Backyard Docs Festival Director Hansen Bursic Previews 2026 Event
Starting September 24 and running through September 27, the Backyard Docs Film Festival will screen a series of feature-length and short documentaries. Now in its third year, the festival has defined itself as a celebration of stories by and about the people who live in the Rust Belt and Appalachian regions. Nick Childers is the Executive Director and founder of the festival alongside a small, mighty team. Will Zavala is the Program Director, Stephanie Strasburg is the Exhibitions Director, and Hansen Bursic, who sat down with Beyond the Cinerama Dome to preview this year’s festival, is the Festival Director.
While Bursic wasn’t present for the first iteration of Backyard Docs, he recalls that it was a one-day showcase of short films in Childers’ backyard. These shorts were selected by Childers and were regional films that hadn’t played anywhere else. The founding of the festival came on the heels of the shutdown of Pittsburgh Filmmakers and was born of a desire to create spaces for filmmakers to come together and share their work.
Courtesy of Backyard Docs
Backyard Docs may have begun in Childers’ backyard, but it is now the largest documentary film festival in Pennsylvania. They’ve been able to grow to four days of programming and include movies that have played at festivals like Slamdance and Tribeca. This year, organizers are thrilled to program the Pittsburgh premiere of the new restoration of Harlan County, USA. Made by Barbara Kopple in 1976, Harlan County, USA remains an essential Appalachian documentary about the importance of organized labor. Despite the tremendous growth, Bursic and the rest of the team believe in staying true to the festival’s DIY roots.
“There is a certain accessibility to a DIY screening that doesn’t exist in a theater. In particular, when we go to neighborhoods that don't have permanent theaters, don't have permanent screening venues, and we bring cinema to those neighborhoods, it feels especially connected to our mission that we really do love that. That's a core part of the ethos of our organization. How can we make documentaries as accessible as possible?”
“But also, DIY screenings are just so much fun. Last year, we had a film about UFO enthusiasts, believers if you will, and we did a rooftop screening. It felt so apt to the subject matter.”
Courtesy of The Haunting of Pennhurst
“This year, we're screening a film called The Haunting of Pennhurst, which is a very interesting film that follows a group of actors who now work in and help run the former Pennhurst Asylum in eastern Pennsylvania. It’s a notorious institution that did horrible things to folks with mental illness. A lot of these actors who now work at the space and run their haunted house, which is a very famous haunted house, are disabled themselves. You're striking this complicated balance. It's like, how are you, as a disabled actor, working and living in this space? How are you grappling with its history and reclaiming it?”
“It's a very interesting film, but it's also very spooky, so we're doing a Halloween pre-party because it's falling right on the cusp of when October starts. It's not just going to be a screening, it will also be a little bit of a fun event, and we're doing it at a former abandoned, now repurposed church.”
On top of the film screenings, Backyard Docs will also have a photography exhibition, private rough-cut feedback sessions, workshops with world-renowned filmmakers, and after-parties. Bursic explains that they don’t think of these as supplementary, but important components that add value for the filmmakers.
“This festival was designed as much for the filmmakers as it was for audiences. It's twofold. One, we provide things for filmmakers like workshops and work-in-progress screenings where they can utilize the audiences and the wealth of talent that's here in Pittsburgh to learn, grow, and be in community to expand regional connections. Simultaneously, audiences benefit because the filmmakers come into town to be a part of the festival. For every single screening we have this year, with the exception of Harlan County, USA, we have the filmmakers coming into town to engage with audiences and be a part of Q&As.”
“Not a lot of film festivals can claim that. We're really proud of that and we intentionally keep our program small so we can ensure that the filmmakers can come into town. We help them with lodging and other things so they can be here in Pittsburgh, experience Pittsburgh, and hopefully fall in love with Pittsburgh, but also just share their work with local audiences and really be a part of the conversation.”
