Documentary backdrop image for Sway (2006)

Documentary backdrop image for Sway (2006)

200634 minGdocumentary

Sway

200634 minGdocumentary

Fourteen years of daily subway video footage create a free-form documentary filled with music and moments from New York City.

Genres

Director

Richard Sandler

Synopsis

Fourteen years of daily subway video footage create a free-form documentary filled with music and moments from New York City.

People

Richard Sandler

Richard Sandlerdirector

Synopsis

New York City's subway system serves as the backdrop for a 34-minute documentary that compiles fourteen years of daily video footage. The film captures a variety of moments, from the everyday hustle of commuters to spontaneous musical performances. Set against a soundtrack that complements the visuals, the documentary presents a vivid portrait of life in the subway, reflecting the city's dynamic culture and the stories of its passengers.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Style Wars (1984)

Style Wars

1984•1h10m•★7.5TMDB

Subway graffiti artists in New York City created over 1,000 unique tags and murals during the late 1970s and early 1980s, transforming urban landscapes.

Transit Transformations: the Wild Evolution of Urban Infrastructure (2024)

Transit Transformations: the Wild Evolution of Urban Infrastructure

More than eight million people live in New York City, a metropolis transformed by innovations in mass transit from the 19th century to the present.

Transit Transformations: the Wild Evolution of Urban Infrastructure

New York, A Documentary Film (1/9) (2019)

New York, A Documentary Film (1/9)

New York's history is explored from its Dutch settlement roots through the transformative era of Erie Canal development.

New York, A Documentary Film (1/9)

To Truly Understand Hip-Hop, "Style WARS" Is A Must Watch! (2023)

To Truly Understand Hip-Hop, "Style WARS" Is A Must Watch!

Graffiti artists in New York City during the early 1980s transformed subway trains into moving canvases, a practice known as bombing.

To Truly Understand Hip-Hop, "Style WARS" Is A Must Watch!

Metropolis on the Edge: The Revival of New York (2025)

Metropolis on the Edge: The Revival of New York

Half a million serious crimes were reported in New York City in 1990, marking the worst crime year in the city's history.

Metropolis on the Edge: The Revival of New York

Turn-Of-The-Century NYC (2019)

Turn-Of-The-Century NYC

New York City at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is captured through historic footage showcasing iconic landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and Broadway.

Turn-Of-The-Century NYC

The Hidden World of Grand Central Terminal (2026)

The Hidden World of Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal serves as a vital transportation hub in New York City, showcasing its infrastructure, history, and the people who keep it operational.

The Hidden World of Grand Central Terminal

The Chaos Caused By Engineering Works On The London Underground (2019)

The Chaos Caused By Engineering Works On The London Underground

Wembley Park station can handle up to 60,000 passengers during special events, but ongoing redevelopment work has turned it into a building site.

The Chaos Caused By Engineering Works On The London Underground

Archipelago New York: The City of Islands & Wildlife (2025)

Archipelago New York: The City of Islands & Wildlife

Eight million people live in New York City, where thousands of species have adapted to urban life, often unnoticed amid the bustling metropolis.

Archipelago New York: The City of Islands & Wildlife

New York's Secret Tunnel Societies (2023)

New York's Secret Tunnel Societies

New York's underground tunnel societies reveal the hidden networks that have influenced the city's history and culture throughout the years.

New York's Secret Tunnel Societies

Explore Sway

Browse more like this

Style Wars (1984)

Style Wars

1984•1h10m•★7.5TMDB

Subway graffiti artists in New York City created over 1,000 unique tags and murals during the late 1970s and early 1980s, transforming urban landscapes.

No digital watch option in your country

Transit Transformations: the Wild Evolution of Urban Infrastructure (2024)

Transit Transformations: the Wild Evolution of Urban Infrastructure

More than eight million people live in New York City, a metropolis transformed by innovations in mass transit from the 19th century to the present.

