Indie documentary lovers and music subculture devotees, get ready! Doc’n Roll Films are thrilled to announce the return of the DOC’N ROLL NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL, running from 28 April to 7 May across some of Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s favourite movie screens: Roxy Cinema (Tribeca), Cinema Village (Greenwich Village), and both Nitehawk Cinemas in Williamsburg and Prospect Park.

Now in its fourth edition, DOC’N ROLL NEW YORK’s broad-ranging 2026 lineup of outsider arts and subculture documentaries features two World Premieres, four North American Premieres and six NYC Premieres, celebrating the untamed, the legendary and the game-changers in genres ranging from visual art and tattoo counterculture, punk, blues, Irish folk, rave culture and underground dance music.

DOC'N ROLL OPENING PARTY + DJ SET BY PETE MONTSANTO
28 APRIL| 7:00 PM | ACE HOTEL BROOKLYN

Two bringing together documentary directors, producers and industry guests for an evening dedicated to alternative arts and music storytelling with the right tunes.

BUTTHOLE SURFERS: THE HOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUTT + Q&A with director and Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary
29 APRIL| 7:00 PM | NITEHAWK PROSPECT PARK

Tom Stern| US|2025| 106 min
Two Texas accounting students gathered a tribe of like-minded queers, weirdos and outsiders and launched one of the most unpredictable paths in rock. Against all odds, their psychedelic punk band would inspire acts such as Nirvana.

I WAS A TEENAGE SEX PISTOL: GLEN MATLOCK + Q&A with director (zoom)
30 APRIL | 8:00 PM | CINEMA VILLAGE

Nick Mead, Andre Relis|US| 2025| 90 min
Glen Matlock, founding member of the Sex Pistols, co-wrote ten of Never Mind the Bollocks' songs, only to have is role downplayed. This is his frank, funny, firsthand account of the malcontents who upended both the music biz and Britain.

A CENTURY IN SOUND
1 MAY | 7:00 PM | THE ROXY TRIBECA

Nick Dwyer, Tu Neill, Japan|Sweden| 2024| 106 min
Press play on Japan’s Ongaku Kissa - listening cafés where music is treated with near-religious devotion. Visiting three shrines to sound, devoted to classical, jazz and rock, while tracing post-war Japan to the late ’80s, it’s a love letter to craft, culture, and turning it up by sitting very, very still.

TONY FOSTER: PAINTING AT THE EDGE: + Q&A with director
2 MAY | 3:00 PM | THE ROXY TRIBECA

David C. Schendel|US|2025| 95 min
Part explorer, part artist, Tony Foster has spent years living in a tent, using his acclaimed art to advocate for conservation. Director David Schendel shadowed him for four years in Utah's wilderness to make this adventurous documentary.

KÖLN TRACKS: THE LEGEND OF KEITH JARRETT’S KOLN CONCERT + Q&A with director
2 MAY | 5:00 PM | THE ROXY TRIBECA

Vincent Duceau|France|2026| 77 min
The Köln Concert almost never happened. A faulty piano, an exhausted Keith Jarrett and a night of uncertainty in 1975 Cologne led to a performance expected to fail — yet it became the best-selling solo jazz album ever recorded. This is the story behind the music.

BIG MAMA THORNTON: I CAN'T BE ANYONE + Q&A with director
3 MAY | 3:00 PM | THE ROXY TRIBECA

Robert Clem| US| 2025| 88 min
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton defied gender norms and redefined the blues; her fierceness inspired Mike Stoller and Jerry Lieber to write “Hound Dog” and her “Ball & Chain” launched Janis Joplin at Monterey Pop. This is her story.

IN TIME: DONAL LUNNY + Q&A with director
3 MAY | 5:00 PM | THE ROXY TRIBECA

Nuala O'Connor|Ireland|2025| 90 min
A founding member of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, Donal Lunny helped to transform Irish traditional and folk music for new generations. Features powerful performances, including an emotive reunion with Christy Moore.

FELIX DARE TO DREAM + Q&A with director
4 MAY | 5:00 PM | NITEHAWK WILLIAMSBURG

Valerio Bariletti & Morgan Bertacca|Italy|2025| 105 min
A portrait of international tattooing icon Felix Leu, patriarch of a bohemian clan that turned freedom and creativity into their way of life. His wife Loretta recounts their journey through hardship, love and artistic expression.

BEFORE IT WAS COOL: THE BROOKLYN BEAT FROM LAUTERBACH’S + Q&A with directors
5 MAY| 7:00 PM | NITEHAWK PROSPECT PARK

Michael West and Lia Komakhidze| US|2026| 93 min
Radio Free Brooklyn host Rachel Cleary uncovers the untold story of a 1980s Brooklyn dive bar where an underground music scene turned strangers into family. The film reveals how a ragtag community of musicians transformed competition into collaboration: shaping identities, forging mlifelong bonds, and leaving behind a beat that still resonates today.

RAVE CULTURE: A NEW ERA
5 MAY | 7:00 PM | NITEHAWK WILLIAMSBURG

Eduardo Cubillo Blasco|Spain|2025| 87 min
An electrifying journey into the heart of the rave revolution, from the first illegal beats in England to its global explosion. Through never-before-seen archival footage, interviews with the most underground pioneers, and a soundtrack that still resonates today, this documentary unveils the story of a movement that transformed music, culture, and the very essence of nightlife.

ROCKERS DON’T STOP: THE REVIVAL OF ROCKERS REVENGE + Q&A with Arthur Baker
6 MAY | 7:00 PM | NITEHAWK PROSPECT PARK

Arthur Baker|US|2025| 76 min
In a story of friendship and resilience, 1980s New York City dance pionners Rockers Revenge reunite to enter the studio and return to the stage. Directed by legendary DJ and producer Arthur Baker, this is a testament to second chances.

SOUND OF A DREAM: LEE BURRIDGE + Q&A with director and Lee
7 MAY | 7:00 PM | NITEHAWK PROSPECT PARK

Hoj Jomehri|US|2025| 77 mins
Via cinematic storytelling and archive footage, we follow underground DJ Lee Burridge's 40-year journey from Dorset to the world's great dance stages. In a tale of passion, persistence and impermanence, Burridge reflects on his patch.