam Pollard, South African archbishop, anti-apartheid activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Scroll through for the full list of videos and talks. Watch the Deadline Stories documentary. SFFILM DOCUMENTARY STORIES Brings Top Nonfiction Film Talent for Fully Curated Event With Big Impact on Oscar Race Podcast Documentary Talk Podcast: A Deep Dive with Tasha Van Zant and SFFIL Festival Leaders from A Bright Life

Other notable filmmakers heading to Doc Stories: Oscar winner Laura Poitras with her short documentary They Are Here, co-directed with Rachel Lauren Mueller; Joshua Oppenheimer, who was nominated twice for Oscar, with his short film Revolution Against Death; Three-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn with his Ukraine War-themed film, Black Sunflowers, and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luke Lorenzen with his latest film, The Boatbuilders. Two-time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot will lead a documentary workshop for young filmmakers.

"For more than a decade, Doc Stories has embodied the best of SFFILM and championed the San Francisco Bay Area," said Ann Lai, Executive Director of SFFILM. When everyday life is downright bruised and rough, documentaries deftly encourage us to let down our guard and connect with real stories and people. "It's a privilege to bring filmmakers, industry, and audiences — including kids — together for this annual celebration."

Since 2015, Doc Stories has been a gathering place for the Bay Area's documentary community with a program that showcases outstanding nonfiction works from around the world, notes the festival. More than two dozen Doc Stories have been nominated for Academy Awards, and several have won.

Jesse Fairbanks, director of programming at SFFILM, said: “One of the great perks of my job is being in charge of documentaries because I get to spend the year looking for films that I can't wait to put in front of audiences. “This year, I'm drawn to filmmakers who look closely at the forces that shape our lives while revealing their humor, beauty, resilience, and inner contradictions. These are documentaries that I believe deserve to be seen, talked about and experienced together - and I'm excited to share them with our audience.

In addition to the public program, SFFILM's Artist Development Team will host Doc Congress, a day of conversation and networking for filmmakers, investors and industry professionals. "This year's Doc Congress will include a dynamic panel discussion on the use of artificial intelligence in documentaries featuring Serjan Kecha, director of Stanford's Department of Documentary Film, and Rachel Antel, co-founder of the Archive Producers Alliance. Artists Development will also host the inaugural Pitch Do Forum on Sunday's third annual local filmmakers breakfast."

From November 2-10, the SFFILM education team will host students and teachers at Schools at Doc Stories, with free in-person screenings at SFMOMA, online programs for classrooms across the country, and conversations with visiting filmmakers that connect to classroom studies and spark curiosity about the wider world.

Doc Stories shows at the Vogue Theater in San Francisco's Presidio Heights neighborhood. Below is the list of programs (in alphabetical order, with the first and last films of the opening and closing nights).

Ava DuVernay explores the enduring promise of the 14th Amendment through a powerful group of voices and joins us in person to discuss this vital new documentary.

All rivers pour their stories into the sea

When a massive marine life threatens his livelihood, lifelong fisherman Stan Rennie brings his community together in search of answers and becomes the most unlikely of activists.

James Marcus Haney (Ukraine 2026, 97 minutes)

James Marcus Haney's kinetic, kaleidoscopic portrait by Sean Penn of Ukrainian youth is alive with movement, color and music. Filmed over four years, it follows artists, wanderers, soldiers, and friends as they find pockets of freedom amid growing uncertainty.

Luke Lorentzen's latest documentary, a stunning ode to impeccable craftsmanship and Maine beauty, features the workers at Brooklyn Boat Yard, a company that has been building custom wooden yachts since 1960.

Ahmed Hasuna (Palestine, France 2026, 71 minutes)

Singer extraordinaire Darlene Love has had a great life with its ups and downs, and this film covers them all as Love herself charts her career, always leading the way with joy and humor, featuring Cher, David Letterman, Bruce Springsteen, Dionne Warwick and many more.

Documentary Interviews: Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller

Join us for an intimate conversation with filmmakers Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller, who will discuss the timeliness of their film, They Are Here, about a Minneapolis community during a wave of ICE raids.

Documentary interviews: Jane Finley, Luke Lorenzen and Eric Shiray

Doc Talks continues with filmmakers Jeanie Finlay (All Rivers Pour Their Stories into the Sea), Luke Lorenzen (The Boatbuilders) and Eric Shiray (Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing) as they discuss the cinematic power of observational storytelling and their unique approaches as directors and filmmakers.

The latest roundup of Doc Talks profiles the venerable and prolific Sam Pollard and rising star J.M. It's Harper. Pollard and Harper will discuss their latest features, Tutu and Soul Patrol, and their processes of exploring history, culture and politics in their work.

Forum Display: Title to be announced

Join us for the public screening of a very special documentary from a prominent 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. It is free and open to the public. Participants must RSVP for tickets.

(Movies are in alphabetical order rather than game order).

Olivier Cote, Jean-Francois Bouchard (Canada, Cuba 2026, 22 minutes)

In the midst of a national immigration crisis, four young Cuban artists go against the grain and choose to stay.

Joshua Oppenheimer (Denmark, Sweden 2026, 23 minutes)

Joshua Oppenheimer looks into the world of an aging society and their strange quest for immortality.

A Swedish mother's love knows no bounds and uses graffiti to track down her missing son.

Top tuners work tirelessly to achieve the perfect tune for their instruments in a prestigious piano competition.

Amelie Hardy (Canada 2026, 18 minutes)

A Mississauga man is reviving his former Olympian mentality in a fight to keep his overgrown lawn.

A Sakha scientist travels to the melting permafrost of Siberia, where the past appears alongside. Ancestral Beliefs

As memory fades and nature changes, an Alaskan sound recorder listens closely to what remains.

Jose Garcia Prado (Guatemala 2026, 24 minutes)

Decades after her son's enforced disappearance, a Guatemalan mother's enduring faith keeps his memory alive.

Victor Tadashi Suarez, Livia Albeck-Ripka (USA 2026, 10 minutes)

After the Eaton fire, Altadena residents face toxic contamination in homes that insurers insist are safe to live in.