Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

Welcome to our Anne-ual Top Docs Holiday Special featuring the one-and-only Anne Thompson, Editor-at-Large at IndieWire! Anne joins Mike and Ken to tackle this year’s Best Feature Documentary Oscar Shortlist, released on December 17th. One day following the release of the list, Anne is already fired up and ready to go. How competitive is this year’s race? Who are the Frontrunners, Runners Up and Dark Horses? Which film will win it all? Park yourself in front of a roaring fire and pop in those earbuds. It’s Oscar time!

IndieWire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson has been a contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, The Observer, and Wired. She has served as film columnist at Variety, and deputy editor of Variety.com, where her daily blog, Thompson on Hollywood, launched in March 2007. 

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Today’s pod features one of our special “Anatomy of a Scene” episodes.  Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat join us once again to discuss their feature documentary, “Sugarcane”.   Emily & Julian were first on the show when we recorded them live from Sundance.  We wanted to have them back on to dig in deep on a scene from the movie that spans continents, involves world leaders, and features some of the most stark revelations of the film.  

One note on the audio:  Some of my spoken explanations for what we are seeing on the screen didn’t come out so well.  But that’s really besides the point.  The real heart of this pod are the incredible explications from Julian & Emily, founded in how they got some of these shots, the creative decisions they took to achieve their ends, and, notably, their engagements with the most telling moral issues of their film, rooted in the inadequacies of explanations for past crimes from everyone from a leader of a religious order, to a Canadian Prime Minister, to a Pope.

Sugarcane has just started streaming on Disney+. 

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

For Palestinian villagers in the rural southern West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, life under the Israeli occupation is terrifying. The Israeli military can show up, without warning, waving orders to demolish your house; those resisting can be arrested or even shot. Among the Palestinians who call Masafer Yatta home is filmmaker Basel Adra. Basel’s extraordinary new documentary “No Other Land” — made by a Palestinian/Israeli collective that includes Basel, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor — demonstrates how Basel, like his father before him, has relied on the power of the camera to document and protest the community’s treatment under the Israeli army’s orders to demolish Palestinian homes, schools and infrastructure.

Basel and Yuval join Ken on the pod to discuss the history of Masafer Yatta, the community’s efforts at resistance, and the enduring on- and off-camera alliance between the two of them built over the course of making the film. Recently awarded three IDA awards, including Best Documentary and Best Directors, “No Other Land” is screening at film festivals and in select theaters.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

RJ Cutler (“The War Room”, “The September Issue”, “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”) joins Mike and Ken once again to talk about his latest documentary, “Elton John: Never Too Late.”

As RJ tells us, the film “ Tells the story of two monumental decisions in the life of Elton John. The first, a decision he makes [to come out] in an interview in 1976 to Rolling Stone Magazine. And the second, a decision he makes in the middle of his seventies to give up touring In order to spend more time with his family and his young sons.”  The result is a film filled with denial, drug dependency, and despondence, but ultimately also music, joy, and love as well.

“Elton John: Never Too Late” begins streaming on Disney+ on December 13th.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Today our guests are Errol Morris, director of the new MSNBC documentary “Separated”, and Jacob Soboroff, executive producer, upon whose 2020 book, “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy,” the documentary was based. 

We had Errol on the show last year to discuss his Oscar-shortlisted portrait of John le Carré, “The Pigeon Tunnel”, which with its implicitly self-reflective focus on the ability of representation to capture reality, can be read as a career-culminating masterpiece. “Separated” is a bit of a departure, one the topic of which has been made ever more urgent by the return of Donald Trump to the white house. In it, Errol draws upon Jacob's reporting–for which he was awarded the Walter Cronkite award for individual achievement by a national journalist as well as the Hillman Prize for broadcast journalism–on the child separation policy at the border in the first half of the first Trump administration. Jacob and Errol, with the help of the hero of this story, Captain John White, demonstrate this policy was not a “byproduct” of a tighter immigration approach, but an abusive tool used to terrify migrants by deliberately harming their children. Cruelty as the saying goes, was the point. 

“Separated” will first air on MSNBC on December 7th.  

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

We invited directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev back to “Top Docs” to discuss the unique art that animates their Sundance award-winning documentary “Porcelain War,” an intimate portrait of three Ukrainian artists and their responses to the Russian invasion of their country. Brendan and Slava analyze one of the film’s magical moments, about halfway through the film, in which Anya (Slava’s creative partner and wife) transforms memorable experiences from Slava and Anya’s lives in Kharkiv into scenes and characters that she paints on small porcelain figurines.

Over the course of this extraordinary three-minute scene, Brendan and Slava discuss the highly imaginative animation that brings Anya’s drawings to life on the surface of a small porcelain owl. The scene brilliantly encapsulates the filmmakers’ idea that art and metaphor can be used as a powerful expression of empathy in time of war.

“Porcelain War” is playing in select theaters. You can listen to our original interview with Brendan and Slava from earlier this year.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The message from some of the most powerful forces in Japanese society was clear: “Don’t talk about it.” But, over the course of a yearslong journey depicted in her powerful new documentary “Black Box Diaries,” Japanese journalist Shiori Ito does all she can to expose the facts and tell her story of how she was raped in 2015 by a prominent journalist. After the Tokyo Metropolitan Police decided not to pursue the investigation, Shiori made her accusations public at a press conference and never looked back.

Joining Ken on the pod, Shiori describes the many cultural, political and legal obstacles that stood in her way as she refused to do what even her own family was advising, which was to remain silent. Relying on her skills as a journalist, Shiori interviews multiple witnesses and confronts the powers that be. She files a civil lawsuit. She writes a best-selling book. The result is the stirrings of a Japanese #MeToo movement, a quest for justice, and the reclaiming of her chosen profession. “Black Box Diaries” is the harrowing, disturbing, and, ultimately, inspiring story of what happens when one woman decides to talk — and to fight back.

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“Black Box Diaries” is being released by MTV Documentary Films.

Hidden Gem:

“Intercepted”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Today we speak with Nanfu Wang, about her new documentary, “Night is Not Eternal,” a portrait of the Cuban struggle for democracy, with a focus on Cuban human rights activist Rosa Maria Payá.

Nanfu was previously on the pod discussing her last documentary “In the Same Breath”, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2022.  In that film, Nanfu found the focus of her previous work, which had been situated firmly on her native China slipping a bit, and found herself examining the way the  America that she had immigrated to dealt with the COVID crisis as well as the Chinese response.  

In a similar manner, “Night is not Eternal”, as you’ll hear, was meant at first to be a portrait of Cuban Activist Rosa Maria Payá, as well as of Rosa’s father, Oswaldo, in a sense a legendary advocate of democracy for Cuba, and one who was killed by the security services of the nation he had refused to leave. But the portrait of Rosa and the focus on Cuba spawned an almost mirror-like depiction of Nanfu herself, and her own wishes for an end to authoritarianism in her home county.  And, over the years that she shot and edited the film, she found that she was beginning to recognize some early warnings of authoritarianism in her adopted country, one that, especially upon becoming the mother of a Chinese-American child, she had grown to love.

You can watch "Night is Not Eternal' on HBO and Max.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

To his “real” family, Mats Steen was a loving brother and son, rather shy and reserved; to his World of Warcraft family, Mats — known by his avatar Ibelin Redmoore — was bold, outgoing, and something of a ladies’ man. Both families were devastated by Mats’ tragic passing from Duchenne muscular dystrophy when he was only in his mid-20s. In his deeply moving, brilliantly constructed new Netflix documentary “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,” director Benjamin Ree (“The Painter and the Thief”, “Magnus”) illuminates all aspects of Mats’ life in a profound way that neither of his families could possibly have imagined.

Benjamin joins Ken on the pod to discuss his own remarkable creative journey as he set out to give full measure to Mats’ story — both in real life and inside the World of Warcraft universe. How did Benjamin animate the 42,000 pages of texts from the game to recreate Ibelin’s adventures and relationships within the World of Warcraft community that he was a part of? In what ways was telling this film comparable to writing a symphony, with its innovative, repetitive structure building over time? And, finally, what has been the startling and legacy of Mat’s life on those who knew him and on the thousands of gamers who never met him? There’s no avatar for that kind of impact.

“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” is streaming on Netflix.

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Hidden Gems:

“Brothers”

“The Overnighters”

“The Arbor”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

In their first foray outside the context of American history and culture, Ken Burns (“The Brooklyn Bridge”, “The Civil War”, Jazz) and Dave McMahon (“The Central Park Five”, “Jackie Robinson”, “The War”) take on Leonardo da Vinci.  As they tell Mike, casting themselves deep into the past, Burns and McMahon explore the world that Leonardo found himself–first the Tuscan countryside, then Florence at the height of its commercial and cultural powers–and in an era that turned back both to the classic authors, as well as outward towards the natural world.  To adequately represent Leonardo’s art, as well as the “prophetic” sketches of his notebook, Burns and McMahon embraced new forms of showing and telling themselves.  The result is a documentary that may well make you see the world if not through Leonardo’s own eyes, then yet once again, anew.

“Leonardo da Vinci” will first air on PBS November 18 & 19.

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Hidden Gems:

“Night Mail”

“How to Survive a Pandemic”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Probably the last place you want to have a lover’s quarrel is during an illegal climb up one of the world’s tallest buildings — especially when your goal is to perform a death-defying acrobatic duet on the tiny platform at the top of the building’s spire. But in Jeff Zimbalist’s (“The Two Escobars,” “ReMastered”) harrowing, breathtaking documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” that’s exactly where things are headed after Vanya Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, two uniquely gifted “rooftoppers/skywalkers,” reach the upper floors of the world’s second tallest building and can’t seem to agree on what to do next.

Joining Ken on the pod, Jeff describes how these two remarkable “artists of the sky” combine forces to perform some of the most extraordinary feats you’ve ever seen, from heights that will make your head spin. But while the footage of these achievements may make your palms sweaty (as they did mine), it is the growing intimate relationship between Vanya and Angela that proves every bit as complicated as the plotting required to pull off one of their amazing stunts. With his sharpened focus on this fascinating true romance, Jeff pulls off a pretty impressive stunt of his own: how to tell a story that is thoroughly relatable to those of us who will never do more than climb a 10-foot ladder or take an elevator ride to the top of some really tall building. It turns out that love may be the scariest climb of all.

“Skywalkers: A Love Story” is streaming on Netflix.

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Hidden Gem:

“The Hour of the Furnaces”

In his highly engaging new Netflix documentary “Martha,” Emmy award-winning filmmaker RJ Cutler (“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”, “Big Vape”) calls Martha Stewart the original influencer. Throughout the 80s and 90s, on her TV show and with her Kmart retail line and publishing empire, Martha defined good taste as it related to virtually every aspect of the American home. Her magazine and brand were called “Martha Stewart Living” for a reason.

RJ joins Mike and Ken on the pod to provide further insight into this groundbreaking entrepreneur and cultural icon, whose advice on all things related to the American home gave her legions of fans something to aspire to, but who couldn't always fix everything in her own life. From her difficult upbringing, through the highpoint of her career, and then with her downfall and eventual, triumphant comeback, “Martha” offers a fascinating and comprehensive portrait that leaves no decorative stone unturned.

“Martha” is currently streaming on Netflix.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

If you don’t want to get burned in American politics, “Lean into the fire.” So says James Carville, the world’s most famous presidential campaign manager, in award-winning filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer’s thoroughly engaging and refreshing new documentary, “Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid.” Carville’s sharp-edged political commentary has, for years, provided a constant stream of content for cable shows and podcasts. But it wasn’t until mid-2023, when Carville became one of the first mainstream voices in Democratic circles to call for Biden to quit the 2024 campaign, that he achieved a level of prominence that he hadn’t experienced since the early 90s, when he helped Bill Clinton become president.

Joining Ken on the pod, Matt talks about what led him to James as the subject of his latest film even before the stuff hit the fan with Carville and Biden — and what it was like to be filming when the Biden-Trump debate changed everything. As with all master filmmakers, Matt’s approach goes beyond the present tense moment. He deftly navigates Carville’s poignant backstory and inner life, his upbringing and the public/private moments of his marriage to former Republican campaign consultant Mary Matalin. It turns out that leaning into the fire is sound advice for documentary filmmakers, too.

“Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid” is playing in select theaters.

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Hidden Gem:

“Paul T. Goldman”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

“The Last of the Sea Women” sounds like it might be a B movie classic in the mold of “King Kong vs. Godzilla.” But while Sue Kim’s fascinating and sui generis feature directorial debut shares very little in common with that movie genre, it does spotlight a group of extraordinary women from South Korea who have been living like real-life superheroes for centuries.

Sue joins Ken on the pod to talk about the remarkable haenyeo divers, who for many generations have been free diving off the coast of Jeju Island and other places in South Korea to harvest seafood and live as successful independent entrepreneurs. In the process, the haenyeo, most of whom are in their 60s and 70s, have formed a powerful bond and created a culture that has become legendary. Now, due to climate change, pollution and other factors, the haenyeo’s way of life is under threat. As the haenyeo become active in the fight to preserve their culture and protect the environment, a new generation of haenyeo has emerged. But, with most haenyeo aging out of the profession, can this way of life survive? If this sounds like the plot of a superhero movie, then you wouldn’t be far off.

