DOC NYC Pro

Overview

DOC NYC Pro is the industry and professional development arm of DOC NYC, America's largest documentary festival. The 17th edition of DOC NYC runs November 11 to 29, 2026, with in-person screenings at IFC Center, SVA Theatre, and Village East by Angelika in Manhattan. The DOC NYC Pro industry conference runs 8 days of in-person events featuring 200+ industry leaders, alongside year-round programming including Spring and Summer seasons.

DOC NYC Pro operates three primary industry programs: the Pitch Day competition for works-in-progress documentaries, a year-round screening series (DOC NYC Selects) at IFC Center, and seasonal professional development events. The 2026 Pitch Day is co-presented by Outlier Film Fund, which provides $70,000 in non-recoupable grants and honorariums to selected projects. Eight projects are chosen from a competitive pool of online submissions.

For documentary filmmakers, DOC NYC Pro offers direct access to distributors, broadcasters, streaming platform representatives, financiers, and publicity professionals. The November timing places the conference immediately before the year-end awards push, giving selected films strategic positioning in the documentary awards pipeline. DOC NYC has hosted hundreds of world premieres including The Bibi Files, David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, Amazing Grace, Far From the Tree, and Making a Murderer.

Submission Details

DOC NYC festival submissions (2026 edition):

• Submissions via FilmFreeway
• Final deadline for main slate: June 18, 2026
• Short List, Winner's Circle, and Selects Encore submissions: July 20 to September 18, 2026
• Notification date: September 15, 2026
• Feature documentaries: 41 minutes or longer
• Short documentaries: 40 minutes or under
• Episodics: any length, but at least 50% of episodes must be submitted
• Minimum premiere status: New York City premiere (5 boroughs)
• Programming priority given to World or US premieres
• Films that world premiered earlier than September 2025 will not receive programming preference
• Non-English films must be subtitled or dubbed in English (subtitling preferred)
• Promotional, instructional, industrial films, or raw documentation of performances are not eligible

DOC NYC Pro Pitch Day 2026 submissions:

• Applications open via docnyc.net/pitchday2026
• Submission deadline: August 7, 2026
• 8 projects selected for live pitch at Village East Cinemas on November 12, 2026
• Co-presented by Outlier Film Fund: $70,000 in non-recoupable grants and honorariums
• Selected projects receive customized online pitch coaching and a practice pitch session in NYC

Short List, Winner's Circle, and Selects Encore:

• Separate submissions open Spring 2026 via FilmFreeway
• Films must have fulfilled Oscar-qualification requirements by the 2026 Academy deadline
• These sections do not require any premiere status
• Films submitted for Short List or Winner's Circle will not be considered for the main slate

Key Sections

• DOC NYC Pro Conference - 8 days of in-person industry events with 200+ industry leaders during the November festival
• Pitch Day - live pitch competition for works-in-progress documentaries, with $70,000 in grants (2026)
• DOC NYC Selects - year-round in-person screening series at IFC Center, featuring World and NYC premieres, early awards season contenders, and retrospective screenings, all followed by filmmaker Q&A sessions
• Spring Season - 6 virtual professional development sessions (March to May 2026), covering digital security, editing workflows, US market navigation, grantwriting, YouTube for documentary filmmakers, and trailer feedback labs
• Summer Season - in-person and virtual sessions (June to July 2026), including a full-day emerging filmmakers workshop covering story development, trust-building, funding, and pitching
• Short List - curated selection of Oscar-qualifying documentary features
• Winner's Circle - films that have won major festival awards but may be under the radar of American audiences
• Selects Encore - films that played earlier in the year at DOC NYC Selects and have qualified for Academy Awards submission

What Filmmakers Should Know

DOC NYC Pro accreditation is available to documentary industry professionals. Filmmakers whose projects are selected to screen at DOC NYC receive festival badges providing rush access to all regular films and DOC NYC Pro panel programming.

The Pitch Day is the most direct funding opportunity. The 2025 edition selected 18 teams who pitched live on November 13 and 15, with AJH Films providing a $6,000 grand prize. The 2026 edition narrows to 8 projects but increases the funding significantly to $70,000 through Outlier Film Fund. Selected projects receive customized pitch coaching from an experienced trainer plus a practice session in NYC the week of the conference.

The Spring 2026 season runs 6 sessions from March 26 to May 5, 2026. Individual event tickets cost $19 ($14 for IFC members), with a Season Pass at $85 ($65 for IFC members). Topics include digital security for documentary filmmakers, editing feature and series documentaries with remote workflows, understanding the US documentary market for international filmmakers, grantwriting, YouTube as a platform for documentary filmmakers, and a trailer feedback lab with real-world critique.

The Summer 2026 season includes a full-day, in-person workshop for emerging directors and producers covering key stages of documentary development from story shaping to funding and pitching.

DOC NYC announced a $100,000 fund for short films debuting in the 2026 season. Subject Matter returns for a fourth year, awarding a $30,000 grant to one social issue documentary in the program plus a corresponding $30,000 grant to a nonprofit addressing the issues featured in the film. To qualify, the documentary must be feature length and address a social issue currently impacting the United States.

The festival's venue base at IFC Center in Greenwich Village gives DOC NYC year-round infrastructure. IFC Center has 313,000 moviegoers annually, 43,000 newsletter subscribers, and 4.2 million unique website visitors per year. The theater is one of the highest-grossing per-seat cinemas in the United States.

Major Awards

• Grand Jury Prize - for outstanding documentary feature
• Pitch Day Grants - $70,000 in non-recoupable grants and honorariums (2026)
• Subject Matter Grant - $30,000 to a social issue documentary plus $30,000 to a related nonprofit
• Short Film Fund - $100,000 fund for short documentaries (new in 2026)
• Audience Award - voted by festival attendees
• Special Jury Awards - for specific achievements in documentary filmmaking

Festival History

DOC NYC was launched in 2010 by Raphaela Neihausen and Thom Powers, operating out of IFC Center in Greenwich Village. The festival grew into America's largest documentary festival within its first five years, expanding from a 5-day event to a 19-day hybrid format. DOC NYC Pro was established alongside the festival as the industry programming arm.

The Pitch Day competition has grown from a small industry event into a significant funding platform. The 2025 edition partnered with AJH Films for a $6,000 grand prize; the 2026 edition partners with Outlier Film Fund for $70,000 in grants. The year-round DOC NYC Selects series and the Spring and Summer professional development seasons expanded the organization's activity beyond the November festival.

DOC NYC is produced by IFC Center, a five-screen cinema operated by AMC Networks. The festival employs approximately 200 staff during its November run, many of whom have participated since the first edition.

See Also

To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. For documentary financing strategies, see Film Financing Guide. For festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For the full DOC NYC festival submission details, visit DOC NYC Submissions.