Newburyport
Documentary
Film
Festival
NBPT DOCU FEST
September 25-27
We are the Filmmakers' Film Festival
Festival Tickets on Sale
(Young Emerging-Filmmakers Showcase)
THE WATCH CLUB
THE WATCH CLUB:
MARY OLIVER: SAVED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” It may be the most famous line written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver, who died in 2019 at age 83.
MARY OLIVER: SAVED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD, one of the year’s most acclaimed documentaries, premieres Tuesday on PBS. Featuring an abundance of home movies and readings by admirers including Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, and Oprah Winfrey, this moving film casts the poet’s work as far more than the coffee mug platitudes that critics some have claimed it to be.
She was a mystic, says one commentator; radical, says another. “A beatnik,” as her friend and fellow longtime Provincetown resident John Waters says. Whether Oliver’s poetry has been a balm for you or you think you don’t like poetry at all, this film will open your eyes.
​
Watch MARY OLIVER: SAVED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD, streaming beginning Tuesday, August 25 on PBS American Masters. Then make plans to join us in THE WATCH CLUB for a live Q&A with director Sasha Waters at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, August 26. Or watch the interview anytime afterward on our YouTube channel.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
What is THE WATCH CLUB?
Our 2025 Festival Winners
BEST FEATURE FILM: NIGHT FIGHT
Director: Khary Saeed Jones
​
​
BEST SHORT FILM: POPPY CRASH
Director: Andalusia K. Soloff
​
BEST NEW ENGLAND FEATURE FILM: UNLESS SOMETHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG
Directors: Kaitlyn Schwalje, Alex Wolf Lewis
​
BEST NEW ENGLAND SHORT FILM: DUKAKIS: RECIPE FOR DEMOCRACY
Directors: Erin Trahan, Jeff Schmidt
​
BEST FIRST TIME FEATURE FILM: THE OPENER
Director: Jeff Toye
​
THE DAVID KLEILER CINEPHILE AWARD: THE PAINTED LIFE OF GREGORY GILLESPIE
Director: Evan Goodchild
​
AUDIENCE AWARD: CHECKPOINT ZOO
Director: Joshua Zeman
​
2025 YES Award winner: METTLE
Directors: Surabhi Sundaram & Chelsea Casabona
Columbia University School of Journalism’s Master’s Program
Our 2025 Program
Photo History
Our Sponsors
The Newburyport Documentary Film Festival is supported in part by grants from the local cultural councils of the surrounding towns as well as our local sponsors.
If you would like to become a sponsor, please visit our Sponsors page
