Pure Nonfiction at IFC Center, the popular documentary series previously known as Stranger Than Fiction, announced its winter season line-up, featuring ten documentaries playing from February 5 to March 26. The season opens with UNITED SKATES (Feb 5), winner of the Tribeca Audience Award, about roller skating in black communities across the United States. The season includes sneak previews of two documentaries fresh from their Sundance premieres: Alex Gibney’s THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR BLOOD IN SILICON VALLEY (Mar 14) about the scandal of the fraudulent billion dollar company Theranos and Alison Klayman’s THE BRINK (Mar 26, closing night of the winter season) about the former Trump strategist Steve Bannon spreading his nationalist ideas in Europe.

Each Pure Nonfiction screening features the filmmakers or other special guests in person. The series, launched at IFC Center in 2005 and hosted by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, was formerly known as Stranger Than Fiction. It has a reputation as “a vital outpost for award-winning documentaries” (New York Times). The change in name aligns the series to the Pure Nonfiction podcast, in which Powers interviews documentary filmmakers, now in its fourth year.

“Pure Nonfiction as a screening series at IFC Center shares the same mission as the podcast to illuminate the art of documentary making, so it makes sense for them to share the same name,” said Powers.

The winter season includes a sneak preview of the new series THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED (Feb 26) based on the case made famous by the Serial podcast. Director Amy Berg will present episode one prior to its debut on HBO. Other sneak previews include IT’S A HARD TRUTH, AIN’T IT (Feb 12) about prisoners learning to make films; and ONE NATION UNDER STRESS (Mar 19) with Dr. Sanjay Gupta trying to uncover why American life expectancy is falling.

Classic revivals are a key part of the screening series. The season includes a double bill (Feb 19) with D.A. Pennebaker’s ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY (1970) about a studio recording of the Stephen Sondheim musical; joined with a new parody of the film from the series DOCUMENTARY NOW! titled ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: CO-OP. Pennebaker will present the films with other colleagues who were part of the original. Other classics include the 20th anniversary of Doug Block’s HOME PAGE (Feb 21) about the emergence of a confessional culture on the internet; THE TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI (Mar 5) that will memorialize director Bill Siegel who passed away last December; and THAT RHYTHM…THOSE BLUES (Mar 12) in a new restoration of the 1988 film that explored rhythm and blues music in the 1940s and 1950s.

The Pure Nonfiction winter season takes place at the IFC Center every Tuesday night at 7:30 pm for eight weeks, plus special Thursday screenings on Feb 21 and Mar 14. Each event includes a discussion with the filmmakers, followed by a gathering at a nearby bar. Season passes are now on sale for $99 for 10 films. The full season schedule appears below. For more information, visit ifccenter.com/series/purenonfiction

Pure Nonfiction at IFC Center: Winter 2019 Season 7:30pm Tuesdays at IFC Center, Feb 5 – Mar 26
Each show features a Q&A with the director or other special guests

Feb 5: Opening Night – UNITED SKATES (2018, Q&A w/ dir. Tina Brown & subject Reggie)
Feb 12: IT’S A HARD TRUTH, AIN’T IT (2018, Q&A w/ dir. Madeleine Sackler)
Feb 19: Double bill:
ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY (1970, Q&A w/ dir. D.A. Pennebaker & others)
DOCUMENTARY NOW! presents ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM CO-OP (2019)
Feb 21: Thursday special – HOME PAGE – 20th anniv. (1999, Q&A w/ dir. Doug Block & others)
Feb 26: THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED – episode one (2019, Q&A w/ dir. Amy Berg)
Mar 5: THE TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI (2014, Q&A in memory of dir. Bill Siegel w/ his colleagues)
Mar 12: THAT RHYTHM…THOSE BLUES – newly restored (1988, Q&A w/ dir. George T. Nierenberg)
Mar 14: Thursday Special – THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR BLOOD IN SILICON VALLEY
(2019, Q&A w/ dir. Alex Gibney)
Mar 19: ONE NATION UNDER STRESS (2019, Q&A w/ dir. Marc Levin)
Mar 26: Closing Night – THE BRINK (2019, Q&A w/ dir. Alison Klayman)

Tickets for Pure Nonfiction screenings are $17 for the general public and $14 for IFC Center members. A Season Pass covers admission to all 10 evenings and provides free popcorn at all screenings. It is available for $99 ($80 for IFC members).

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Stranger Than Fiction, the weekly documentary film series hosted by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen and presented by IFC Center, curates an eclectic fall season in its 14^thyear, covering musicals, scandals, murders, and rodents of unusual size. Each screening features a Q&A with the filmmaker or other special guests. “STF provides an experience you can’t get at home to engage in a lively conversation with the people behind the film,” said STF Artistic Director Thom Powers.