“The Last of the Sea Women” is currently streaming on Apple+

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Hidden Gem:

“Liquor Store Dreams”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Like many parents of young children who run around the house wreaking havoc, Montrealers Edith Lemay and Sébastian Pelletier have their hands full. But in their case, what concerns them most is that three of their four children suffer from a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa, which is gradually robbing Mia, Colin and Laurent of their eyesight. In their deeply moving new documentary, BLINK, filmmakers Edmund Stenson (“Finding Fukue”) and Daniel Roher (who won the Oscar® for “Navalny”) observe how this diagnosis has created a shockwave through the family, but also led to new adventures and personal growth.

Ed and Daniel join Ken on the pod to talk about how they came to know the Pelletiers and bear witness to the family’s yearlong journey around the world. Designed to help the children create strong visual memories that will last a lifetime, the trip is guided by an epic bucket list that also serves to drive the film’s narrative. As we witness the family traverse the globe, checking off items on the list, we find ourselves seeing the world through different sets of eyes. Scenes of delight and awe alternate with moments of uncertainty and fear. Ultimately, BLINK is a story of opening up and finding your place, including in your own family.

BLINK is being released by National Geographic Documentary Films in select theaters starting October 4th.

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Hidden Gems:

Edmund: “A Man Vanishes”

Daniel: “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 5 – 15, 2024, promises, once again, to be one of the world’s premier showcases for documentaries. TIFF’s renowned Documentary Programmer and DOC NYC co-founder Thom Powers (Pure Nonfiction, WNYC’s Documentary of the Week) joins Ken to break down the TIFF DOCS lineup and discuss what are sure to be some of the Fall awards season’s most talked about and acclaimed documentaries.

Featuring 21 feature documentaries from 24 countries, the TIFF DOCS section is more international in scope than ever, covering a wide range of topics, from highly topical political docs (“The Last Republican”, “From Ground Zero”) to deeply intimate personal stories (“Mistress Dispeller”, “A Sister’s Tale”) and awe-inspiring cinematic experiences (“Space Cowboy”, “The Last of the Sea Women”). The Fall doc season is here, and Toronto is ground zero.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

At one time, being “Slimed” on Nickelodeon was seen as the ultimate television rite of passage and a harmless bit of fun. But as “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” — Mary Robertson (“Framing Britney Spears”) and Emma Schwartz’ (“Elon Musk’s Crash Course”) devastating investigation of the warped culture at Nickelodeon in the 90s and 2000s — reveals, the atmosphere both on and off the set at Nickelodeon could be anything but harmless, fun, or safe.

Joining Ken on the pod to discuss their Emmy-nominated, 5-part Investigation Discovery docuseries, Mary and Emma detail the rise and fall of Nickelodeon “Golden Boy” Dan Schneider. His oversight of some of the most successful shows on the network left some staffers, young actors and the actors’ parents deeply upset or worse. In the case of Nickelodeon star Drake Bell, who comes forward for the first time to tell his story on camera in the series, he was sexually abused by dialogue coach Brian Peck. “Quiet on Set” pulls back the curtain on what went wrong at Nickelodeon and gives these young actors a chance to finally tell their side of the story.

“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” is nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program.

“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” is streaming on Discovery Plus, Hulu and Max

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Hidden Gems:

Mary: “To Be and to Have”

Emma: “Jacinta”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Director Bao Nguyen returns to “Top Docs” to illuminate the creative process behind his captivating, and now multi-Emmy nominated, Netflix doc “The Greatest Night in Pop” about the behind-the-scenes studio recording of the iconic 1980s famine relief song “We Are the World”. Bao takes us deep inside his approach to characterization and tension-building in the fascinating and compelling sequence in which the legendary Bob Dylan struggles to record his part of the song. 

When producer Quincy Jones and musical genius Stevie Wonder come to his aid, the scene takes on a deeper meaning. Bao explores what makes this moment so magical and such an enticing creative challenge.

“The Greatest Night in Pop” is nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and Outstanding Sound Editing.

“The Greatest Night in Pop” is streaming on Netflix. You can listen to our original interview with Bao Nguyen from earlier this year

Fisher Stevens returns to the pod bearing 5 Emmy Nominations for his 4-part Netflix Series about the British football legend. He digs in deep with us on the opening sequence of Episode 3 of the series: "Golden Balls". And his delight is evident in meeting his old friends once again--Victoria and David, certainly, but Luís Figo, Gary Neville, and even Sir Alex Ferguson as well.

You can also listen to our original interview from October of last year!

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix

We continue our Emmy coverage with a conversation with the filmmakers behind the Netflix series, “Escaping Twin Flames”:  director Cecilia Peck as well as executive producer and editor Inbal Lessner (both of “Brave Miss World,” and “Seduced: Inside the Nexium Cult.”)  Here is how Cecilia describes the series:

“Escaping Twin Flames is a three part Netflix doc series investigating ‘Twin Flames Universe’, which is a purported online relationship coaching school. This series follows former members of the group and family members, and focuses on the methodology used by this group to attract and indoctrinate and then control the lives of its members. It does pay particular attention to how, under the guise of being LGBTQ-friendly, Twin Flames Universe recruited within the gay, bi, and trans communities and then forced a heteronormative ideology onto its members.”

With the series nominated for Outstanding Editing, Cecilia, Inbal, and Mike dig into a sequence that leverages precisely chosen and deftly edited clips from the trove of materials from social to demonstrate exactly how the leaders of this group, Jeff and Sheleia, attracted, indoctrinated and integrated new members.  They then go on to explore the ramifications that the group’s strict gender ideology has had on both the participants in the group, as well as their family members.

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Hidden Gems:

“Harlan County, USA”

“Victim/Suspect”

“Stormy”

“Fire of Love”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

It’s been 34 years since the stunning, untimely death of Jim Henson at the age of just 53. But, in the years since, Henson’s creations (aka The Muppets) have continued their reign on “Sesame Street”, at theme parks and in the movies. Jim Henson’s coterie of lovable characters is as present as ever. Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind”, “Frost/Nixon”) takes on the legacy of the brilliant puppeteer and filmmaker in his deeply researched, playful and heartfelt documentary, “Jim Henson Idea Man”.

Ron joins Ken on the pod to discuss how, years ago, a conversation with the late director Jonathan Demme spurred him on to start making documentaries, and why he finds it so challenging and rewarding. With his latest documentary, Ron has found a subject that both piques his curiosity and dovetails with some of the themes of his own life (early success on television followed by a successful career directing movies; the challenges of balancing one’s passion for work with commitment to family; and the excitement of the next project that always beckons). The result is one of Ron Howard’s most personal and fascinating documentaries to date.

“Jim Henson Idea Man” is nominated for eight Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program.

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Hidden Gem:

“Agents of Chaos”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

9 years after the debut of his remarkable docuseries “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst”, which included a stunning confession by Durst on a hot mic, acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Jarecki (“Capturing the Friedmans”) is still at it. In April 2024, HBO released the first of his new six-episode series, “The Jinx - Part Two”, an investigation every bit as chilling and riveting as Part One... and maybe even more disturbing.

Joining Ken on the pod to talk about his epic saga of the New York real estate tycoon turned murderer, Andrew explores the backstory of Durst’s now famous five-word confession (“Killed them all, of course”) and takes us through the Los Angeles trial that found Durst once again trying to beat a murder charge. Along with a fascinating cast of characters, Part Two explores the dark theme of complicity by Durst’s family and friends who, time and time again, chose money and loyalty over doing the right thing. One might say about Andrew’s quest, “Exposed them all, of course”.

“The Jinx - Part Two” is nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series

Hidden Gems:

“Darwin’s Nightmare”

“Screwball”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Continuing our Emmy coverage, today we speak with the creators of the  Emmy-nominated HBO documentary series, “Telemarketers”.  Co-director Adam Bhala Lough describes the 3-part series this way: “Two scumbag telemarketers discover that there are cogs in the wheel of a multimillion dollar scam. And so they band together to try to take down the scam and then take down the industry.”

Adam joins Mike on the pod along with one of the characters he lovingly calls a scumbag: his co-director and cousin Sam Lipman-Stern.   They discuss  the other scumbag, Pet Pespas, who despite being an recovering if accomplished telemarketer as well as a recovering if chronic heroin addict–or maybe because of both those things–is the driving moral center of the series.  In addition to exposing the scam that is telemarketing for the local chapters of several powerful charitable organizations such as the Fraternal Order of Police and the Police Benevolent Association, the series provides the  depiction of friendship despite the odds as well as  the seemingly unlikely growth of Sam as a talented documentary filmmaker.  

Hidden Gems:

“The Land of Look Behind”

“Crazy Rulers of the World”

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@patrickjpespas on Instagram

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

“Climbing the mountain” is a fitting description of the uphill struggle that all documentary filmmakers face when taking on any new project. Acclaimed filmmaker Lucy Walker (“Bring Your Own Brigade”, “The Crash Reel”) takes that metaphor to new heights with “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” her ambitious, multilayered new documentary portrait of world class mountain climber Lhakpa Sherpa.

Joining Ken on the pod for a return visit, Lucy talks about her deep admiration for Lhakpa, who, growing up in the Himalayas of Nepal, always felt a strong spiritual connection to Mount Everest. But, as a woman climber and a Sherpa, Lhakpa had to fight to overcome rampant discrimination and a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve her dreams. “Mountain Queen” masterfully documents Lhakpa’s attempt to summit Everest for a world record-breaking 10th time and reveals that her ultimate quest may be to inspire her daughters to climb their own mountains.

“Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa” streams on Netflix beginning on July 31st. You can find our 2022 convo with Lucy about “Bring Your Own Brigade” here.

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Hidden Gem:

“Maya and the Wave”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

When the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, effectively ending America’s longest war, that seemed like the end of the story for most journalists. But for director Ibrahim Nash’at, the story that he wanted to tell was just beginning. In his haunting new documentary “Hollywoodgate”, Nash’at does what virtually no other journalist or filmmaker has dared to do: tag along with the victorious Taliban military as it goes about reasserting itself over every aspect of Afghan society.

Ibrahim and producer Shane Boris (“Navalny”, “Fire of Love”) join Ken on the podcast to discuss the immense challenges and ever present dangers that Ibrahim faced during production. What drew Ibrahim to this story initially and what convinced Shane to join him as one of the producers? How did Ibrahim come to focus on two main figures in the film, and how did they complete “two sides of the story”? And how did seeing the word “Hollywoodgate” written on the entrance to an abandoned U.S. base in Kabul provide a moment of clarity for Ibrahim — and, ultimately, lead to the making of this extraordinary and unforgettable film?

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@ibrahimnsht and @shane.boris on Instagram

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Hidden Gems:

Ibrahim Nash’at: “Return to Homs”

Shane Boris: “Talking Heads”, “Cameraperson”

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Memphis sound was everywhere: Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes — the list goes on. Not only did the Memphis sound (a.k.a. Memphis soul) bring an amazing range of musical talent to the world, it also shined a light on the unsung city of Memphis, Tennessee and on a remarkable record company called Stax Records. In her expansive HBO docuseries “STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A.”, director Jamila Wignot (“Ailey”) goes inside the recording studio and widens her lens to look at the deep cultural impact that the musicians and executives of Stax had on American culture.

Joining Ken on the pod, Jamila discusses what drew her into this epic, constantly surprising story of a small record label that grew to be one of the centers of the music world — only to see the entire enterprise come to a tragic end. How did Stax records become a magnet for Black musicians and producers and a beacon for experimentation and improvisation in popular music? In what ways did Stax, with its interracial musical acts, break down racial barriers, while, at the same time, fall short in confronting the issue of race in the South? And what made the 1972 Wattstax concert in Los Angeles, with over 100,000 mostly Black fans, the “most badass thing” you can imagine? This docuseries is stacked with one fascinating, enlightening story after another.

“STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A.” is streaming on max. 

Follow:

@jamilaw on Instagram

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X

Hidden Gem:

“Pumping Iron”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

In the early 1990s, a serial killer stalked his victims not by slipping into houses under cover of darkness or by abducting victims from isolated highway rest stops, but rather by haunting crowded, lively gay bars in Manhattan–he even interacted with others in these bars, sometimes the very friends of his victims.  

What makes “Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York” so compelling is the way director Anthony Caronna and executive producer Howard Gertler bring to bear a chronicling of gay life in the city at that time–with both its joys and its terrors during an era of widespread crime against queer New Yorkers–to explain how the killer managed to get away with his crimes for so long.  And on the way they pay both great respect to the full, complicated lives of those who were lost, as well as those they left behind.

You can watch “Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York” on Max.

Follow:

@hgertler on Instagram and 

@auntyanthony on Instagram and @AnthonyCaronna on twitter/X

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X

Hidden Gems:

Licensed to Kill

Split Screen

Sir David Attenborough’s still got it. As he proves in Netflix’s extraordinary nature series “Our Planet II”, the 98-year-old legendary British biologist, natural historian, narrator, and writer remains one of the documentary world’s great talents.

Joining Mike and Ken on the pod, “Our Planet II" Series Producer Huw Cordey discusses the ins-and-outs of collaborating with narrator Sir David and the tremendous challenges of this mind-blowing nature series. Picking up where Our Planet left off, the sequel explores how and why a vast array of species embark on their annual migratory journeys. Along the way, Huw describes how all the key creative elements, from the extraordinary cinematography to the finely-honed scripts, come together to make stars of these remarkable creatures, great and small. They are the real legends of this story.

“Our Planet II” is streaming on Netflix. 