The full line-up for the festival is available on Backyard Docs’ website, along with ticket information. One of the films Bursic points out is the September 24 opening night selection, The Bulldogs. The film premiered earlier this year at Slamdance Film Festival and received a rave review on this site.
Courtesy of The Bulldogs
“It's an incredible look at East Palestine after the February 3, 2023, train derailment. There was a lot of media coming out immediately after the derailment, but this is the first film I saw that took a deep look at the people who were affected by this disaster and lived with them for years after the disaster happened. It does a fantastic job of being a portrait of a town that I don't think a lot of people thought about outside of this one incident. It's such a touching tribute to the region. The filmmakers who directed this film, Ori Segev and Noah Dixon, are Columbus-based, and it's quite incredible that this is their first documentary.”
“There's going to be a short film that opens for it called My Neighbor's Yard. It takes a similar lens to a suburb of Harrisburg in the weeks leading up to the 2024 election, specifically looking at yard signs and what people were putting in their front yards. The films pair very nicely with each other, and it's also great because we get a little bit of Ohio, we get a little bit of Pennsylvania. It's a really nice way to kick off the festival and get a good sense of what we're doing and what we're about.”
On September 25, Backyard Docs moves to the Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks to screen A Beast Touch the Mountain. This documentary follows a group of women in Appalachian Virginia who are organizing to fight against a gas pipeline that threatens to endanger their homes and the environment. Bursic notes that this year, the programming leans toward a focus on unions and the power of people coming together to fight for change.
“The folks you will see on screen are everyday Americans. The thematic line of this program is, what is the story of the working class? We carefully selected projects this year that felt in conversation with the struggles of working class people right now, and it really does feel like the moment to be doing that. We're proud to be elevating stories that I think change the perspectives of how people think about rural and working class people, because it's a very divisive time. I think it's easy to dismiss a lot of people and it's also very easy to forget that folks like this live in our communities and are part of our ecosystem.”
When deciding which films to include as part of the program, Bursic believes that Pittsburgh has a very distinct voice as an audience. He wants the films of Backyard Docs to be in conversation with the films any Pittsburgher could catch at the Manor Theater or AMC year-round.
Courtesy of Backyard Docs
“We know what will resonate with audiences here and what people are hungry for. I've been to cinemas all across the country and festivals all across the world. Pittsburgh audiences are unique, and I think aren’t given the benefit of the doubt. We try to supplement what has already been screened with true indies that are engaging with things that we, as Pittsburghers or regionally, are grappling with. Whether that be environmental activism, deeper concepts of place and home, feeling like we're between two worlds, or the idea that our media ecosystem only pays attention to us when there's an election cycle that comes through.”
If Bursic had to describe the unique Pittsburgh audiences in three words, he would say, “curious, inquisitive, and bold.”
“It makes me proud to be from Pittsburgh. When I sit there in a Q&A and I hear such insightful questions, I see the filmmakers getting approached afterward by so many people offering them gratitude and being so kind to them, welcoming them to the city. It's something Pittsburgh has that truly is special. We lean into it because we want filmmakers to love our region as much as we love their work.”
For anyone who has never been to a film festival or feels intimidated by the idea, Bursic wants to assure you that Backyard Docs is a “party.”
“I don't know what else to say other than that. Some festivals, you go to a screening, you watch a little movie, and you leave. Our festival is so much different. We intentionally think about incorporating events, performance, filmmaker Q&As, workshops, and all of these other things to give audiences options on what kind of experience they can have.”
“If you want to go and just watch a movie, absolutely do that. You can do that, you can leave, and that's totally fine. If you want to engage further, have a little fun, go to our DIY screening, and meet the filmmakers, you can do that. If you want to go to a workshop and learn something, we have that option as well. I think this festival is intentionally built to be as accessible as possible.”
“I would say give it a chance. What do you have to lose? You might see a film you don't like, but there's a ton of other options as well. At any of these screenings, you're going to find something that you will resonate with and love.”
Visit Backyard Docs to see the full film schedule and purchase tickets.
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