Transit Transformations: the Wild Evolution of Urban Infrastructure

No digital watch option in your country

New York, A Documentary Film (1/9) (2019)

New York, A Documentary Film (1/9)

New York's history is explored from its Dutch settlement roots through the transformative era of Erie Canal development.

New York, A Documentary Film (1/9)

No digital watch option in your country

To Truly Understand Hip-Hop, "Style WARS" Is A Must Watch! (2023)

To Truly Understand Hip-Hop, "Style WARS" Is A Must Watch!

Graffiti artists in New York City during the early 1980s transformed subway trains into moving canvases, a practice known as bombing.

To Truly Understand Hip-Hop, "Style WARS" Is A Must Watch!

No digital watch option in your country

Metropolis on the Edge: The Revival of New York (2025)

Metropolis on the Edge: The Revival of New York

Half a million serious crimes were reported in New York City in 1990, marking the worst crime year in the city's history.

Metropolis on the Edge: The Revival of New York

No digital watch option in your country

The Hidden World of Grand Central Terminal (2026)

The Hidden World of Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal serves as a vital transportation hub in New York City, showcasing its infrastructure, history, and the people who keep it operational.

The Hidden World of Grand Central Terminal

No digital watch option in your country

Archipelago New York: The City of Islands & Wildlife (2025)

Archipelago New York: The City of Islands & Wildlife

Eight million people live in New York City, where thousands of species have adapted to urban life, often unnoticed amid the bustling metropolis.

Archipelago New York: The City of Islands & Wildlife

No digital watch option in your country

New York's Secret Tunnel Societies (2023)

New York's Secret Tunnel Societies

New York's underground tunnel societies reveal the hidden networks that have influenced the city's history and culture throughout the years.

New York's Secret Tunnel Societies

No digital watch option in your country

21 x New York (2016)

21 x New York

2016•1h10m•★6.3TMDB

Seventy minutes capture the lives of diverse characters in New York City's subway, revealing their stories and the solitude of urban living.

Stations of the Elevated (1981)

Stations of the Elevated

1981•45m•★7.5TMDB

A group of boys watches subway trains covered in graffiti, with one remarking, "That one was all right."

Stations of the Elevated

Down in Shadowland (2014)

Down in Shadowland

2014•1h11m•★7.8TMDB

Candid footage captures seven years of daily life in New York City's subway system, featuring a diverse array of riders unaware they are being filmed.

Down in Shadowland

True New York (2016)

True New York

2016•2h10m•★10.0TMDB

Five award-winning short documentaries present diverse narratives set in New York City, revealing the lives of its 8 million residents.

Trains of Thoughts (2012)

Trains of Thoughts

2012•1h25m•★6.0TMDB

An audio-visual essay compares metro systems worldwide, reflecting on themes of survival, control, and silence over 85 minutes.

Trains of Thoughts

Queer City (2016)

Queer City

2016•1h24m•★4.0TMDB

Eighty-four minutes of personal stories from LGBT individuals in New York City reveal the culture and challenges of queer life in the 21st century.

Rail Fan (2020)

Rail Fan

2020•37m•★10.0TMDB

Every day, young men from the inner city gather in New York City's subway system to immerse themselves in its sights and sounds.

Free Time (2019)

Free Time

2019•1h1m•★8.0TMDB

Restored 16mm black-and-white footage from 1958 to 1960 showcases children playing stickball and window washers scaling New York's skyscrapers.

N.Y., N.Y. (1957)

N.Y., N.Y.

1957•15m•★6.9TMDB

Explore New York City through a surreal lens in this vivid documentary.

Browse more by Richard Sandler

View all films →

The Gods of Times Square (1999)

The Gods of Times Square

1999

Subway to the Former East Village (2007)

Subway to the Former East Village

2007

Brave New York (2004)

Brave New York

2004

Radioactive City (2012)

Radioactive City

2012

Everybody Is Hurting (2006)

Everybody Is Hurting

2006

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →