A Guide to Must-See Films at MoMA’s Doc Fortnight Festival

# Doc Fortnight 2025: A Celebration of Art and Film at MoMA

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is once again spotlighting the power of documentary filmmaking with **Doc Fortnight 2025**, an annual festival that showcases innovative, thought-provoking films from around the world. Running through **March 7**, this year’s program features an impressive selection of films that delve into art, historical narratives, national identity, and Indigenous perspectives, providing audiences with a compelling cinematic experience.

## **Exploring the Mind of Goya**
One of the standout films this year is **La Quinta del Sordo** (2022), directed by Philippe Parreno. This short documentary recreates the eerie atmosphere of Francisco Goya’s famous **Black Paintings**, which he painted on the walls of his villa in solitude between 1820 and 1823. By offering extreme close-ups of these dark, brooding works, the film draws viewers into Goya’s psychological world, making them experience his disturbed and isolated mental state. The intense imagery is complemented by **live cello performances**, enhancing the haunting quality of the piece.

## **Music and Art on Screen**
This year’s festival celebrates music’s influence on culture and history, with several films dedicated to musicians and their legacies.

– **We Want the Funk!** (2025), directed by **Stanley Nelson**, examines the deep roots and lasting impact of the funk music movement. Nelson, known for his compelling historical documentaries like *Attica* (2021), provides an insightful look at a genre that shaped generations.

– **Isis & Osiris** (2024), a short by **Ephraim Asili**, explores the **intersection of music and mythology**. Commissioned for the Hammer Museum’s Alice Coltrane exhibition, the film creatively reimagines the jazz musician’s compositions for the harp.

– **MÚSICAS** (2025), directed by **Lila Avilés**, follows **Mujeres del Viento Florido**, a group of Indigenous women musicians, on their musical journey across Mexico. This documentary not only highlights the musicians’ talent but also emphasizes the cultural significance of preserving traditional Indigenous music.

## **Rewriting History Through Film**
Several films in this festival focus on **historical reinterpretation**, offering new perspectives on familiar narratives:

– **Night Fishing with Ancestors** (2023), by the Indigenous Australian media collective **Karrabing**, imagines an **alternate history** in which Aboriginal people encounter Indonesian voyagers before European colonization. Through this reimagining, the film challenges the traditional narrative of Indigenous-European encounters.

– **Give it Back: Stage Theory** (2023), by New Red Order, examines the history of **Sugarloaf Mound**, the only surviving **Native American earth mound** in St. Louis. Through archival paintings and jarring intertitles, the film critiques the erasure of Indigenous history, rejecting the romanticized imagery of settlers.

– **The Volcano Manifesto** (2025), by **Cauleen Smith**, presents a trilogy of films exploring **geological formations**, such as mines, caves, and volcanoes, as metaphors for history, destruction, and renewal.

## **Henry Fonda and the American Identity**
One of the festival’s more **conceptual explorations** of national identity comes from **Alexander Horwath’s new documentary, *Henry Fonda for President* (2024)**. The essay film embarks on a **cinematic journey across American history**, using Henry Fonda’s many film roles to dissect the idea of the “All-American” hero. Fonda, known for playing characters that embody justice and resilience (*The Grapes of Wrath*, *12 Angry Men*), becomes a symbolic figure through which Horwath explores the complexities and contradictions of American values.

## **The Art of Copying and Authenticity**
This year’s festival also questions **what it means to create art** with a focus on forgeries, copies, and original works.

– **14 Paintings** (2023) takes audiences to the Chinese town of **Dafen**, once famous for mass-producing replicas of famous artworks. The documentary examines how the town has transitioned from making exact copies to producing *original* works on a large scale, prompting a deeper inquiry into the meaning of artistic originality.

– **Debut, or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued** (2025), directed by **Julian Castronovo**, explores the case of **Ely Sakhai**, an art forger who sold fake masterworks to collectors. Using this case as a foundation, the film raises broader questions about **authenticity, artistic legitimacy, and deception in the art world**.

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## **A Festival That Challenges Perception**
Doc Fortnight 2025 is more than just a documentary festival—it’s a **conversation about art