EXCLUSIVE: DC/DOX has announced its Signature Screenings lineup for the upcoming fourth edition of the prestigious festival in the nation’s capital.
The cinematic event running June 11-14 will kick off with Give Me the Ball!, the portrait of tennis star and transformative cultural figure Billie Jean King. Oscar nominee and Primetime Emmy winner Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff directed the documentary, which features interviews with King, her wife Ilana Kloss, and fellow tennis luminaries Chris Evert and Rosie Casals, and King’s buddy Elton John, among others.
The Closing Night screening on June 13 DC/DOX will be Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial Vs That’s the Weight of the World) directed by Oscar winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. The examination of the seminal band hosts its world premiere earlier in June at Tribeca Festival. Questlove earned his Academy Award for the 2021 music-themed documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).
‘Sara Bareilles: Good Grief’
Courtesy of Brave Documentary, LLC
Sara Bareilles: Good Grief, the new documentary about the singer-songwriter, will serve as the festival’s Centerpiece Screening on Friday, June 12. Josh Alexander (Loudmouth, Prescription Thugs) directed the film on Bareilles, known for “Love Song” and the anthemic “Brave” among other songs. The film’s logline reads, “Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles returns to the recording studio with close friends for the first time in seven years in this raw, cinematic portrait of her creative process—one that becomes a profoundly personal and ultimately hopeful reflection on recent loss and grief and the power of music to heal.”
‘The Lorraine‘
Courtesy of Ernest Withers Collection
The DC/DOX Spotlight Screening on Sunday, June 14 will be The Lorraine, the story behind the motel in Memphis, TN where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Sam Pollard directed the film, which explores the remarkable owners of that motel, Walter and Loree Bailey.
“With our fourth year, DC/DOX continues to bring our audiences together with films that are not only beautifully made, but have something important to say,” said DC/DOX co-founder and festival director Sky Sitney. “These four films perfectly capture the ways documentary films can introduce us to new stories, give us a different perspective on ones we think we know, and inspire us to continue fighting for the kind of world we want to live in.”
A DC/DOX Q&A for the documentary ‘Steal This Story, Please!’
Courtesy of Carolina Kroon
“DC/DOX remains committed to bringing together filmmakers, journalists, thought leaders, and film lovers of all kinds in the nation’s capital to celebrate these stories,” commented DC/DOX co-founder Jamie Shor. “In this Signature Slate, we are blown away by stories of courage: both in the personal and the public.”
DC/DOX was founded in 2022 “with the goal of bringing together innovative visions, bold voices, and timely stories in our nation’s capital,” according to a release. Mr. Nobody Against Putin, winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, made its DC Premiere at DC/DOX 2025. Also screening at last year’s event were fellow Academy Award nominees The Alabama Solution, Come See Me In the Good Light, Cutting Through Rocks, And The Perfect Neighbor. The festival also hosted the DC premieres of Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud and Perfectly, a Strangeness, which went on to earn Oscar nominations for Best Documentary Short.
DC/DOX 2026 Signature Screenings
Opening Night Screening: Thursday, June 11
GIVE ME THE BALL!: DIRS Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff. PRODS Liz Garbus, Elizabeth Wolff, Dominic Crossley-Holland, Dan Cogan, Chris James, and Gentry Kirby. USA.
Billie Jean King in ‘Give Me the Ball!’
ESPN Films
This intimate portrait of tennis legend and trailblazer Billie Jean King reveals the personal toll behind the immense sacrifices she made to transform her sport—and the world.
Courtesy of ESPN Films
Centerpiece Screening: Friday, June 12
SARA BAREILLES: GOOD GRIEF: DIR Josh Alexander. PRODS Daniel J. Chalfen and Josh Alexander. USA.
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles returns to the recording studio with close friends for the first time in seven years in this raw, cinematic portrait of her creative process—one that becomes a profoundly personal and ultimately hopeful reflection on recent loss and grief and the power of music to heal.
Closing Night Screening: Saturday, June 13
EARTH, WIND & FIRE (TO BE CELESTIAL vs THAT’S THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD): DIR Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. PRODS Dave Sirulnick, Samantha Grogin, KB White, Arron Saxe, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. USA.
Earth, Wind & Fire
Courtesy of Michael Ochs Archives
Few bands are as influential or enduring as Earth, Wind & Fire. They displayed Black joy and excellence to the world. They imbued their music with metaphysical positivity to uplift consciousness and empower everyone to be their best. In this captivating portrait, Academy Award-winning director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson honors and explores the most beloved band we know the least about.
Courtesy of HBO.
Spotlight Screening: Sunday, June 14
THE LORRAINE: DIR Sam Pollard. PRODS Dan Braun, Joe Wemple, and Ben Braun. USA.
Renowned documentarian Sam Pollard tells the astonishing and inspiring story of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee—the site of the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.—and of its remarkable owners, Walter and Loree Bailey.