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@huwcordey on Instagram

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X

Hidden Gem:

“Big Oil v the World”

In 2015, a young California couple, Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins, was awakened by a home invasion, drugged, and blindfolded; Denise was kidnapped. But that isn’t the only disturbing horror at the heart of the harrowing Netflix docuseries “American Nightmare”. Sensitively and imaginatively directed by Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins (“The Tinder Swindler”), this true crime drama focuses as much on the local police department’s disturbing disregard for the couple, and for the facts of the case, as it does on the original crimes.

Joining Ken on the pod, Felicity and Bernadette describe how their approach to “The Tinder Swindler” and “American Nightmare” avoids the tropes and traps of the standard true crime formula, resulting in documentaries that feature the victims as the primary storytellers. From their choice of lighting and interview staging, to how the series is structured, every element of the production supports the directors’ vision and gives power back to Aaron and Denise — one more step in the couple’s journey to awaken from their American nightmare.

“American Nightmare” is streaming on Netflix. 

Follow:

@felicityhmorris on Instagram and  @fliss_morris on twitter/X 

@bernadetteberniehiggins on Instagram

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X

Hidden Gem:

“Pamela, a love story”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. 

Yance Ford’s voice is key to his new documentary on Netflix, so here’s how he describes “Power”:  “Driven to contain threats to social order, American policing has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now it can be described by one word: ‘Power’”.

Yance’s narrative is deeply rooted in a historical analysis of the roots of American policing–Indian removal, slave patrol, the anti-Labor municipal police of the 18th and 19th centuries; in his analysis, all driven by the protection of property.  But his focus ultimately resolves on the deeply personal effects that policing has on individuals and communities. 

“Power” can now be streamed on Netflix. 

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@yford on twitter/X

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Already famous as an actor, Rob Reiner made his directorial debut in 1984 with the landmark mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap”, which kicked off a new subgenre and inspired countless references to turning the knob “up to 11.” But, it has taken 40 years for the legendary creative hyphenate (director of “Stand by Me”, “When Harry Met Sally”, “A Few Good Men” and many more) to direct his first “real” documentary, “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life”, a loving embrace of his lifelong friend, the comedic genius Albert Brooks.

Joining Ken on the pod, Rob shares insights into what makes Albert tick, why it took his friend so long to agree to the film, and how he was inspired by “My Dinner with Andre” to sit down over cheesecake with his former Beverly Hills classmate. With his first documentary, Rob proves to be equally adept as an interviewer as he is chronicler of Albert’s career through a selection of Albert’s’ brilliant stand-up appearances, clips from his movies, and testimonials from a who’s who of comedy heavyweights. The result is a thoroughly charming and, ultimately, inspiring portrait of friendship itself. What took you so long, Rob?

“Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” is available now on Max.

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@robreiner on twitter/X

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. 

While we gear up for Season 4 of "Top Doc", we're sharing some of our favorite episodes of the past few years.  Today, we re-present a pod from October of 2021.

Ken and Mike welcome Kirsten (KJ) Johnson, who recently won Best Director for her groundbreaking film, "Dick Johnson is Dead." This film is like no other film you’ll find in your Netflix queue. KJ’s boundary-pushing documentary uses the art of cinema to keep the ravages of time and the onset of dementia from taking her beloved father Dick away from her. The solution? Keep killing her father over-and-over again on camera, all with Dick’s active participation and encouragement. 

Once you survive the film, you’ll definitely want to join Mike and Ken for this refreshingly candid conversation with KJ who constantly questions everything (including our questions!) and proves herself to be every bit as provocative, playful and engaging as the film itself. Covering everything from Seventh-day Adventism and the best way to stage your father’s funeral while he’s still alive to Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera and, of course, chocolate cake, this week’s podcast is one you’ll be dying to listen to. And look out for that falling air conditioner! 

You can follow us on twitter @topdocspod

Other films directed by Kirsten Johnson:

Cameraperson

Deadline

People who worked on the film:

Judy Karp

Michael Hilow

Nels Bangerter

Peter Horner

Nadia Hallgren

John Foster

Simon Mendes

Marilyn Ness

Hidden Gem:  Marjoe

Also mentioned in the pod:

Ousmane Sembène 

Djibril Diop Mambéty

Wellington Bowler

Young Frankenstein

Monty Python’s Flying Circus

Charles Addams

Lacan on social death 

Derrida (the documentary)

Quantum Entanglement

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

While we gear up for Season 4, we are sharing some of our favorite shows from the past few years.  Next up is "Summer of Soul", and our interview with director Amir "Questlove" Thompson.  Since we first aired this show in January of 2022, the film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson joins us to talk about his Oscar-shortlisted “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)”.  In the summer of 1969, a music festival took place in New York that attracted over 300,000 people. Featuring some of the most incredible artists of that — or any — era, it caught the cultural wave of the moment. No, it wasn’t Woodstock. And, until very recently, practically nobody knew it ever took place. Featuring stunning, previously unseen archival performance footage and incorporating an array of enthralling interviews, game-changing debut documentary “Summer of Soul” is a joyful celebration of the Harlem Cultural Festival and a long-delayed corrective to an egregious example of Black erasure. Winner of both the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best U.S. Documentary. “Summer of Love” is Oscar shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature. 

Fresh off the set of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he serves as Musical Director, Questlove joined Mike and Ken for a spellbinding conversation, showcasing his unique skills as a storyteller. How is it that even a musical aficionado of Questlove’s renown was skeptical that such a concert ever happened? What was his initial reaction to seeing this long-forgotten footage? How did he crack the code of doing justice to the towering musical performances happening on stage and conveying the broader social and political movements happening off it? What inspired him to start the film with Stevie Wonder on drums? And, what about David Ruffin’s sartorial choices? Tune in to this episode of Top Docs for answers to these questions and a whole lot more. Questlove in conversation is its own sublime music set. Headphones not included.

While we gear up for Season 4, we thought we'd replay some of our favorite shows from the past few years.  Today, we’re presenting again our interview from September of 2022 with Daniel Roher regarding his film, Navalny, which depicts the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.  Since then, the film won the Academy Award for best Documentary.  Despite the attention brought by the film, in February of this year, Alexei Navalny died in the prison in which Vladimir Putin had confined him.  

He survived a government-orchestrated poison attack. He pranked the Russian security agency. He endured (and continues to endure) solitary confinement in a remote gulag. Oh, and he also made some pretty cool TikTok videos. His name is Alexei Navalny, and, as Russia’s leading opposition figure, he will use whatever means possible to try to end the authoritarian regime of President Vladimir Putin. He’s also the subject of Daniel Roher’s (“Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band”) timely and relentlessly gripping documentary political thriller “Navalny”.

In the midst of Putin’s unprovoked and disastrous war on Ukraine, Daniel joined Mike and Ken for an engaging conversation about Navalny’s perilous journey, from surviving an assassination attempt to his recovery in Germany and subsequent return to Russia and imprisonment. What led Daniel, in October 2020, from “a place of desperation” to the “Hail Mary pass” of his filmmaking career? How did he navigate the complexity of making a film about a man, who, as a master deployer of media tools himself, was at first skeptical of the documentary and then participated in a battle of wits about creative control over its direction? Finally, how did Daniel ensure that the film retained the sense of hope that Navalny, against all odds, continues to deploy against the dark forces conspiring against him and the Russian people? With its layered narratives, “Navalny” has as much in common with a classic Russian novel as it does with a James Bond thriller. We hope you will enjoy peeling back the layers with us and Daniel at least as much as those TikTok videos.

“Navalny” is available on HBO and HBO Max.

Follow on Twitter:

@DanielRoher

@Navalny

@topdocspod

To finish out Season 3, we're revisiting some telling moments from three of our most popular shows of the season:

• Laura McGann, "The Deepest Breath"
• Anna Hints, "Smoke Sauna Sisterhood"
• Fisher Stevens, "Beckham"

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

“Check Your Ego at the Door”. Those words were scrawled on a piece of paper and taped to the door of A&M Studios on the night of January 28, 1985. The story behind that command is the subject of director Bao Nguyen’s (“Be Water”) thoroughly captivating new Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop” about the once-in-a-lifetime event that drew dozens of the world’s biggest pop stars together on one night to record what would become the ‘80s phenomenon “We Are the World”.

Bao joins Ken on the pod to describe everything that went into the making of “We Are the World” and how he went about telling the story using a highly creative and seamless blend of archival footage, interviews and recreations. What prompted singer Harry Belafonte’s dream to galvanize the pop community to raise funds to combat the Ethiopian famine and led to this one magical, high stakes evening? How did the legendary producer Quincy Jones (who posted the note) manage to bring out the best in everyone and keep the trains running on time? And how did Bao approach his portrayal of the complicated and flawed superstar Michael Jackson, who co-wrote the song with Lionel Ritchie?

It turns out that “The Greatest Night in Pop” makes for a great night in documentary viewing, too. ““The Greatest Night in Pop” is available now on Netflix. 

Hidden Gem:  The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On

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@thegreatestnightinpop on Instagram and @baomnguyen on twitter/X

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

So much for campfire singalongs and Capture the Flag. Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss once again plunge into the world of summer camp for young politicians-in-training with “Girls State”, a riveting and exhilarating follow up to their Emmy Award-winning 2020 documentary “Boys State.” The comparisons may be inevitable, but “Girls State” forges its own path with memorable characters, a compelling narrative arc and richly layered themes.

Joining Ken on the pod, Amanda and Jesse discuss how they took a fresh approach to “Girls State” embracing the idea of creative risk taking. What led them to choose Missouri as the location for the film, and how did the fact that the Missouri Boys State program was taking place simultaneously on the same college campus as Girls State present both a challenge and an opportunity? Were they surprised to find that Missouri’s red state politics weren’t necessarily reflected in the political leanings of the majority of young women participating in the program? And how did the leaked Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs, which happened during the production of “Girls State,” become an important backdrop for the drama happening inside the camp, as well as in society at large?

“Girls State” launches on Apple+ April 5th.

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@djessemoss on twitter/X

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Many of the issues that plagued the young people of America decades ago–binge drinking, drunken driving, teenage pregnancy, smoking, to name a few–have greatly declined in significance.  But in their place we have witnessed a seemingly ever-deepening mental health crisis amongst our youth, one partly rooted, as our guests tell us, in a rise of anxiety.

The directors of “Anxious Nation,” Laura Morton and Vanessa Roth, join Mike to explain how their own family experiences drove them to engage with this essential topic.  In their film they explore the deep roots of anxiety–not only on the personal level of family dynamics, but reaching far into our evolutionary past.  And they explain as well many of the current accelerants of the endemic anxiety experienced by our children.  Finally, they broach ways to alleviate the suffering for the kids and for their parents:  While none are a magic bullet, families can find methods and tools to help manage anxiety, and ultimately can seek solace in activities that can provide a deeper meaning and a resulting perspective on their daily struggles.  

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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@vanessarothdoc on twitter

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How much do you really know about Reality Winner, the veteran and NSA contractor who shared a document regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election with “The Intercept”, and then subsequently served several years in Federal prison as a consequence?  

Sonia Kennebeck’s (Enemies of the State, National Bird) “Reality Winner” melds a host of timelines–before the arrest & after; during the FBI interrogation in her home; from the viewpoint of family as well as others who have bucked the national security state–to tell a broader story than the one you may have heard.  What was the actual reason Reality shared the document?  What really constitutes National Defense Information?  How common is it for the US Government to imprison people for sharing a single document?  How much is “The Intercept" to blame for revealing her as their source? Should we celebrate Trump’s conviction under the WWI-era Espionage Act?  Your views on these questions and much more may be complicated by Kennebeck’s deep dive into Reality’s story:  Her putative crime, her treatment by the government, as well as her personal ambitions, past and current.

Hidden Gem:  Q

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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@soniakennebeck on Instagram and twitter

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Joining us for the third year in a row, Variety’s Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis breaks down this year’s Oscar races for Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short and offers his predictions for who will be victorious at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10th. With the feature doc category taking on a very international flavor this year, what does Clayton think of how the process unfolded from the shortlist to the nominations? How might Netflix’s late acquisition of “To Kill a Tiger” affect the outcome? In what is considered a very tight race, what might tip the balance?

With his encyclopedic knowledge of the Oscars (you’ll even catch a reference to “How Green Was My Valley” in the pod) and his finger-on-the-pulse of the overall Awards season, Clayton takes us through each of the nominees and gives you his unique insights into the process.

Also, be sure to catch our “Top Docs” interviews with all of the Oscar-nominated directors in the documentary feature and shorts categories.

Clayton Davis is Variety’s Senior Awards Editor. He is also one of the hosts of the "Variety Awards Circuit Podcast" and the video web series, "The Take." He's been an awards, film and television analyst and critic for more than 15 years and has co-hosted the Oscars Pre-Show on ABC. Clayton is also co-founder and president of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association and is a board member of the Critics Choice Association.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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@ByClaytonDavis on Instagram and twitter

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Oscar Nominees:

Features:

20 Days in Mariupol

Bobi Wine:  The People’s President

Eternal Memory

Four Daughters

To Kill a Tiger

Shorts:

The ABCs of Book Banning

The Barber of Little Rock

The Last Repair Shop

Island In Between

Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma)

Other recent documentaries discussed:

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

American Symphony

Beyond Utopia

Apolonia, Apolonia

Dick Johnson is Dead

Every Body

Little Richard: I am Everything

Flea

We’ve saved the last of our live, in-person interviews at Sundance 2024 for the winners of the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition Audience Award and overall Festival Favorite, the incredibly moving, tear-jerking, and, hopefully, policy-shifting documentary “Daughters”. Directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae join Ken to discuss their world premiere screening and the life-changing organization “Girls For a Change” that Angela founded.

