One of Austin’s most well-known purveyors of independent film is bringing back one of its best traditions this May. Showcasing some of the brightest and best of today’s documentary filmmakers, the Austin Film Society’s (AFS) fifth annual Doc Days festival invites locals to celebrate and discuss the art of non-fiction filmmaking from May 1-5.

This year’s lineup includes 10 new non-fiction films, including the latest projects from documentary veterans including Chris Smith (dir. American Movie), Lana Wilson (dir. Miss Americana, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields), and AFS-supported artist Kyle Henry (dir. Fourplay). New names in filmmaking are also on the list, and several screenings will feature appearances from the filmmakers themselves.

Directed by Stephen Maing and Bret Story, Unionis the festival’s opening night film. Following a group of Amazon workers who take on one of the world’s most powerful companies in the fight to unionize, the film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and won a Special Jury Award (U.S. Documentary). Preceded by a reception at 7 pm, the Doc Days screening is a partnership with Good Work Austin and will include an in-person Q&A with labor organizers Chris Smalls and Angelika Maldonado, as well as the film’s producer and director of photography, Martin Dicicco.

Other Sundance award winners having their Austin premieres in the Doc Days lineup include A New Kind of Wilderness and Sugarcane, which is the festival’s closing film. Sugarcane, following members of the Williams Lake First Nation after the discovery of a mass unmarked gravesite, won the Directing Award (U.S. Documentary) at Sundance for directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, and Kassie will attend the May 5 screening in person.

Nicole Chi Amén’s AFS Grant-supported documentary feature, Guián, will also have its Texas premiere at this year’s festival on May 5. Chris Smith’s Devo will be the festival’s centerpiece screening on Saturday, May 4. Several films from previous Doc Days festivals have gone on to earn Academy Awards nominations, including Of Fathers and Sons (2017), Minding the Gap (2018), Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018), American Factory (2019), Flee (2021) and The Eternal Memory (2023).

According to a release, the Doc Days film happens in conjunction with the AFS Doc Intensive, one of two invitational mentorship opportunities offered annually by AFS’s Artist Development program. Launched in 2018, the program is multi-day, invitational workshop series for early to mid-career Texas documentary feature filmmakers and runs concurrently with the festival to promote networking and community building.

Individual ticket prices for the festival range from $11 to $13.50, while full festival passes are $115 for all 10 films. Additional discounts are available for AFS members, and a complete list of film screenings and ticketing information can be found on the AFS website.