New York International Documentary Film Festival

Other US Premieres include Family Secret (France/US), director Pol Rapaport's heartfelt family drama about her discovery of a long lost brother living in Romania whose existence was a family secret uncovered only after her father's death; One Man, Six Wives and Twenty-Nine Children (UK), director Jane Treays' disturbing account of a Utah polygamist with six wives and twenty nine children, who must defend himself against accusations of rape, incest and bigamy; and Russia's Wonder Children (Germany), an inspiring look at musical child prodigies at Moscow's prestigious Central Music School directed by Irene Langemann. Two of the gifted musicians will perform after the screening.

The Festival hosted 10 New York Premieres including Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (US), a hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival, which examines the explosive case of the Scottsboro Boys, young blacks in racist 1930s America who were convincted without evidence of raping a white woman, directed by Barak Goodman and Daniel Anker; Benjamin Smoke (US) and Paul Wilmhurst's atmospheric exploration of the philosophy of cult novelist Luke Rinehart, a fatalist whose best selling "The Dice Man" instructs readers to decide every important decision in life by toss of the dice.

Other New York Premieres included The Prince Is Back (France/Russia); director Marina Goldovskaya's absorbing story of a Russian prince who returns to Russia after years in exile to reclaim his position and property destroyed by Russian history; First Person Plural (US), director Deann Borshay's autobiographical story of her determination to unravel the mysteries of her past and discover her true identity and family; Stranger With A Camera (US), an absorbing investigation into the shooting of a Canadian filmmaker in rural Kentucky, directed by Appalachian director Elizabeth Barret; and Well Founded Fear (US), a shattering exposé of the practices of the US Immigration Service, the government agency that determines the fate of thousands of immigrants each year, directed by Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini.

The Festival closed with the US Premiere of Cinema Verite: Defining the Moment (Canada), director Peter Wintonick's spirited look at the original cinema verite filmmakers of the 1960s from the US, Canada, England and France, including such masters as D.A. Pennebaker, Jean Rouch, Ricky Leacock, Albert Maysles and others. Many of the filmmakers chronicled in the film were presented at the screening.

In addition to screenings, the Festival presented two panels: New Technology Showcase, an in-depth exploration on the impact of new technologies on documentary production and Dialogues with Ricky Leacock and DOCFEST 2000 Directors, with the venerable Cinema Verite pioneer joining his fellow documentarians for a round-table exchange of views on the latest in documentary thought, technique and technology