Documentary Now!, an extremely popular parody documentary series, is finally returning after an extended hiatus of almost three years. On October 19, the satirical documentary series will return for “Season 53,” commonly known as Season 4. However, beginning on September 14th, IFC will host a week-long event titled “Documentary Now… And Forever!” in honour of the series’ comeback, during which episodes will be paired with the original, groundbreaking films that served as inspiration. Documentary Now! is a 2015 IFC series developed by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas. The show is both a tribute to and a critique of the documentary genre.
This show has episodes that parody anything from VICE documentaries to Stop Making Sense, a concert video about The Talking Heads. Regulars Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, and Owen Wilson join hosts Fred Armisen and Bill Hader as the documentary’s subjects in each episode. Helen Mirren plays the role of host, introducing each “documentary” in the series. The International Film Festival of Canada will host its “Documentary Now… And Forever!” event at The IFC Center in New York City from September 14th to the 20th. At the event, audiences will be able to watch the documentaries that served as the series’ inspiration alongside some of the show’s most beloved episodes.
Weeklong festivities will begin on September 14 with the premiere of the two-part season premiere “Soldier of Illusion,” starring Alexander Skarsgrd, Nicholas Braun, August Diehl, and Fred Armisen, and the episode’s inspiration Burden of Dreams, a making-of documentary on the Werner Herzog film Fitzcarraldo. The second half of the programme will be broadcast on October 19 at 10 p.m. on IFC and AMC+. The following season’s episode “Trouver Frisson” will also have its premiere at the event with the French autobiographical documentary Beaches of Agnès (2008), which served as the episode’s inspiration. But don’t worry if you’re a fan of the series who lives too far away from New York to attend the event. If you can’t make it to the live event, you can still enjoy the real-life documentary with your favourite episodes right at home.
Documentary Now! has found its permanent streaming home on AMC+, and in celebration of the series debut, AMC+ is also making available, for a limited time, a selection of the films that served as inspiration for the show. Included in this group of documentaries are such awards-winners as The Thin Blue Line, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and Marina Abramovich: The Artist is Present.
IFC Center Senior Vice President and General Manager John Vanco issued the following statement: At IFC Center, we’re all big fans of Documentary Now! because we’re all big fans of documentaries. It’s exciting to see some of the series’ well-designed, tone-perfect episodes on the big screen alongside the movies that inspired them. We are extremely proud to be showing the world premieres of two films that pay tribute to pioneering documentary filmmakers like Werner Herzog and Agnes Varda, respectively: the new season’s opening film, “Soldier of Illusion,” and “Trouver Frisson.” We are thrilled to have Chris Hegedus, director of the film The War Room, and other notable figures attending these showings.
Documentary Now… And Forever! will run from September 14th through the 20th at New York’s IFC Center. In addition, the premiere of “Season 53” will air on IFC and AMC+ on October 19 at 10 p.m.