French Films at DOC NYC 2026

DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary film festival, returns for its 17th edition from November 11 through November 29, 2026, with in-person screenings in New York City from November 11 to 19, followed by an online program through November 29.

This year’s selection includes two films competing in the International Competition, Gabin by Maxence Voiseux and The Cord by Nolwenn Hervé. The program also highlights short films exploring colonial history, family memory, and personal and political struggles, alongside With Love and Rage, a new film by former Villa Albertine resident Bojina Panayotova.

Feature Films

Gabin
Dir. Maxence Voiseux, 2026, 105 min
France
In French
International Competition | U.S. Premiere
Screening: Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 3:35 PM, IFC Center

In northern France, Gabin, the youngest of the Jourdel family, finds himself destined to take over his father’s butcher shop. Torn between family loyalty and a desire to break free, his dreams lie elsewhere: to train a contest cow, to become a dog breeder, and to save his mother’s farm from financial ruin. Spanning a decade, Gabin immerses us in this young boy’s world, following his journey from age 8 to 18.

The Cord
Dir. Nolwenn Hervé, 2026, 99 min
France
In Spanish
International Competition | North American Premiere
Screenings: Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 6:20 PM, and Monday, November 16, at 1 PM, Village East by Angelika

Venezuela: In a broken health system where life hangs by a thread, and access to medical care has become a luxury, Carolina rises as a maternity warrior. Drawing strength from her past, and with the support of her grassroots foundation, she relentlessly preserves the vital cord between pregnant women and their babies.

Short Films

Boomerang Atomic
Dir. Rachid Bouchareb, 2025, 22 min
France, Algeria, Japan, United States
In French
NYC Premiere
Screening: Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at 8:40 PM, IFC Center

In 1960, in the heart of the Sahara Desert, France detonated its first atomic bomb in Reggane, Algeria, forever changing the land and its people. Even today, the inhabitants and animals continue to suffer the consequences in total silence.

Of Your Tenderness
Dir. Zoulikha Tahar, 2026, 10 min
France, Algeria
In Arabic
NYC Premiere
Screening: Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at 4 PM, IFC Center

From footage shot by her younger brother when he was a child, Zoulikha revisits the gentleness of the past. In these family archives, she seeks to understand where tenderness has been lost. The film, which opens with a Mediterranean legend, gradually becomes a journey through memory, a poem addressed to a brother consumed by anger. Over the trembling images of childhood, the voice of the filmmaker, the older sister, attempts to hold on to what remains, to understand how tenderness could have turned into violence.

Alumni Spotlight

With Love and Rage
Dir. Bojina Panayotova, 2026, 43 min
North American Premiere
Screening: Monday, November 16, 2026, at 7:45 PM, Village East by Angelika

Former Villa Albertine resident Bojina Panayotova revisits a pivotal moment in American feminist history. 1980. Thousands of women surround the Pentagon. They protest, weep, weave, create. They awaken another form of power and invent a new form of action. With Love and Rage is a political and musical incantation that brings this uprising back to life. The film weaves together archives, stories, voices, and songs, allowing a collective political voice and the personal stories that make it up to emerge.

Explore the full DOC NYC 2026 program and tickets.