Over the course of the film, we meet Lashawn (5), Diamond (10), Unita (11), Sherita (15), and their families. Missing from their home lives are their fathers who are all incarcerated in a Washington, DC prison and who long to have some physical contact with their daughters, which is prohibited by prison policy. As the film unfolds, we learn about the “Date with Dad” program, a father-daughter dance which represents the only opportunity for these fathers and daughters to experience a so-called “touch visit”. When the “date” finally arrives, the hugs are tight, the emotions raw and the tears flow — both on-screen and off.

“Daughters” will be released later this year on Netflix.

Thanks to Amos Cochran of Edit/Score for hosting our 2024 Sundance interviews.  Edit/Score is a new music library with an innovative approach to finding music for your film. Listen to the library and learn more at editscoremusic.com 

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Follow:

@sistah_angela, @natalieraerobison, and @daughtersdocumentary on IG

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

When Ranjit and his family turn to the Indian legal system to seek justice for his daughter who had been raped by three local young men, they face not only daunting odds from the system but deep resistance from their village.  

Nisha Pahuja’s Academy Award-nominated film “To Kill a Tiger” traces the profound tension Ranjit experiences: on the one side is the promise of recent national legislation that empowers children who have been sexually assaulted; on the other are the restrictions of the customs and traditions of a village which would like to “make peace” and marry Ranjit’s daughter off to one of her assailants.  But throughout it all, Ranjit finds support to carry on in the courage of his daughter, who wants to tell her story in court, who insists on justice.

“To Kill a Tiger” will stream on Netflix at a date to be announced.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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@nishapahuja on twitter and nishappics on Instagram

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Continuing our coverage of Academy Award-nominated shorts, Mike speaks with Sean Wang about his loving tribute to his grandmothers.  As he describes the film:  “Nǎi Nai is my grandma. Wài Pó is my grandma. Together they are a grandma super team that dances, stretches, and farts their sorrows away.”  Despite its seeming insularity, and its general mood of fun and mischief, the film opens up to become as well a profound meditation on mortality.

You can watch “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma)” on Disney+.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Follow:

@seanswang on Instagram

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Hidden Gem:  The Scared is Scared

Continuing our coverage of Academy Award-nominated shorts, Mike speaks with Kris Bowers (previously nominated for “A Concerto is a Conversation”)  and Ben Proudfoot (an Academy-Award winner for “The Queen of Basketball”) , directors of “The Last Repair Shop”.  

The film sketches the stories–both representative of the Los Angeles workforce, as well as fascinating in their own right–of 4 repair workers who fix the instruments of students from the LAUSD.  Lyrical in presentation, and symphonic in structure, the film can be seen not only as a paean to the redemptive powers of music, but a call for reconciliation in a time of deep polarization.

You can watch “The Last Repair Shop” on Disney+.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Follow:

@krisbowersmusic on Instagram and twitter 

@bgproudfoot on Instagram and twitter

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Hidden Gems:  

The Act of Killing

The Sentence of Michael Thompson

The island of Kinmen is a small island with a potentially big problem. Situated just off the coast of China, but part of Taiwan, Kinmen would likely be the first line of defense should the Chinese government decide to invade Taiwan. Emmy-nominated director S. Leo Chiang, who was born in Taiwan, worked in China and also lived for years in the U.S., explores the complex relationship between place, identity and politics in his insightful and masterfully crafted documentary short “Island in Between”.

Joining Ken on the pod, Leo and producer Jean Tsien delve into the backstory of Kinmen — a flashpoint between Taiwan, China and the U.S. going back to the Chinese Civil War —and its present day role as a tourist spot, military base and home to thousands of people who live betwixt and between. Leo and Jean also illuminate how their personal backstories of growing up in Taiwan informed the making of the film and what makes their creative partnership so special.

“Island in Between” has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. It can be streamed on The New York Times Op-Docs site.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Follow:

@SLeoChiang on Instagram and twitter

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

The fact that Arlo Washington, featured as the main protagonist in John Hoffman and Christine Turner’s inspiring documentary “The Barber of Little Rock”, is, indeed, a barber is almost beside the point. From owning one and then multiple barber shops, to founding the Washington Barber College and starting People Trust Credit Union, the first minority-owned financial institution in Arkansas, Arlo is a force of nature. He’s always thinking of new ways to address issues of equity in the Black community and create generational wealth. 

Joining Ken on the podcast, John Hoffman describes not only Arlo’s big picture ideas but also his deep compassion for those in need and his unique ability to truly listen to others. Once Arlo mastered the arcane details of Community Development Financial Institutions, he was off-and-running, creating the only bank in a Black neighborhood that previously had none. A single bank won’t reverse decades of discrimination, but one barber has made a remarkable head start.

“The Barber of Little Rock” has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. It can be streamed on newyorker.com.

Hidden Gem: “Audible”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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@story_syndicate on Instagram and @storysyndicate_ on twitter

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A children’s book about Rosa Parks. A graphic adaptation of “The Diary of Anne Frank”. A Pulitzer Prize-winning book by a Nobel Laureate. These are but a few of the books that have been restricted, challenged, and banned in dozens of states across the U.S. In the new documentary “The ABCs of Book Banning” (directed by Sheila Nevins, produced and co-directed by Trish Adlesic, and co-directed by Nazenet Habtezghi), the filmmakers go to the source: a fourth grade class in Jacksonville, FL to hear what the students themselves have to say about this latest wave of book banning in America.

Producer and co-director Trish Adlesic joins Ken to discuss what’s at stake in school and public libraries and why it is so critical that we listen to young people about what is being denied to them when books are taken off the shelves.

“The ABCs of Book Banning” has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. It can be streamed on Paramount +.

Hidden Gems:

Trish Adlesic: “Camp Courage”, “American Symphony”

Sheila Nevins: “Last Song from Kabul”, “American Symphony”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Follow:

@thesheilanevins on Instagram and twitter and @trishadlesic on Instagram

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Toward the end of this year’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary “Porcelain War”, one of the directors and main subjects of the film, Slava Leontyev, says, “Ukraine is like porcelain. Easy to break but impossible to destroy.” Slava, along with his wife, Anya, create beautifully crafted “porcelain beasts” that used to be their main professional focus. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Slava has served with the Ukrainian Special Forces and Anya dodges landmines in the fields near their home.

Joining Ken for a live, in-person interview at Sundance 2024, directors Slava Leontyev and Brendan Bellomo describe the unlikely circumstances that brought them together and the unique creative process that resulted in this remarkable film. Amidst the constant battle against the Russian invaders, Slava, Anya, and their friend Andrey Stevanov (the film’s DP) see a world around them that is broken, but, through the courage of their resistance, cannot be destroyed.

Thanks to Amos Cochran of Edit/Score for hosting our 2024 Sundance interviews.  Edit/Score is a new music library with an innovative approach to finding music for your film.

Listen to the library and learn more at editscoremusic.com 

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Follow:

@brendanbellomo and @anyaslavaporcelain on Instagram

@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Siouxsie and the Banshees. Ice-T.  Nine Inch Nails.  All were on the slated for the first Lollapalooza lineup in 1991.  But as Michael John Warren, director of the new 3-part Paramount+ series “Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza,” tells us in our live interview at Sundance, his account of the history of the festival–first intended as a goodbye tour for Jane’s Addiction–is more than a trip down memory lane for Gen X.  

The festival, he explains, pulled together a number of threads from the LA Alternative scene and beyond:  Not just tattoos and piercings, but politics as well.  As Michael describes it, the results of his nostalgia trip revealed that the themes over 30 years ago still are “heartbreakingly” relevant today:  LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, and censorship amongst others.

The result is a series that like much of Michael’s work is both incredibly fun as well as attuned to the issues that still matter today.

Thanks to Amos Cochran of Edit/Score for hosting our 2024 Sundance interviews.  Edit/Score is a new music library with an innovative approach to finding music for your film. Listen to the library and learn more at editscoremusic.com 

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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@MJWfilms on twitter and @mjwfilms on Instagram

@topdocspod on twitter and Instagram

In the second of our live, in-person interviews at Sundance 2024, award-winning directors Brett Story (“The Prison Landscape in Twelve Landscapes”) and Stephen Maing (“Crime + Punishment”), along with Amazon Labor Union (ALU) president Chris Smalls, the film’s main protagonist, join Ken to discuss the world premiere of “Union”.

In this riveting, verité documentary, we meet Chris and other current and former employees inside a tent (ALU’s makeshift HQ), as they form an independent, grassroots labor movement to unionize Amazon’s largest fulfillment center in New York City. What begins as a longshot fight against one of the world’s largest companies, eventually becomes the most watched labor election in decades. Brett, Stephen and Chris discuss the immense challenges faced by the union, its highly effective efforts to galvanize Amazon workers, and the creative spark set off by this union of two acclaimed filmmakers.

Thanks to Amos Cochran of Edit/Score for hosting our 2024 Sundance interviews.  Edit/Score is a new music library with an innovative approach to finding music for your film.

Listen to the library and learn more at editscoremusic.com 

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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@unionthefilm on Instagram and twitter

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Kicking off our on-the-ground coverage of Sundance 2024, Julian Brave Noisecat and Emily Kassie join Mike to discuss their new film, “Sugarcane”.  

In this film, they explore the legacy of the St. Joseph Mission, one of many segregated residential schools promulgated by the Canadian government and run by the Catholic Church.  The stories they tell are deeply personal (Julian’s grandmother attended the school, and his father was born there) as well illustrative of a wider history of abuse within the schools.  As they explain, they deploy and reshape various filmic conventions–the Western, archival, the travel doc–in innovative ways to do justice to the lives and stories of their subject.  The result is a many-layered testament to survival and renewal despite deep, still-ongoing pain.

Thanks to Amos Cochran of Edit/Score for hosting our 2024 Sundance interviews.  Edit/Score is a new music library with an innovative approach to finding music for your film. Listen to the library and learn more at editscoremusic.com 

The Presenting Sponsor of Top Docs is Netflix.

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Mixing the traditional documentary form with elements of Brechtian theatre, director Kaouther Ben Hania’s (“The Man Who Sold His Skin, “Beauty and the Dogs”) Cannes-winning “Four Daughters” creates a highly intense and emotional experience — for both the audience and the principal characters.

Joining Ken on the pod, Kaouther discusses the challenges and breakthroughs of her hybrid approach. In the film, actors play various roles and intermingle with the “real” sisters and mother in a Tunisian family ripped apart by family strife and Islamic extremism. How did the four sisters respond to their mother’s controlling grip and violent outbursts? What happened during a particularly intense scene to cause the lone male actor in the film to ask the director to shut off the cameras? How does this troupe navigate a familial and cultural landscape in which women are marginalized but also forge an unbreakable bond of sisterhood?

“Four Daughters” is shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film and Best International Feature Film. The film is released by Kino Lorber.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

In his vivid, pulsating new documentary, Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams (“Music by Prudence”; “Life, Animated”) puts his own creative stamp on Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s best-selling book “Stamped from the Beginning” about the history of racist ideas in America.

Joining Ken on the pod, Roger describes how the racial reckoning of 2020 inspired him to make a film version of “Stamped”. What were the keys to unlocking the film’s vibrant visual aesthetic and dynamic editing style? How did seeing a list of potential scholars to interview for the film become a lightbulb moment for Roger? And in what ways did humor, amidst such an intense and serious topic, play a vital role in telling this story.  

“Stamped from the Beginning” is shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The Sundance Film Festival marks its 40th edition on January 18 - 28. To help get us ready for the big event, Basil Tsiokos, Sundance Senior Programmer, Nonfiction, makes his third visit to “Top Docs” to preview this year’s sure-to-be-killer documentary lineup. As the first Sundance under new Festival Director Eugene Hernandez, what are the new wrinkles of this year’s fest? What are some of the doc standouts and special treats? Check out our annual January “Top Docs” Sundance preview special to find out!

For more info about the festival and to see which titles will be available to be screened in-person and online, go to festival.sundance.org.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Not just a movie about sound, but an interactive feast for the senses, “32 Sounds” is the latest in filmmaker Sam Green’s (“The Weather Underground”, “A Thousand Thoughts”) unique “live” documentaries. Inspired by the great 1993 film “Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould”, the film delivers a heightened sensorial experience through an incredibly wide array of interviews, original footage, archival material and, of course, sounds.

Joining Ken on the pod, Sam goes deep inside his own creative process. What exactly is a “live” documentary, and how did Sam come up with this innovative concept? What is the idea behind “ghost voices”, and how did Ken’s random connection to one of the film’s interviews cause him to experience his own ghost voice? Of all his films, why is “32 Sounds” the one that has changed Sam the most? It’s only appropriate that we invite you to listen to our interview with Sam Green. Let’s call that the 33rd sound.

“32 Sounds” is shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.

Hidden Gem:

“Tongues Untied”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

 Surrounded by a Bohemian cast of characters, she was conceived and grew up in an avant-garde theater in Paris; she aspired to be a painter. What could be more romantic than that? In “Apolonia, Apolonia”, director Lea Glob’s epic and fascinating portrait of Apolonia Sokol, romantic ideals intermingle with the hard realities of what it takes for a talented young woman without a trust fund or family connections to make it in the art world.

