Here are brief reviews of some of my favorite films from this month's DOC NYC festival. "My Sweet Land" is a briskly paced, beautifully edited portrait of an 11-year-old Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian boy caught with his family in the series of wars against Azerbaijan which have greatly reduced the land that was once part of Armenia. The boy is remarkably positive given the circumstances and follows...

"Soundtrack for a Coup D'etat" is a fascinating and highly entertaining study of the unexpected relationship between some famous Jazz musicians and the C.I.A.-backed 1960 assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It opens at the Film Forum Friday, October 25 and will also be screened at the upcoming DOC NYC festival. A Q&A with director...