The six-week season mainly takes place on Tuesday nights, but kicks off with a Wednesday special of BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY (Sept 19), a crowd-pleasing look at the hidden history of Broadway composers who created secret musicals for corporate events. Week Two looks at the rise and fall of New York’s legendary discotheque in STUDIO 54 (Sept 25) with the club’s famous doorman in attendance. Week Three has a twofer with the Monday night special of STUDENT ATHLETE (Oct 1); and the Tuesday screening of WHEN THE BEAT DROPS (Oct 2) on the underground dance movement of bucking. Week Four brings Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney to discuss the recent UK legal actions taken against his collaborators on the film NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED (OCT 9). Week Five bring director Rudy Valdez to discuss the deeply emotional look at his sister’s imprisonment in THE SENTENCE (Oct 16). The season concludes with a truly stranger than fiction focus on residents of Louisiana battling giant swamp rats in RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE (Tues, Oct 23). The fall season is co-presented by New York Film Academy.

The regular STF fall season takes place at the IFC Center every Tuesday nights at 7:30pm for six weeks including one Monday night screening and one Wednesday night screening, starting Sept 19. Opening night will start at 8:00pm to accommodate Yom Kippur. Each event includes a discussion with the filmmaker or special guests, followed by a gathering at a nearby bar. Full season schedule appears below.

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Our new season’s lineup kicks off with Sara Driver’s “Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat” (Apr 17) on the pre-fame years of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat; and closes with Jason Kohn’s “Love Means Zero” (June 5) on the controversial tennis coach Nick Bollittieri.

The season will also preview two episodes of the new A&E series “Gotti: Godfather and Son” (May 8) on the infamous mafia family; “The Gospel According to André” (May 15) on the legendary Voguewriter; and the pilot episode of Showtime’s “The Fourth Estate” (May 22) on the New York Timesreporters covering Trump’s White House. Other special events include the 15^thanniversary screening of “The Weather Underground” (Apr 24); a rare theatrical screening of Netflix’s “Rapture: Nas & Dave East” (May 1); and a new restoration of the 1982 classic “Atomic Café.” The season includes two special Thursday events: the New York premiere of “Haiku on a Plum Tree” (Apr 19) about an Italian family enduring a Japanese prison camp in WWII; and a 10^thanniversary  screening of “A Jihad for Love” (May 24) about gay and lesbian Muslims.

The spring season is co-presented by New York Film Academy.

The regular STF spring season takes place at the IFC Center every Tuesday nights at 7:30pm for eight weeks, plus two Thursday night screenings, starting April 17. Each event includes a discussion with the filmmaker or special guests, followed by a gathering at a nearby bar. Full season schedule appears below. For more information, visit http://STFdocs.com or ifccenter.com. 

Stranger Than Fiction: Spring 2018 Season: 7:30pm Tuesdays at IFC Center, April 17 – June 5

Each show features a Q&A with the director or other special guests

Apr 17 – Opening Night: BOOM FOR REAL: THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT

(2017, 78 min) Q&A w/ dir Sara Driver

Apr 19 – Thursday Special: HAIKU ON A PLUM TREE (2016, 78 min) Q&A w/ dir Mujah Maraini-Melehi

Apr 24: THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND (2003, 92 min) Q&A w/ dir Sam Green & prod Carrie Lozano

May 1: RAPTURE: NAS & DAVE EAST (2018, 63 min) Q&A w/ dir Sacha Jenkins & EP Ben Selkow

May 8: GOTTI: GODFATHER AND SON (2018, 90 min) Q&A w/ dir Richard Stratton & subject John Gotti Jr

May 15: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRÉ (2017, 94 min) Q&A w/ dir Kate Novack

May 22: THE FOURTH ESTATE (2018,90 min) Q&A w/ dir Liz Garbus

May 24 – Thursday Special: A JIHAD FOR LOVE (2007, 81 min) Q&A w/ dir Parvez Sharma

May 29: ATOMIC CAFE (1982, 92 min) Q&A w/ dirs. Pierce Rafferty, Kevin Rafferty & Jayne Loader

June 5 – Closing Night: LOVE MEANS ZERO (2017, 89 min) Q&A w/ dir Jason Kohn

Tickets for Stranger Than Fiction screenings are $17 for the general public and $14 for IFC Center members. A Season Pass, good for admission to all 10 evenings is available for $99 ($80 for IFC members).

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Stranger Than Fiction, the weekly documentary film series now in its 14^th year, hosted by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen and presented by IFC Center, announces its 2018 winter season of nine films. The series opens with SEEING ALLRED (Feb 6), fresh from its Sundance premiere, about the controversial feminist attorney Gloria Allred. The closing night film is a preview of THE CHINA HUSTLE (Mar 27) investigating the perils of Wall Street deregulation, executive produced by Alex Gibney. STF showcases the growing prominence of episodic works, previewing two highly anticipated series FLINT TOWN (Feb 27) focusing on the police department in the Michigan city known for its water crisis; and WILD, WILD COUNTRY (Mar 13) about a religious cult accused of crimes, executive produced by Jay & Mark Duplass. “If you crave documentaries that generate passionate discussion, you’ll get more than your money’s worth from this line-up,” said STF Artistic Director Thom Powers who also hosts the podcast Pure Nonfiction.

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Stranger Than Fiction packs the spring season of its 13th year with sneak previews, classics and bonus screenings. The season begins on April 18 with the Oscar-nominated “A Time for Burning” (1966), exploring a clash over racial integration in a Midwestern church during the peak of the civil rights movement. The film will screen on a 35 mm print, courtesy of the Academy Film Archive, followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Bill Jersey.

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