Joining Ken on the pod, Lea describes how, as a Danish film student, she became intrigued by Apolonia, so much so that she continued filming with her off-and-on for 13 years. What was it about Apolonia and her life that grabbed Lea’s attention and held her focus for so long? What was the key moment in Los Angeles when Apolonia, facing a personal crisis, called on Lea’s camera to make a bold statement of freedom? And how did a health crisis in Leas’ life widen the film’s lens and help save her own life? It’s a story as captivating and complex as any painting.

“Apolonia, Apolonia” is shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.

Hidden Gem:

”The World is Family”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The only movie to win an Academy Award for Best Picture with an X rating, “Midnight Cowboy” is one of those movies that once you see it, you never forget it. It broke taboos and made American movies relevant again; it both reflected the changing times and was revolutionary. And it had Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman in the indelible roles of Joe Buck and Ratso Rizzo. The late Nancy Buirski’s final film, “Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy”, masterfully captures the expanding universe of “Midnight Cowboy” and the creative powerhouses who turned James Leo Herlihy’s novel into legend.

Producers Simon Kilmurry and Susan Margolin join Ken on the pod to discuss “Midnight Cowboy” director John Schlesinger’s vision, his influences and constraints. In what ways did a gay novelist and gay director, and a blacklisted screenwriter, infuse the film with its outsider ethos? Is/is not “Midnight Cowboy” a queer film? And how does the documentary aesthetic invigorate the movie? Simon and Susan also reflect on the legendary career of Nancy Buirski, a creative force whose life and career impacted so many in the documentary field.

“Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy” is shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.

Hidden Gems:

Simon Kilmurry: “In the Shadow of Beirut”

Susan Margolin: “Lovin’ Stuff”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

This holiday season, discover another side to “The Painter of Light”!  In our final installment of "Live from Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival", Miranda Yousef joins Mike to discuss her feature documentary, “Art for Everybody”.  From an early age, Thomas Kinkade struggled with the impact of his impoverished youth, torn between emulating van Gogh’s critical regard and seeking the economic success of a Norman Rockwell or Walt Disney.  As Yousef explains, turning himself into a successful brand cost Kinkade dearly, and in the thousands of “unpublished” works that he left behind, we can sometimes glimpse revealing aspects of Kinkade as an artist as well as a living, breathing human with a multi-faceted personality.

While firmly grounded in her subject, Yousef’s film manages to go well beyond the life and oeuvre of this one individual to ask questions about the nature of art:  Is it meant only to “talk to” other art, to problematize representation, or can it also properly provide joy and even comfort?  And her film may ultimately be read as a plea that no matter what value we place on Kinkade's art, that we not hold disdain for those who appreciate it differently.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Welcome to the Anne-ual Top Docs Holiday Special featuring the one-and-only Anne Thompson, Editor-at-Large at IndieWire! Anne joins Mike and Ken to tackle this year’s Best Feature Documentary Oscar Shortlist, released on December 21st. One day following the release of the list, Anne is already fired up and ready to go. How competitive is this year’s race? Who are the Frontrunners, Runners Up and Dark Horses? Which film will win it all? Park yourself in front of a roaring fire and pop in those earbuds. It’s Oscar time!

IndieWire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson has been a contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, The Observer, and Wired. She has served as film columnist at Variety, and deputy editor of Variety.com, where her daily blog, Thompson on Hollywood, launched in March 2007. 

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

It’s Emmy time. Yes, finally, after a long delay, the Emmys are almost here. “The Hollywood Reporter”’s Executive Editor of Awards Scott Feinberg joins Mike and Ken to break down the 2023 Emmy nominees in all the major documentary categories, including Outstanding Documentary Program; Outstanding Series; Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking; and Outstanding Directing. Besides his Emmy predictions, Scott also weighs in on all the early documentary Oscar buzz. The 2023 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, including all the major doc categories, will be announced on January 6th.

An award-winning columnist and podcast host (“Awards Chatter”), Scott Feinberg is “The Hollywood Reporter”’s Executive Editor of Awards. Scott anchors THR’s coverage of the Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy races, as well as major film festivals. Best known for his “Feinberg Forecast,” and for “Awards Chatter”, Scott’s work has been recognized with six National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards and five SoCal Journalism Awards from the Los Angeles Press Club.  

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Director Lisa Cortés’ (“The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion”, “Invisible Beauty”) electrifying and groundbreaking documentary about Richard Penniman (aka “Little Richard”) proves the point that the stories passed down about the origins of rock and roll have been whitewashed. The so-called “Architect of rock and roll”, Little Richard was ripped off, copied, and otherwise taken for granted by a white music establishment all too eager to embrace the likes of Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.

Joining Ken on the pod, Lisa describes how the film goes beyond biography to delve into the undertold story of the Black queer origins of rock and roll. Why was it that, at different periods, Richard could swerve so drastically from being outwardly, publicly queer to denying his sexual identity? What was Richard’s complex and changing relationship to preaching the gospel? And what was the one question that Lisa would have asked Richard had she been able to? “Little Richard” is so much more than a music doc; it’s everything you’ve been missing about one of the true geniuses of rock and roll.

“Little Richard: I Am Everything” is streaming on Max.

Hidden Gem:

“Richland”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

One is a beloved bandleader and soon-to-be Grammy nominee; the other, a “New York Times” bestselling author. But, as Matthew Heineman’s (“Retrograde”, “The First Wave”, “Cartel Land”) intimate and heartfelt new documentary “American Symphony” makes clear, life is not always so glittering for high-profile couple Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad. Batiste must consider the possibility that his ambitious “American Symphony” may be beyond his creative capabilities just as Jaouad confronts a life-threatening health crisis.

Joining Mike and Ken on the pod, Matthew returns to “Top Docs” to discuss the multitude of creative and logistical challenges that he faced during the making of the film. How did Matthew win Batiste’s trust only to find that access was far from assured? In what way did silence become one of the most impactful moments in the entire film? And how did Batiste’s climactic performance at Carnegie Hall almost not make it on camera? Clearly, in the life of this unscripted drama, improvisation was just as critical for the director as for his subjects.

“American Symphony” is streaming on Netflix.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Building on the smoke sauna tradition of Southern Estonia (included by UNESCO on its “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”), filmmaker Anna Hints brings together a group of Estonian women to share the smoke sauna experience and to share some of their most personal stories. The result is Anna’s masterfully constructed and emotionally layered Sundance award-winning documentary “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood”.

Joining Ken on the pod, Anna discusses how she conceived of the smoke sauna in her film as a safe space and a source of mutual support for the women in her film. What was the process of finding a smoke sauna, casting the film and shooting it over multiple seasons? How did she work with her cinematographer Ants Tammik to build trust with the women and create a distinctive visual portrait? And what does Anna reveal about one of the scenes that caught Ken completely by surprise? Over the course of the film, the rising power of these stories is undeniable. There’s nothing “intangible” about that.

“Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” is released by Greenwich Entertainment.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Both were born in 1945 in Germany during the last year of WWII. Both became giants of the modern German art movement: Anselm Kiefer as a painter and sculptor; Wim Wenders as a filmmaker whose landmark films include “Wings of Desire”, “Paris, Texas” and “The American Friend”. The two had met in 1991 and discussed the possibility of doing a film together, but it wasn’t until the two collaborated on Wenders’ new 3-D documentary “Anselm” that the stars were finally aligned.

Joining Ken on the pod, Wenders paints a picture of this monumental artist whose vast studio spaces are as much works of art as the paintings and sculptures that are housed there. For Wenders, what makes working in 3-D such a crucial element in immersing the audience in these dynamic environments? How has Wenders incorporated elements of fiction into his documentaries and vice versa? And why is it so important to him to create a portrait of the art rather than of the artist? It may have taken over 75 years for these two legendary artists to work together, but the payoff was well worth waiting for.

Hidden Gem:

“Reality Winner”

“Anselm” is released by Sideshow and Janus Films and opens in LA in 3-D at the Laemmle Glendale on December 15.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

In 1990, at the age of 26, in the wake of a heart attack which, in the words of one expert, “liquified” the core of her brain, Terri Schiavo entered a “persistent vegetative state”.  As “Between Life and Death: Terri Schiavo’s Story” shows, over the next 15 years her husband Michael and her immediate family would fight over her fate: in the press, in the courts, in legislatures, and ultimately in the office of the President of the United States.

Mike spoke with Executive Producers Amanda Spain and Alex Waterfield about how Terri’s situation raises questions medical, moral, political, legal, and even philosophical. And they explain how her life became highly politicized, a focal point for the anti-abortion movement and even a broader Christian Nationalist agenda.  But throughout it all, they tell Mike, in their film they tried to maintain a focus on Terri and her family.  

“Between Life and Death:  Terri Schiavo’s Story” premiers on MSNBC Sunday, December 3rd at 10pm ET and then streaming on Peacock.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Like a black hole, North Korea is a place where light cannot escape. Fed nothing but government propaganda, North Koreans can only access the outside world by slipping across the border to China, the first stop on a harrowing journey that, if successful, eventually leads to South Korea. Against this bleak backdrop, filmmaker Madeleine Gavin’s gripping Sundance-winning documentary “Beyond Utopia” spotlights the stories of two North Korean families and their courageous struggles for freedom.

Joining Ken on the pod, Madeleine describes how human rights activist Pastor Seungeun Kim and a shrewd underground network attempt to shepherd North Koreans to safety. Featuring rarely seen footage shot inside North Korea, a moment-by-moment escape across multiple countries, and a mother’s desperate attempt to free her son, “Beyond Utopia” showcases the fear and determination of those on the verge of escape and the tragedy of those left behind.

Hidden Gem:

“Collective”

“Beyond Utopia” is released by Roadside Attractions.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The second season of Netflix’s “High on the Hog” is almost here, and Executive Producers Karis Jagger and Fabienne Toback joined Mike to discuss their celebrated series.  The subtitle of the series is “How African-American Cuisine Transformed America” and much like the strong first season, the show explores the impact of Black Cuisine on American culture, economics, politics, and more.  

Mike asks Karis and Fabienne how it’s possible that this season is even more chock-full of ideas, and even more profoundly forefronts activism.  And does so while allowing host Stephen Satterfield to share more of his personal and family history, as well as showing a panoply of culinary styles in all their glory, revealing the depth of richness of Black culture and culinary expression.

The Second Season of High on the Hog will stream on Netflix starting November 22nd.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

As the first of our series of conversations from the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Mike spoke with Li Lu about her new 3-part series, “A Town Called Victoria”.  The film explores the aftermath of a mosque burning in this small Texas town.  Lu provides a nuanced portrait of the town itself, one torn between support for and fear of the victims, a divide that builds upon and reveals the racial, religious, and economic fissures that had long laid beneath the town’s placid surface.  And while Lu focuses on one town, the resonances for the rest of America are not hard to discern.

“A Town Called Victoria” will premiere November 13th on PBS’s Independent Lens.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

There’s nothing “sly” about Sylvester Stallone. His iconic screen characters, most notably, Rocky Balboa (“Rocky” and four others) and John Rambo (“Rambo: First Blood” + four others), are about as direct as they come — and, seemingly, so, too, is their creator. But, Emmy award-winning director Thom Zimny (“Bruce Springsteen: Wings for Wheels: The Making of ‘Born to Run’”) reveals that, even as Stallone was becoming famous for making some of the most successful films of all time, as a filmmaker, he has somehow never managed to receive the in-depth treatment that he deserves.

Thom joined Ken on the pod to discuss his insightful new documentary “Sly”, a revealing look into Stallone’s legacy and creative process. Delving into Stallone’s remarkable career, Thom discusses the recurring themes of Stallone’s work, his painful relationship with his father, and the deeply personal impact that his films have had on audiences.

“Sly” releases on Netflix on November 3.

Hidden Gem:

The YouTube Effect

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

In “The Pigeon Tunnel”, Errol Morris has crafted a career-culminating work.  Morris skillfully deploys and redeploys: the revelatory recreations that he has been known for since “The Thin Blue Line”; an interview with a slippery subject that surpasses that even of “The Fog of War” subject Robert McNamara;  and the intellectual curiosity on display in “Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control.”  He sharpens them all, reflects back on them, and yet throws it all into the pale of “productive ontological uncertainty”.

Errol joins Mike to discuss the  life and career of David Cornwell, better known by his pen name, John LeCarré.  In Cornwell Morris finds his ultimate subject: an avowed, unrepentant fabulist . At its core, much like the memoir that Cornwell wrote with which the film shares a title, is the insight that his spy novels are maybe even more influenced by his childhood–his con man father, his missing mother–then the few years he spent in the intelligence game. And always, behind both his work as well as Morris’ is the worry–fear? belief? assurance?–that the final room, the ultimate safe, the culminating tunnel that haunts his work is quite bereft of any clarifying meaning.

“The Pigeon Tunnel” can now be viewed on Apple+

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 The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix

Two young, idealistic, talented design students from Stanford set out to create a replacement for smoking tobacco, a vaporizing device that will save millions of lives.  Instead, they end up building the perfect addiction machine, and, with their wildly effective marketing campaign, they hook a plethora of non-smokers, including teenagers.

