Doc ‘N Roll New York Film Festival Opening Party

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 2026 across some of Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s favourite movie screens: Roxy Cinema (Tribeca), Cinema Village (Greenwich Village), and Nitehawk Cinemas in Williamsburg and Prospect Park.

The festival launches on April 28 with a special Opening Night celebration at Ace Hotel Brooklyn, bringing together documentary directors, producers  and industry guests for an evening dedicated to arts and music storytelling – with DJ Pete Monsanto setting the tone for the night.

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

This year’s genre-hopping programme takes audiences deep into the worlds of musical pioneers and cultural movements: psychedelic punk provocateurs Butthole Surfers, Sex Pistols founding member Glen Matlock, blues powerhouse Big Mama Thornton, Irish folk innovator Dónal Lunny, underground DJ and global dancefloor architect Lee Burridge, tattoo legend Felix Leu, pioneering New York electro, hip-hop and dance producer Arthur Baker, the fascinating world of Japan’s kissa listening cafés and the explosive rise of the UK rave and breakbeat movement.

The festival will present two World Premieres: Before It Was Cool: The Brooklyn Beat from Lauterbach’s, a love letter to a forgotten Brooklyn music scene that helped shape the borough’s creative identity, and Köln Tracks: The Legend of Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert, exploring the remarkable story behind one of the most iconic recordings in jazz history. 

These twelve acclaimed independent documentaries will immerse audiences in the lives and legacies of uncompromising artists, with many screenings featuring exclusive post-film Q&As with directors, musicians and key creatives that will offer insights into the stories behind the music.