7 must-see documentaries at DocLands 2025

San Francisco Chronicle​

29-04-2025

DocLands 2025 promises to serve up a heady feast for fans of nonfiction filmmaking, where the boundaries of storytelling stretch from the depths of the Bay Area's vibrant culture to the far reaches of space.
The latest iteration of the California Film Institute's documentary celebration, which unreels Thursday-Sunday, May 1-4, at the Smith Rafael Film Center, spans only one weekend, but the range of subjects — art, the environment, politics, wildlife, space exploration, personal narratives and more — is vast.
Here are seven must-see films to catch:
'Starman'
DocLands blasts off with Robert Stone's effervescent investigation into the life and career of NASA engineer and science-fiction writer Gentry Lee.
Now 83, the ebullient Lee serves as guide to his extraordinary life at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California where he sent probes to Mars and captured extraordinary images there and beyond. That is, when he wasn't co-writing novels with Arthur C. Clarke and collaborating with Carl Sagan on the Emmy-winning series 'Cosmos.'
Threaded through Lee's life story are his thoughts on the question that has dogged humanity: Does extraterrestrial life exist?
6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1. $25 movie only; $45 with party admission. Party follows the screening at Elks Lodge, 1312 Mission Ave., San Rafael.
'Sono Lino'
Renowned artist Lino Tagliapietra began working with glass at age 11, to later become a Murano artisan in the Italian city famous for its exquisite glasswork. He was in his 40s when he found himself garnering legions of fans, including fellow glass artist Dale Chihuly. Now considered perhaps the greatest glass blower of all time, Tagliapietra faces retirement at 88 — but not before gathering his team for one last blowout glassblowing session.
The artist's warmth and passion animate Jacob Patrick's poignant film.
1:30 p.m. Friday, May 2; 2:15 p.m. Sunday, May 4.
'Ghosts of the Sea'
Virginia Tangvald's Norwegian adventurer father, Peter, sailed the ocean in his handmade boat, uncomfortable on land. Her older brother, Thomas, took after him. Both were lost at sea in separate incidents, leaving behind the mystery of what drove these men.
Employing her father's logs and writings, interviews with those who knew both Peter and Thomas, archival materials and luminous cinematography that captures the allure of sailing, Virginia unlocks the riddle of her seafaring family.
4 p.m. Friday, May 2.
'The Invisible Mammal'
In January, a bat invasion closed the Smith Rafael Film Center for several days until the critters could be captured and relocated from the theater. Now bats are back, this time in the world premiere of San Francisco filmmaker Kristin Tièche's documentary, which spotlights the creatures and the scientists who study them and work to ensure their survival.
Pollinators, seed spreaders and equipped with an appetite for insects that would otherwise destroy crops, the bats serve an important ecological purpose as Tièche's film evocatively demonstrates.
She also emphasizes how cuddly the animals are. Certainly, it will be hard to look at these 'rats with wings' as budding Nosferatus ever again after watching a scientist bottle-feed an orphan. Prepare to be ahh-ed.
Noon Saturday, May 3.
'Champions of the Golden Valley'
Skier Alishah Farhang dared to dream, not just for himself but for his fellow Afghans living in the mountainous region of Bamyan in the years before the Taliban retook control of the country in 2021. His own Olympic ambitions came to naught, but Farhang's enthusiasm for the sport led him to coach boys and girls in the sport and offer annual races to determine a champion.
American filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski's documentary debut is an irresistible underdog sports story given an extra jolt of poignancy by the return of Afghanistan's repressive government.
Noon Sunday, May 4.
'Middletown'
Take a back seat, Woodward and Bernstein! The students in Fred Isseks' Electronic English class are on the case.
Maybe it was no Watergate, but what the students uncovered in their upstate New York hometown in the 1990s when Mr. Isseks assigned them to investigate the local dump was every bit as big a local scandal.
Isseks and some of his students reunite to tell a colorful story in Emmy-winning San Francisco filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine's latest fascinating documentary. Making copious use of that 30-year-old footage, the film acts as both a profile of an inspiring teacher and his unconventional methods and a damning look at how media, government and regulatory agencies overlook scandals unfolding in plain sight.
2:45 p.m. Sunday, May 4.
'Thaw'
With women putting off motherhood sometime into middle age, freezing their eggs is one way to extend the biological clock. At least, that's the promise. The reality can be more complicated as Robin Hauser's thoughtful documentary reveals.
The filmmaker follows several women's journeys as they undergo a procedure where there is no guarantee that the harvested eggs will lead to a healthy baby. Hauser's film gets to the heart of this billion-dollar industry, the ethical questions surrounding it, and the personal hopes and heartbreaks of women and couples pinning their families' futures on it.
3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 4.
Pam Grady is freelance writer.