RJ Cutler (“The War Room”, “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”) speaks with Mike about his new 4-part documentary series on Netflix, “Big Vape”.  In it, he traces the tragic arc of the vaping company Juul.  Cutler’s vision allows him both to understand the humanistic goal of the company’s founders and employees, while showing how the incentives of a venture-backed company ultimately led them astray.  And he makes a strong case that the story of Juul, of tech solutions leading to unintended consequences, is the story of our era, one especially relevant in a time when we are seeing what results from the powerfully addictive effects of social media.

Hidden Gem: 

Turn Every Page

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Inspired by the adventures stories of his youth as well as a “radical” interpretation of Jesus’ “Great Commision” , 26-year-old American John Chau set off to the distant North Sentinel Island to tell the people there–supposedly completely isolated and putatively unfriendly to visitors–of his Savior.  

Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (Boys State) join Mike to discuss not only what drove John, but who enabled him like “Pastor Bobby” and the evangelizing group All Nations.  And they also explore those who either cautioned him in the moment, like John’s own father, who warned him away from colonial and imperialist thinking. As well as those who, through hard-won insight gained through experience, can provide a critical perspective now, like historian Adam Goodheart and missionary and linguist Dan Everett. 

In the end, McBain’s and Moss’s film suggests, in imagining our encounter with the “untouched” other, we are telling a story about ourselves, and a lost world that never existed but that we persist in pursuing.

"The Mission" is now showing in New York in Los Angeles. It will be opening more widely in the US and Canada over the month of October.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix

From the opening moments when David Beckham strolls through a country field wearing a beekeeper’s outfit, you know you’ll be witnessing another side to one of the world’s most famous people.  In “Beckham”, a 4-part series on Netflix, director Fisher Stevens (producer of  “The Cove” and “Tiger King”, and an actor on stage and screen for 40 years, most recently playing Hugo Baker on “Succession”) reveals the life and career of a man whom he says has a unique disposition:  Craving love, but determinedly individualistic.  

Fisher speaks with Mike about some of Beckham’s most important relationships: his father; his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson; and his wife, Victoria, aka Posh Spice.  They discuss what control means for David, from his father’s early invocations of its importance, to Beckham’s midnight ramblings through his London home scrubbing surfaces and trimming the wicks of candles.  And they share stories of what it means to be an American fan of soccer… er, um… football.

Hidden Gems:

Burden of Dreams

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix

Mike is joined by Ken who, when he’s not Co-Creator and Co-Host of “Tod Docs”, serves as the Executive Director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.  Mike and Ken discuss some of the highlights of this year’s lineup including the Gala Films, a number of other features that include standouts from Sundance, a World Premier, and some of the Oscar-qualifying shorts.  

The 32nd Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival runs from October 6-14th in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Check out https://hsdfi.org/ for more details.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

There’s nothing invisible about the beauty, strength and savvy of pathbreaking model and fashion industry icon Bethann Hardison, whose story is at the heart of the eye-opening and captivating new documentary “Invisible Beauty”. Hardison, who directs the film with Frédéric Tcheng (“Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel”, “Dior and I”, “Halston”), became a top model at a time when black was deemed not so beautiful by the fashion industry. She then went on to a highly successful career as the owner of a modeling agency and consultant to leading fashion brands. But what sets Bethann apart is her commitment to making change in the fashion industry, to force it to confront its own shortcomings when it comes to inclusiveness and diversity.

Bethann and Frédéric joined Ken on the pod to discuss Bethann’s remarkable journey, both on the runway and off, and how the two of them formed such a fruitful and mutually supportive creative partnership.

“Invisible Beauty” opens theatrically in New York City on September 15 and in LA and other cities on September 22.

Hidden Gems:

Frédéric Tcheng: “Un Film Dramatique”, “The Secret Life of Plants”

Bethann Hardison: “Fire of Love”, “Amy”

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@bethannhardison and @invisiblebeautyfilm on Instagram and @frederictcheng on twitter

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The Toronto International Film Festival (September 7 – 17, 2023) is one of the world’s top showcases for documentary film. No doubt, numerous films from this year’s lineup will be among the most acclaimed and talked about of the Fall awards season and beyond. DOC NYC co-founder Thom Powers, who has been TIFF’s Documentary Programmer since 2006, joins Top Docs to discuss this year’s selections, trends and standouts. The 2023 lineup includes new films from such renowned filmmakers as Frederick Wiseman, Raoul Peck and Lucy Walker, as well as works by some remarkably talented new voices on the documentary scene. Our Sundance roundup is one of our most popular pods, so we’re thrilled to be able to take you on an insider’s tour of the TIFF doc lineup with the perfect guide leading the way.

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@thompwers1 on Instagram and @thompwers on twitter

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Closing out our Emmy coverage, today we feature Ken Burns (“Brooklyn Bridge”, “The Civil War”, “Jazz”) and Lynn Novick (“Frank Lloyd Wright”, “Baseball”, “Hemingway”) discussing their thrice-Emmy nominated “The U.S. and the Holocaust”.  As Ken tells us, this PBS series addresses the “Holocaust, one of the low points of humanity and what Americans knew and what they didn't know, what they did, and more importantly, what they didn't do.”

Ken and Lynn first explain why they start with the story of Anne Frank and her family, and how it reveals how we often don’t fully understand the American context of such stories.  They speak with Mike about the deep anti-immigrationist and antisemitic feelings of America between the world wars.  They explain in particular how Eugenics was used to buttress the laws severely limiting immigration, especially from Southern Europe and Eastern Europe–the latter being where most of the world’s Jews then lived.  They go on to explain how American Eugenics, along with the ideology of Manifest Destiny and even Jim Crow laws influenced the Nazis and gave them a template for their atrocities.  And they discuss some of what Ken calls “the points of light” in this most horrific time:  Some of the Americans–singularly or in organizations–who stepped up to help Jews escape.

Throughout, as the series shows the depths of the Nazi horrors and the failure of the U.S.--with the notable exception of winning the war–to muster a meaningful response, it demonstrates the importance of maintaining what writer Daniel Mendelsohn calls “the particularity” of the stories of those who died and those who survived.

Hidden Gems:  The Better Angels

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@LynnNovick on twitter and Instagram

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The legacy of slavery and the contributions of Black American are intrinsic to nearly every aspect of what makes America America.  It’s a simple enough thesis, but the makers of the documentary series of  "The 1619 Project"–based on the original essays published in The New York Times–bring it to life with stories from history, of course, but also those of contemporary people whose lives and experiences illustrate this deep truth.

Executive Producer and showrunner Shoshana Guy sat down with Mike to discuss how her team managed to fashion a work of great craft while sticking to their core argument throughout 6 episodes, each of which explores a key aspect of current American life.  Why is Nikole Hannah-Jones such a great guide, and what’s up with that notebook?  What is the deeper cause of elevated child and maternal mortality of Black women, no matter their income?  How did a failed attempt to get into Studio 54 inspire Niles Rodgers to compose the ultimate party song–but one actually deeply imbued with the spirit of social activism?  Throughout, we witness that from pain comes not just survival but a complicated pride of country and even joy.

"The 1619 Project" has been nominated for 3 Emmys, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and is available on Hulu.

Hidden Gem:

The Death of My Two Fathers

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

As Director Davis Guggenheim explains, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is “the story of a short kid from Canada who drops out of high school to become a movie star, and he does. Then a few years later, he wakes up with this crazy diagnosis, in a Florida hotel room, and the movie's about what does he do with that?” 

Davis sat down with Ken & Mike to discuss how his team arrived at deploying montages of recreations mixed with contemporaneous footage from Michael’s televisions and movie work to illustrate the events of his life.  They also explore how Davis used a special lens as well as a frank interview approach to provide his documentary a sense of immediacy.  The results are a film that is ultimately, despite the deprivations of Parkinson’s, an optimistic take on a life well-lived.

It’s not easy being an elephant these days. Devastating droughts (exacerbated by climate change), encroaching development, and relentless poachers force elephants across Asia and Africa to go on the run, literally, in the pursuit of food, water and, a place to call home.

Executive Producer Lucinda Axelsson (“Elephant Diaries”, “Elephants of Samburu”, “Meerkat Manor”) of the fascinating National Geographic series “Secrets of the Elephants” joins Ken on the podcast to discuss the almost insurmountable obstacles — largely manmade — facing elephants today and the extraordinary adaptability and intelligence that keeps these remarkable animals one step ahead of extinction. Lucinda takes us behind the scenes with the production team, which managed to capture some extraordinary, never-before-seen moments in the wild, and shares her own “secrets” about what keeps drawing her back to the elephants’ special world.

“Secrets of the Elephants”, which is nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, is available for streaming on National Geographic.

Hidden Gem:

“Three Salons at the Seaside”

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On the pod today, legendary director Allen Hughes (“Menace II Society”, “Dead Presidents”, “The Defiant Ones”) joins Mike to talk about his Emmy-nominated “Dear Mama”.  The series traces the legacy of Afeni Shakur, Tupac’s mother and once a member of the Black Panthers, on her son’s life and music.  Hughes’ series demonstrates how the many modes that Tupac worked in–party music, socially conscious hip hop, and gangsta rap–were informed by the revolutionary ethos of the Panthers. 

“Dear Mama” is streaming on Hulu.

Hidden Gems:

Portrait of Jason

F for Fake

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

She could turn the world on with her smile. But, for the “real” Mary Tyler Moore — one of the biggest television stars of the 1970s — what lay beneath that smile? In his engrossing and incisive documentary “Being Mary Tyler Moore”, filmmaker James Adolphus (“Soul of a Nation”, “You Ain’t Got These”) presents a three-dimensional portrait of MTM, placing her in cultural context and illustrating what made her such a singular talent.

Joining Ken on the podcast, James describes his unexpected and thorough approach to the topic and how, eventually, Mary completely won him over. How is it that someone who had never seen a minute of the “Dick Van Dyke Show”, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or the film “Ordinary People” came to direct this project? In what ways did Mary’s appearance on “The David Susskind Show” and in an interview with Rona Barrett illuminate both how Mary was perceived and how she asserted herself? And how did Mary’s final marriage with Dr. Robert Levine prove to be a truly liberating love story?

“Being Mary Tyler Moore”, which is nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, is available for streaming on Max.

Hidden Gem:

Killer of Sheep

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Director Lana Wilson says that in “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” she’s showing how Shields found her way from “object of beauty to becoming a human being.”  It’s a dramatic thesis, but one that Wilson brings to life in this Emmy-nominated documentary series.  After the original “Pretty Baby”, “The Blue Lagoon”, and the Jordache Jeans commercials, Brooke found herself in her 4 years of college–where she developed both intellectually and artistically– and ultimately became the comic actor we see in “Suddenly Susan”.  While the series is grounded in the deep archive of film from Booke’s career, some of the most telling footage is shot at her contemporary dinner table, surrounded by her two teenage daughters and her loving husband as they respectfully but seriously consider the meaning and undercurrents of her youthful work.

“Pretty Baby” is available on Hulu.

Hidden Gem:

Of Men and War

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

It’s one thing to be a socially conscious pop musician; it’s an entirely different matter when that musician attempts to parlay his popularity in the music world into the political arena. For Afrobeat star Bobi Wine — whose personal and political journey is the centerpiece of the remarkable new documentary “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” — the stakes couldn’t be higher. His home country of Uganda faces daunting economic challenges and experiences rampant political corruption. When Bobi becomes a candidate in the 2021 presidential election, his campaign catches fire with tens of thousands of Ugandans, In response, the country’s longtime strongman, President Yoweri Museveni, perceives a serious threat to his hold on power and will stop at nothing to prevent Bobi from winning the election.

Joining Ken on the podcast, directors Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp chart the remarkable rise of Bobi Wine and the frightening acts of violence perpetrated by the ruling government against Bobi, his team and their supporters. How did Bobi Wine first come to the attention of the two directors and what brought them together to begin documenting this campaign? With so many graphic scenes of violence captured on film, how did they choose which scenes would be the most impactful? And, in the course of getting to know Bobi and his wife Barbie, how did the couple’s enduring love for each other become a central part of the story and a source of strength that not even the government of Uganda could touch. 

Released by National Geographic Documentary Films, “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” opens theatrically July 28.

Hidden Gem:

Coach Zoran and His African Tigers

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

A young woman who gets into an argument over a drinking glass.  A student who is suspended from his university for calling out its exorbitant fees.  An activist who runs afoul of the government.  All–and many more–are accused of violating Pakistan’s blasphemy laws: some of the strictest on the planet, featuring death as their ultimate punishment.

But the director of “The Accused:  Damned or Devoted?” Mohammed (“Mo”) Ali Naqvi not only tells these individual stories but charts the rise of the cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi and his TLP party who use the furtherance of the blasphemy laws as the signature plank of their political platform.  And while Rizvi claims that he is more interested in “chopping heads” than winning votes, Naqvi’s film asks if the same can be said for Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistani government.

“The Accused” has been nominated for the Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking.  It can be seen on World.

Hidden Gem:

All That Perishes at the Edge of Land

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

 The letter “Z” seems innocent enough – until you see a Russian tank painted with that mark slowly turn its turret in your direction. For AP journalist Mstyslav Chernov, who, at the time, was covering the Ukrainian war from behind enemy lines in Mariupol, this was the moment when the Russians were closing in. As seen in his harrowing new documentary “20 Days in Mariupol”, in the period leading up to this, Mstyslav and his team had filmed graphic scenes of destruction and carnage at the hands of Russian bombs and shells. Contrary to Putin’s claims, civilians were being targeted by the Russian military and this team, the only international journalists left in the city, had managed to get the images out to the world.

