{"id":198378,"date":"2026-04-15T18:46:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/198378\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T18:46:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:46:41","slug":"doc10-has-films-about-girl-scouts-norman-lear-and-billie-jean-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/198378\/","title":{"rendered":"Doc10 has films about Girl Scouts, Norman Lear and Billie Jean King"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are, as usual, treasures lurking in the gathering of films being offered at this year\u2019s Doc10 documentary film festival.<\/p>\n

This is the 11th anniversary of this often provocative and consistently pleasing festival, with films screening from April 24 to May 3 at the Davis Theater and Gene Siskel Film Center, and it is embellished by something new. In addition to the feature-length documentaries available, there will also be films in what is called \u201cSpeak Truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

This program is composed of films on timely matters \u2014 issues such as censorship, food shortage, religious freedom \u2014 that will be followed by panel discussions featuring filmmakers, community leaders and audience members. The idea, I am told, is to \u201ccarry the conversations beyond the theater.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fine idea, true to the festival\u2019s ambitions. Doc10 was founded in 2013 by Paula Froehle and Steve Cohen, who were out to change the way people thought of the word \u201cdocumentary.\u201d As Froehle told me<\/a> long ago, \u201cBefore we began, I would mention to people that I made documentaries and I would just watch as their eyes glazed over.\u201d<\/p>\n

I got that then and have watched the changes, as has Froehle, who also said, \u201cThat is certainly no longer the case. Documentaries give us real people, and we are drawn to them in deeper ways than we might be to fictional characters. We crave stories about human beings where we can find an emotional connection. The lives of real people can inspire great films.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is, of course, up to you, the audience members, to judge for yourselves. If you need an example of the festival\u2019s eclecticism, I ask you, what other diversion might contain films about tennis great and social activist Billie Jean King, and writer and assassination target Salman Rushdie, who will appear with the film\u2019s director, Alex Gibney, following the screening?<\/p>\n

They are here, along with such movies as \u201cSoul Patrol,\u201d about the first elite unit of Black special ops fighters in the Vietnam War, which\u00a0critic Courtney Small<\/a> called \u201ca moving and captivating work (that) honours those whose legacy and sacrifice should never be forgotten\u201d; \u201cThe Baddest Speechwriter of All,\u201d a profile of Clarence B. Jones, former lawyer and speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., featuring the directorial debut of basketball\u2019s Stephen Curry as co-director; and \u201cCookie Queens,\u201d about the business of selling Girl Scout Cookies, which so impressed critic Jason Gorber<\/a> that he wrote, \u201cEmotionally rich, terrifically paced and handsomely framed, this is an exceptional work that\u2019s greater than its ingredients, sandwiching politics, commerce, and the joys of childhood all into one package.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""All“All in the Family” creator and writer Norman Lear in Chicago on May 17, 2016. (Jos\u00e9 M. Osorio\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

The \u201cSpeak Truth\u201d offerings are equally varied. As a former Tribune TV critic and no stranger to the comedy scene, I was drawn to watch \u201cNorman Lear: Just Another Version of You.\u201d Available on PBS, it is a compelling portrait of the man<\/a> who gave millions of TV viewers laughter with shows such as, in no particular order, \u201cAll in the Family,\u201d \u201cGood Times,\u201d \u201cMaude,\u201d \u201cSanford and Son,\u201d \u201cOne Day at a Time\u201d and \u201cThe Jeffersons.\u201d (Doc10 sometimes chooses, with the artful aid of head programmer Anthony Kaufman, films from Sundance, Tribeca, Hot Docs and other major festivals.)<\/p>\n

But for all the success and laughter in his life, it was shadowed by dark clouds. As he wrote in his late-in-life biography, \u201cEven This I Get to Experience,\u201d \u201cIn those Brooklyn years preceding and following my bar mitzvah, I felt less alone when I was by myself in my bedroom than when I was with my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lear died in 2023. He was 101. He was a hero.<\/p>\n

Among other intriguing \u201cSpeak Truth\u201d films are \u201cThe Librarians,\u201d which explores the disturbing issue of book banning and censorship and will feature, in its post screening discussions, Henry Winkler. \u201cThe Grab\u201d is about who is trying to corner the world\u2019s water and food resources, \u201cThe Last Republican\u201d focuses on former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger\u2019s criticism of President Donald Trump, and \u201cICE Under Watch\u201d is a collection of local filmmakers\u2019 short works on last fall\u2019s Operation Midway Blitz here.<\/p>\n

\"Billie<\/p>\n

Billie Jean King in a scene from “Give Me the Ball!” by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff, part of the 2026 Doc10 Film Festival in Chicago. (Ellen Griesedieck \/ Sundance Institute)<\/p>\n

\"Ed<\/p>\n

Ed Emanuel, Jerry Brock, Ellis Gates, Thad Givens, Franklin Swann, Lawton Mackey and Donald Mann in a scene from “Soul Patrol” by J.M. Harper, part of the 2026 Doc10 Film Festival in Chicago. (Sundance Institute)<\/p>\n

\"Salman<\/p>\n

Salman Rushdie in “Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie” by Alex Gibney, part of the 2026 Doc10 Film Festival in Chicago. (Rachel Eliza Griffiths \/ Sundance Institute)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

Billie Jean King in a scene from “Give Me the Ball!” by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff, part of the 2026 Doc10 Film Festival in Chicago. (Ellen Griesedieck \/ Sundance Institute)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Chicago-based Kartemquin Films, celebrating its 60th year in the business of making such acclaimed documentaries as \u201cHoop Dreams\u201d and \u201cLife Itself,\u201d sent out a message of support for Doc10, saying, \u201cFilm festivals have always been essential to independent filmmakers, but right now they matter more than ever. As distribution vanishes and public media loses funding, festivals remain an open pathway to audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re for audiences to gather, to experience bold and thought-provoking work, and to sit in conversation with one another. They create space for dialogue with filmmakers and the kind of spontaneous conversations that carry beyond the theater.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t have said it better myself.<\/p>\n

rkogan@chicagotribune.com<\/p>\n

If you go<\/p>\n

The Doc10 Film Festival runs April 24 to May 3 at the Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave., and Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.; tickets and more information at doc10.eventive.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are, as usual, treasures lurking in the gathering of films being offered at this year\u2019s Doc10 documentary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[157,85,9,24,63,122,124,123,904],"class_list":["post-198378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-entertainment","tag-latest-headlines","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}