2018 DOC10 Film Festival

CHICAGO MEDIA PROJECT PRESENTS THE 3RD ANNUAL “DOC10” FILM FESTIVAL APRIL 5-8, 2018 AT THE DAVIS THEATER WITH THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF OSCAR-WINNING DIRECTOR MORGAN NEVILLE’S WONT YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR

Chicago Media Project returns for a third year of highly curated and multi-faceted programming highlighting 10 of the best documentary films of the coming season followed by engaging post-screening Q&As with filmmakers and professionals, live performances and other special events.  The only festival of its kind in Chicago, DOC10 2018 opens tonight at the at the Davis Theater in the Lincoln Square neighborhood (located at 4614 N. Lincoln Avenue) and runs through Sunday, April 8th. The festival has fast become a highly-anticipated event for documentary fans and already has some SOLD OUT screenings, but don’t let that deter you from discovering unique voices and perspectives in film.

This year’s DOC10 opens and closes with two films that have already earned praise prior to their theatrical releases. The opening night film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” comes from Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville (“20 Feet From Stardom”) and it’s a touching and insightful look at America’s favorite neighbor, Mister Fred Rogers. Called “comfort food for an uncertain era” by Variety, this rousing portrait takes us beyond the zip-up cardigans and land of make-believe, and into the heart of a creative genius who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination. It’s the perfect celebration of what would have been Fred Rogers 90th birthday.

“We are thrilled to open DOC10 with Morgan Neville’s engaging portrait of Fred Rogers, and to celebrate all that Public Television has brought to mainstream audiences, including POV, PBS’s long-standing showcase of independent documentary filmmaking,” says Paula Froehle, CEO and Co-Founder of DOC10 and its parent, Chicago Media Project. “We are truly in the golden age of documentary film, and POV has been an integral part of that development.”

Opening night festivities will also include a “Toast to Public Television” with film producer and Glen Ellyn native Caryn Capotosto and guests from PBS, P.O.V and WBEZ-FM, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” and 30 years of P.O.V. – television’s longest running showcase for independent nonfiction film.

The 7pm showing of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” has SOLD-OUT, but there will be rush tickets for $20 each available on a first-come/first-serve basis five minutes before the screening IF seats become available.  Please note there will be a limit of one rush ticket per person and the Chicago Media Project can’t guarantee that if you’re in line for a rush ticket that you’ll be able to get in. It is recommended that you arrive by 6:30pm to help increase your chances of getting in.

Closing night of DOC10 will feature a special tribute to award-winning filmmaker Eugene Jarecki with the Chicago premiere of his new film THE KING – a celebrity-filled musical road trip charting Elvis’s rise to stardom alongside an exploration of the American dream. Forty years after the death of Elvis Presley, a musical road trip across America in his 1963 Rolls Royce explores how a country boy lost his authenticity and became a king while his country lost her democracy and became an empire.

Jarecki is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning director of dramatic and documentary subjects who has twice won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, first in 2005 for Why We Fight (2005) and again in 2012 for The House I Live In (2012).

 “With films such as The Trials of Henry Kissinger, Why We Fight and The House I Live In, Eugene Jarecki has consistently proven himself to be a vital and bold filmmaker, unafraid to take on big issues with the skill of a master essayist,” says DOC10 curator Anthony Kaufman. “We cannot wait to talk with him about his work, American politics, and Elvis’ ‘Unchained Melody.’”

The festival is also proud to present a “Special +1” screening of RBG – Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s inspiring Sundance crowdpleaser about trailblazing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Additionally, DOC10 will include the Chicago premieres of Kartemquin Films’ MINDING THE GAP, which follows three longtime friends over the course of several years in Rockford, IL ; BISBEE ’17, the latest work from boundary-breaking filmmaker Robert Greene (Kate Plays Christine); and two top award-winners from Sundance – ON HER SHOULDERS and CRIME + PUNISHMENT.

“The DOC10 Film Festival is always the first and often the only chance for Chicagoans to view these films on the big screen, providing an exclusive opportunity for local audiences to step out of their comfort zones, away from their devices and become part of the conversation together with fellow members of the community,” adds Chicago Media Project and DOC10 Co-Founder Steve Cohen.

The DOC10 weekend will also include a Pop-Up Lounge where guests are welcome to “continue the conversation” together with filmmakers and invited guests;  a celebratory “Pitch and Mimosas Brunch” during which 3 new documentary projects are able to present to the crowd; the presentation of Chicago Media Project’s 2018 Impact Grant Fund recipients and a panel discussion together with Mother Jones – Docs, Journalism and Truth in the Era of Fake News.  Chicago Media Project will also debut its “VR RV” – transporting guests to the intersection of experiential virtual reality technology and documentary storytelling and raising awareness of social issues in a unique way, the “VR RV” will be housed in a recreational vehicle parked in front of the Davis Theater throughout the festival weekend!

MORE INFORMATION AND TICKETS CAN BE FOUND AT DOC10.org

ABOUT CHICAGO MEDIA PROJECT – Chicago Media Project (CMP) is a member-based philanthropic community of documentary film lovers who believe in the power of media to bring about social change, providing grant-support and networking opportunities for documentaries and media making a real difference.  CMP Invest/Impact, comprised of a subset of CMP members, is a related but separate equity fund that finances documentary features with commercial appeal. A portion of returns are then donated to CMP’s Impact Grant Fund established by CMP I/I members who are committed to paying it forward via philanthropic grants to documentary filmmakers. Over the past 4 years, CMP and CMP I/I have raised over $3 million in support of social impact media, financed more than 60 documentary films including STEP, WHOSE STREETS?, VOYEUR, TROPHY and ICARUS; and founded the first and only documentary film festival of its kind in Chicago –