Joining Ken on the podcast, Mstyslav discusses his frightful on-the-ground experience in Mariupol and the remarkable film that came out of it. How did Mstyslav find himself on the front lines of the propaganda war being waged by the Putin regime? Who was the enigmatic Vladimir, a kind of sage and protector, who ultimately led Mstyslav and his team to safety? And why does Mstyslav feel that, notwithstanding the terrible suffering documented in the film, there are also glimmers of hope?

Released by PBS Distribution, “20 Days in Mariupol” opens theatrically in NYC on July 14 and in LA and SF on July 21.

Hidden Gem:

Sans Soleil

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Laura McGann’s “The Deepest Breath” is a film about two young people fated to meet despite their differences.  Alessia is driven from a young age to compete:  Holding her breath for minutes at a time in both the pool and the sea.  Stephen travels the world, torn between his desire to see new people and places and his longing for home, and a more conventional life.  

But it’s also about the wisdom of age, as we see their fathers–Enzo and Peter–dealing with the tragic outcome of their children’s intertwining.  One eternally grateful, the other grieving, but coming to realize that his child’s life was one well-spent.

Join Mike as he discusses with Laura her visually and dramatically compelling film, one that almost literally immerses you in the beautiful, thrilling, but sometimes dangerous world of freediving.  

The “Deepest Breath” will be screening in select theaters July 14th, and streaming on Netflix beginning on July 19th.

Hidden Gem:

“Wildcat”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

When Academy Award®-nominated, Emmy®-winning filmmaker Julie Cohen (“RBG”, “My Name is Pauli Murray”) came across the NBC News archival footage of sexologist John Money and his patient David Reimer, she knew that this story had legs. But what she couldn’t have anticipated is that this dark chapter in the history of gender identity would lead her toward what ultimately became her groundbreaking new documentary “Every Body” – a major new film about Intersex people.

Making her third visit to Top Docs (but her first without frequent filmmaking partner Betsy West), Julie joins Ken to discuss her celebration of people who identify as the “I” in LGBTQIA+. Who was John Money and why was his work on gender identity so consequential — and harmful? How did she connect with the three film’s main participants, River Gallo, Alicia Roth Weigel and Sean Saifa Wall, and why did she choose to center the film around their stories? And in what ways are these three activists now leading the fight against unnecessary surgeries? With its focus on Intersex people and their long overdue fight for justice, “Every Body” is a film that “everybody” can and should embrace.

Released by Focus Features, “Every Body” is now in theaters everywhere.

Hidden Gem:

“Hidden Letters”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Filmmaker Ryan White (“Good Night Oppy”, “The Keepers”) had no desire to make a documentary about ‘90s superstar Pamela Anderson. Not when the idea was first brought to him, anyway. But then, Pamela’s son urged him to at least meet his mother on Zoom. And that was all it took. Ryan quickly realized that the media image of Pamela as a two-dimensional blonde bombshell and attention-driven celebrity was not at all an accurate picture of the complex, intelligent, and funny person he would get to know while filming what became Ryan’s highly engaging new documentary “Pamela, a love story”.

Making a return visit to Top Docs, Ryan describes how vastly different his experience was making “Pamela” from his last film “Good Night Oppy”. What was it like for Ryan to have Pamela turn over her entire personal archive of diaries and videotapes and empower him to decide how to use them? How did Pamela’s spontaneous nature create the kind of atmosphere on set where anything could happen? And how did Ryan navigate the difficult waters of the Pamela and Tommy Lee sex tapes, which he knew had to be addressed, but which would likely bring up painful memories for Pamela? “Pamela” is a totally refreshing portrait that explores the many sides of love. Thank goodness for that Zoom call.

“Pamela, a love story” is currently streaming on Netflix.

Hidden Gems:

“Between the Rains”

“Q”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

6 young adults on a boat ride home after a clambake.  It sounds everyday, even idyllic, but when the inebriated young scion of a local legal dynasty crashes the boat into a bridge, one of the young people loses her life.  And “The Murder Murders: A Southern Scandal” traces how the ramifications ultimately lead to a double murder, as well as revealed a longstanding pattern of widespread theft and previous suspicious deaths.

Director Julia Willoughby Nason and Executive Producer Michael Gasparro (both of Fyre Fraud) joined Mike to talk about how their 3 part series on Netflix draws upon the conventions of “true crime” while also exploring a series of interlocking, intergenerational friendships as well as the broader social hierarchy of a rural county.  How did they navigate the intricate web of rumor to find out the truth about the once seemingly all-powerful Murdaugh family?

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Hidden Gems:

Silver Blake Life

Smartless: On the Road

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Meet The McNamara’s, the first family of big wave surfing. Garrett McNamara is one of the world’s premier big wave surfers; wife Nicole is a top big wave spotter; Nicole’s brother CJ rides the big waves, too. Now, son Barrel is (perhaps) on the path following in dad’s footsteps. If season 1 of HBO’s enthralling docuseries “!00 Foot Wave” was all about the pursuit of that illusive triple digit milestone, season 2 digs deeper into the rich and complex personalities who make up the elite big wave surfing community. 

Joining Ken to discuss season 2 is Executive Producer Joe Lewis  (“Fleabag”, “Transparent”) – making his second appearance on Top Docs  – and Nicole McNamara, one of the series’ featured participants. How did Joe and director Chris Smith (“Tiger King”, “American Movie”) go about choosing new people to feature in season 2? What was it like for Nicole to confront major health issues during a very difficult pregnancy while husband Garrett seemed more focused on the big waves than on her? And how did cinematographer Karl Sandrock become an adjunct member of this unique family? 

“100 Foot Wave, Season 2” is currently streaming on Max.

After you enjoy our conversation, be sure to check out the HBO Original 100 Foot Wave Podcast, which features Nicole as host interviewing many of the series’ standout characters (Top Doc’s own Mike and Ken served as Consulting Producers).

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Judy Blume is alive and well.  While no longer writing books, at 85 she still bikes around the lively streets of Key West, stopping in to tend the book shop she bought a few years ago.  And she serves as the vivacious, charismatic center of “Judy Blume Forever”.

Directors Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok sat down with Mike Merrill to discuss how their film centers Blume both within a coterie of authors she influenced as well as within the shifting cultural landscape of the key years that she was writing–the 1970s–that are still resonating in our world today.  

Judy Blume forever is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Hidden Gems:

Missing Allen

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Nothing could be more sterile – or more frightening – than a cold, spare interrogation room. Victims and suspects alike are brought into these spaces where they are questioned by police and videotaped for later use as evidence. But what happens when the victim, even without realizing it, becomes the suspect – and the suspect becomes the lead witness? This is the disturbing truth uncovered in Nancy Schwartzman’s (“Roll Red Roll”) probing new documentary “Victim/Suspect”.

Nancy and producer/main subject Rae de Leon, the investigative reporter who broke the story for “Reveal”, join Ken to discuss the tragic circumstances and byzantine reporter’s journey at the heart of this Orwellian nightmare. What incentives drive some police officers to doubt the stories of sexual assault victims and instead use the interrogation process to gather “evidence” against them for filing a false police report? How did a documentary filmmaker and an investigative reporter join forces and navigate the best way to work together? And in what ways are the stories of the women featured in the film and Rae’s reporting being used to change police department practices across the country? The interrogation room will be better off for it.

“Victim/Suspect” is currently streaming on Netflix.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The quest for a lifelong mentor can be as tough a mountain to climb as, you know, a really big mountain. If you are Oscar®-winning filmmaker and world-class climber Jimmy Chin, not only do mountains and mentors play a huge role in your life, but, in the case of Jimmy and his Oscar-winning creative/life partner Chai Vasarhelyi, they are also at the center of their fascinating and deeply personal new documentary “Wild Life”.

Jimmy and Chai make a return visit to Top Docs (“The Rescue”) to share stories about the making of “Wild Life”, which focuses on a tight knit group of trailblazing mountain climbers and entrepreneurs, including the indomitable Kris Tompkins. When Kris’ husband, the larger-than-life Doug Tompkins (co-founder of North Face and Espirit) dies suddenly in a kayaking accident, Kris (former CEO of Patagonia) overcomes her grief to carry the torch of the couples’ unprecedented efforts to turn the largest private land donation in history into the creation of massive national parks in Chile and Argentina. Join us for this heartfelt conversation in which Chai and Jimmy describe what it took for Kris to make these conservation dreams a reality, as well as the filmmakers’ own formidable challenges in doing justice to their friends’ extraordinary lives.

“Wild Life” is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Miami Beach in the early ‘60s was a magnet for dreamers, the idle rich, and the young-and-restless. It was also an irresistible draw for a young, handsome California surfer named Jack “Murf the Surf” Murphy who quickly took Miami Beach by storm… and then just took it. Joining a high-flying crew of brash jewel thieves, Murphy and his accomplices made off with thousands in stolen gems. The crooks later pulled off a daring heist of the Star of India and other priceless jewels from the American Museum of Natural History, which made Murphy a national celebrity (and a convicted criminal). But when Murphy was later tied to a double murder of two young women, the media’s portrayal of Murf as a fun-loving bad boy no longer seemed to fit the real picture.

Bringing his own lens to the story, highly-acclaimed filmmaker R.J. Cutler (“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”) crafts a thoroughly engrossing – and extremely thoughtful – four-part series about Murf the Surf that avoids many of the common tropes of the true crime genre. Returning to Top Docs for his second visit, R.J. explores the cautionary approach he took to the media savvy Murphy, why he thought it was important to re-center the narrative to honor Murphy’s victims and his strong belief in letting the audience come to their own conclusions about Murphy’s prison conversion to born-again Christianity.

“Murf the Surf” is available for streaming on MGM+.

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Hidden Gem:

Crisis

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

In her feature documentary directorial debut, Sierra Urich follows women of three generations as they search for the meaning of “home”.  Torn between the past in Iran and the present in New England, the women navigate their family’s complicated legacy through art:  Video, painting, and song.  And they maintain and build the relationships between them through freighted words, both direct as well as translated.

Native Vermonters Sierra and Mike sat down to discuss this emotionally powerful film, one packed with stories from the past but playing with narrative form in its own telling.  They spoke of place:  Everything from domestic kitchens to the missing Google Street View of Iran.  And of how Sierra and her editor used hard cuts and other cinematic techniques  to emphasize the connection between and the distance from the world she found herself in and the land she wished to visit.  And yes, they did speak of her father, Gary–quiet, but ever-present.

Joonam is currently playing the festival circuit.

Hidden Gems:

I Didn’t See You There

Radiograph of a Family

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The Presenting Sponsor of Top Docs is Netflix.

Van Jones loves to talk. Or so it would seem to those who have closely followed the progressive CNN commentator’s frequent on-air rebuttals to Donald Trump’s words and deeds in recent years. But Jones is even more keen on the idea of action — specifically, action on the issue of prison reform, his driving passion for decades. Instead of spending the Trump presidency exclusively on the sidelines, Jones chose a different path: going over to “the dark side” to build alliances with Jared Kushner and Republican politicians to help pass long overdue prison reform legislation in the form of The First Step Act.

Joining Ken on Top Docs, director Brandon Kramer and producer Lance Kramer (“City of Trees”), dissect the strategy behind Jones’ approach and discuss the creative process behind the Kramer brothers’ incisive, politically deft and masterfully constructed documentary “The First Step”. How did the Kramers first connect with Van Jones and what led them to track this complex personal and political journey? Why did the filmmakers decide to follow multiple story threads knowing that this would cause their budget — and stress levels — to increase dramatically? And, ultimately, what contributed to Jones’ and his allies’ success? While The First Step Act represents one small victory on the road to true prison reform, it marks a giant leap forward in the careers of two visionary filmmakers.

“The First Step” is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

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Hidden Gem:

Brandon Kramer: Crisis

Lance Kramer: To Be Heard

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Like a classic sole meunière that pairs a beautiful filet of sole with a dash of butter and lemon, director Laura Gabbert’s films (“City of Gold”) match glorious portraits of food with a brilliant and uniquely qualified storyteller. In the case of her new documentary “Food and Country”, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Laura partners with food icon Ruth Reichl who embarks on an ambitious quest to talk to a variety of stakeholders throughout the U.S. to find out what can be done to fix what is clearly a food system on the brink of collapse.

Sitting down with Ken at Sundance to talk about her new film, Laura discusses the challenges of a creative collaboration that, due to the constraints of the pandemic, often took place via Zoom; the forces of change that are reshaping the food industry; and the innovative chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and ranchers who, against long odds, are re-inventing themselves in order to continue to do what they love and feed the world in the process. Bon appétit!

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

A big thanks to Portrait for hosting this conversation at Sundance.

Her books have sold tens of millions of copies, and in the 70s and 80s she strode widely across the cultural landscape of everything from talk shows to college tours.  As Nicole Newnham (Oscar-nominated for “Crip Camp”) demonstrates in “The Disappearance of Shere Hite,” Hite’s persona was highly constructed, and nearly cinematic in its vision and specificity.  But Newnham also makes a strong case for Hite as a pioneer in sexual research, one who revolutionized the way  data was gathered and was deeply dedicated to finding the widest range of subjects as possible–racially & ethnically, as well as in terms of gender and sexual identity.  Newnham’s cinematic approach adeptly both mirrors and challenges her complex subject.  

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

In “Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV” director Amanda Kim tells the story of the visual art pioneer.  Kim traces Arnold Schoenberg and John Cage influence not only Paik’s musical art, but his visual work as well.  She shows how the poor reception by German critics to his early experiments with televisions drove him to NYC, where he found himself working with some of the luminaries of downtown Manhattan’s best of the 1960s:  not only Cage, but Merce Cunningham and Allen Ginsberg among many others..  And she traces his ultimate success both in the art world and beyond, notably on public television.  The Paik who emerges seeks to show how the media that seemed bound to lead to corporate control and division could ultimately bring the world’s inhabitants together.

“Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV” is distributed by Greenwich Entertainment and will open at the Film Forum in New York on March 24th.

Hidden Gem:  Town Bloody Hall

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

“And the Oscar® goes to…” Variety’s Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis is back on “Top Docs” to break down this year’s Oscar races for Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short and to offer his predictions for who will walk away victorious on March 12th. With his encyclopedic knowledge of the Oscars and his finger-on-the-pulse of the overall Awards season, Clayton takes us through each of the five nominees in both categories and gives you his unique insights into the process. Awards pool, anyone? You don’t want to miss Clayton’s picks!

To be even more in-the-know, be sure to catch our “Top Docs” interviews with all of the Oscar-nominated directors in the documentary feature and shorts categories.

Clayton Davis is Variety’s Senior Awards Editor. He is also one of the hosts of the "Variety Awards Circuit Podcast" and the video web series, "The Take." He's been an awards, film and television analyst and critic for more than 15 years and has co-hosted the Oscars Pre-Show on ABC. Clayton is also co-founder and president of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association and is a board member of the Critics Choice Association.

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Clayton Davis on Instagram @awardscircuit and on twitter @ByClaytonDavis

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

A man, alone, on a desolate beach.  Armed and mumbling into a recording device in a soundscape of wind and waves. As director Evgenia Arbugaeva (co-director, her brother Maxim Arbugaev) tells Mike, the initial images of the Oscar-nominated short “Haulout” deliberately create solitude and quiet before the sudden arrival of nearly 100,000 stressed-out walruses:  with Arctic ice no longer ensured, they must pile themselves tusk-to-tusk on the beach between feeding sessions.  The film tracks the interactions-at-a-distance between the scientist Max Chakilev and these enormous mammals. But on a deeper level, it portrays a world undergoing tremendous change, one for which none of us are fully prepared.

"Haulout" can be seen on The New Yorker website.

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

It says something about filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt that if you go to his website (jayrosenblattfilms.com) and click on “Contact”, the page guides you to “16mm / 35mm rental information”. Jay is that kind of filmmaker — for over 40 years, he’s been making personal, finely crafted documentaries that, regardless of format, have the look and feel of a bespoke 16mm film. Following the success of last year’s touching short “When We Were Bullies”, which was nominated for an Oscar, Jay is back with another nomination in the Best Documentary Short category, this time for the poignant and universally-relatable “How Do You Measure a Year? In this short, Jay films his daughter Ella every year on her birthday, from age two to 18, answering the same set of basic questions that he poses. Joining Ken on the podcast to discuss how the project started out and the challenges, surprises and joys along the way, Jay sheds light on the evolving relationship between a father and daughter as seen through the magical medium of film.

Hidden Gem: Summer Nights

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

“Stranger at the Gate” charts one man’s delusion:  That his neighbors are not the peace-loving, hard-working people they seem to be, but actually dangerous radicals deeply embedded in America’s heartland.  But it also subtly portrays a more universal phenomenon of dehumanization–and then offers a hopeful example of where respect and love were able to provide a remedy.

Director Joshua Seftel sat down with Mike to talk about his Academy Award-nominated short documentary that tells the story of Mack, his family, and the good people of the Muncie Islamic Center as they found themselves on what seemed to be an inevitable collision course.  Joshua and Mike discuss the classic “Middletown”, the changing landscape of central America, and the challenges not only of immigrants but of veterans as well.

“Stranger at the Gate” is available on the New Yorker website as well as YouTube.

Hidden Gem:

LBJ

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

It’s an age-old query:  Can humans live in harmony with other creatures on the planet?  On their way to speaking to this question, in  “The Elephant Whisperers” director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Doug Blush show us the beauty, intelligence, and even danger of the creatures who share our world.

Kartiki and Doug joined Mike to talk about their Oscar-nominated short documentary.  They tell Mike how the elephant caretakers, Bomman and Belli, both helped the young elephant Raghu and were helped by him as well.   Why did they choose not to forefront some of the most dire threats to the elephants, including global warming, but instead focus on what they call “a family drama”?  And what hope do they have for the future of India’s wildlife, and for the greater planet as well?

The Elephant Whisperers can be seen on Netflix.

Hidden Gems:

Writing with Fire (our conversation with directors Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh)

Bad Axe (our conversation with director David Siev)

Last Flight Home (our conversation with director Ondi Timor)

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@theelephantwhisperers on Instagram

Kartiki: @EarthSpectrum on twitter & @kartikigonsalves on Instagram

Doug: @madpixfilm on twitter

@topdocspod on twitter and Instagram

The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

Luke Lorentzen made a brilliant feature debut at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival with his sparkling documentary “Midnight Family”, a fast-paced look at a family-owned private ambulance business in Mexico City. Luke is back at this year’s Sundance, and this time he’s focusing on life inside one hospital in New York City. “A Still Small Voice” is an intimate portrait of the spiritual care department at the Mount Sinai Hospital and of one aspiring chaplain and her mentor. 

Luke sat down with Ken at Sundance to discuss how he came to his latest topic, how he approached the role of time and pacing in a much different way than “Midnight Family”, and how he applied the principles of the spiritual care program to his own filmmaking practice. After the festival, Luke was honored with the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition Directing Award.

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

 A big thanks to Portrait for hosting this conversation at Sundance.

As a realistic account of the deprivations Alzheimers can bring, “The Eternal Memory” is harrowing.  But it’s also the story of Augusto’s and Paulina’s determined love in the face of this challenge.  And, finally, it’s the tale of Chile’s tragic yet ultimately triumphant democracy.

Maite Alberdi (director of the Oscar-nominated “The Mole Agent”) sat down with Mike at Sundance to discuss her film and how it shows memory as not the finished product of individual solitude, but ever-created between people and even within nations. “The Eternal Memory” was recently acquired by MTV Documentaries.

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Also mentioned in the pod:  No

The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

A big thanks to Portrait for hosting this conversation at Sundance.

10 years ago, filmmakers Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster premiered their epic personal documentary “American Promise” at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize. Now, Michèle and Joe have returned to Sundance with the world premiere of their highly inventive, transcendent documentary portrait “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project”. Once again, the pair find themselves being honored for their dazzling work — this time taking home the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Documentary category. Fresh off the first public screening of the film, Michèle and Joe joined Ken to discuss how each discovered the revolutionary poetry of Nikki Giovanni, the process of finding the film’s visual language that was itself a poem, and the rich sources they were able to draw from, and blend together, to build an entire universe to honor the work of this extraordinary artist.

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@brewsterjoe on Instagram and @2joedigital on twitter

The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

A big thanks to Portrait for hosting this conversation at Sundance. 

Premiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Academy Award-nominated director Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s ("Heroin(e)", "Recovery Boys") elegiac, stirring, and magical new documentary “King Coal” gives an insider’s unique perspective on the profound impact that coal has had on the people and mythos of Central Appalachia. As the daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of coal miners, Elaine’s narrative comes from a place of personal experience and deep reflection — and stretches the boundaries of traditional documentary. Sitting down with Ken in Park City the night before her film’s world premiere, Elaine discusses the liberating effect of using hybrid storytelling strategies, the challenges of presenting a nuanced approach to a highly politicized issue, and her nervous anticipation of watching the film with her family for the first time. "King Coal" was produced by Diane Becker, Shane Boris, and Peggy Drexler.

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

A big thanks to Portrait for hosting this conversation at Sundance. 

Bride kidnapping. What sounds like a practice from long ago or even a tale out of folklore is actually a Lunar New Year tradition among the Hmong community of the mountains of northern Vietnam. First-time feature filmmaker Diem Ha Le explores this controversial custom through the lens of Di, a young Hmong girl, in the fascinating coming-of-age documentary “Children of the Mist”.

Joining Ken on “Top Docs” to discuss her extraordinary film, Diem describes how she didn’t set out to make a film about bride kidnapping, but, eventually, the story led in that direction. How does the issue of bride kidnapping divide parents, the Vietnamese government, and teachers? What drove Diem to enter the fray and become directly involved in the events unfolding in front of her? And what caused the close relationship between Diem and Di to rupture? With no easy answers at hand, it’s obvious that, as the mist clears, the Di at the end of the film will be very different from the young girl at the beginning.

“Children of the Mist” is one of 15 documentaries named to the Oscar Shortlist in the category of Best Documentary Feature and is released by Film Movement.

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Hidden Gem: Slowly Forgetting Your Faces

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Hundreds of years ago, cut off from the outside world and confined to so-called chamber rooms, rural women in Jiangyong in southern China did something radical and transformative: they invented their own secret language. Speaking and writing “Nushu” to each other, the women found their voice and created a community of sisterhood. In her poetical and powerful documentary “Hidden Letters”, director Violet Du Feng (“Maineland”, “Confucian Dream”) explores the fascinating history of Nushu and follows two contemporary women who are fighting to keep the language alive and true to its original spirit.

Violet joins Ken on “Top Docs” to discuss Nushu, its current context, and her multi-layered creative approach. How did Violet decide that the key to the film was not just focusing on Nushu but on the “modern” Chinese woman and the staggering societal pressures she faces? In the midst of her production, why did she abandon the idea of animation and go in a completely different direction? And, in the face of Nushu’s recent commercialization, how can its practitioners ensure that Nushu continues to exist “in the internal space of who we are”?

“Hidden Letters” is one of 15 documentaries named to the Oscar Shortlist in the category of Best Documentary Feature. Distributed by Cargo Film and Releasing, the film premieres on Independent Lens on March 27th.

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@violetdufeng on Instagram and @HiddenLetters_ on twitter

Hidden Gem: Happiness is £4 Million

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Children in a shelter in Eastern Ukraine–many of whom have all but lost their parents to war, alcohol, homelessness.  But the director of “House Made of Splinters”, Simon Lereng Wilmont (“The Distant Barking of Dogs”) insists that his film is one founded not only on tragedy, but on hope.

Hear Simon speak with Mike on “Top Docs” (co-Creator: Ken Jacobson). Simon discusses the cyclical nature of his film–“When one child leaves, another arrives”–and how it is reflected in his depiction of the seasons, even in the structure of the film.  They speak about Eva’s fate, Sasha’s strength of character, and Kolya’s intelligence.  And finish with the ultimate moral of the “Scorpion and the Frog”.

Hidden Gem:  American Movie.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

It’s back! After two years of being virtual, the Sundance Film Festival, one of the world’s great film showcases, returns from January 19 – 29, 2023 to Park City and Salt Lake City, UT for a robust lineup of live, in-person screenings and events. While the second half of the festival will also feature online screenings, there is nothing like showing films “up on the mountain” to a packed audience of film fanatics. For the second year in a row, “Top Docs” caught up with a very busy Basil Tsiokos, Sundance Senior Programmer, Nonfiction, to preview this year’s lineup of (no-doubt) extraordinary documentary features and give us a programmer’s inside view of this amazing festival. And don’t miss Basil’s predictions for this year’s Oscar nominations in the Best Documentary Feature category!

To check out more info about the films and to find out which titles are available to view both in-person and (during the second half of the fest) online within the US, go to: festival.sundance.org

By the Numbers: Sundance Feature Submissions and Documentary Competition Sections:

FEATURE FILM SUBMISSIONS: Of the 4,061 feature film submissions, 1,662 were from the U.S. and 2,399 were international; 1,105 (27%) were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as women; 91 (2%) were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as nonbinary individuals; 1,676 (41%) were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as people of color; 547 (13%) were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as LGBTQ+.

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION:

63% or 10 of the 16 directors in this year’s U.S. Documentary Competition identify as women; 63% or 10 of the 16 identify as people of color; 13% or 2 of the 16 identify as LGBTQ+; 6% or 1 of the 16 identify as a person with a disability.

WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION:

46% or 6 of the 13 directors in the World Documentary Competition identify as women; 38% or 5 of the 13 as people of color; 23% or 3 of the 13 identify as LGBTQ+; 8% or 1 of the 13 identify as a person with a disability.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The chosen 15. On December 21st, the announcement came down: the Oscar Shortlist of 15 documentaries selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Documentary Branch to compete for the coveted award of Best Documentary Feature in the upcoming 95th Oscars. IndieWire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson joins “Top Docs” to break down this year’s Oscar Shortlist and dissect the vote by the diverse, and somewhat unpredictable, documentary branch. What were the surprise misses? Which films are a sure bet to make the final 5? And why is this year’s race for the Oscar far more competitive and, therefore, much harder to predict than last year’s, which saw Questlove’s Summer of Soul take home the gold. Spice up your holidays by tuning in and get your scorecards ready!

IndieWire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson has been a contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, The Observer, and Wired. She has served as film columnist at Variety, and deputy editor of Variety.com, where her daily blog, Thompson on Hollywood, launched in March 2007. 

Key awards mentioned in this episode:

IDA (International Documentary Association) Awards – Nominees and Winners

PGA (Producers Guild of America) Awards – Documentary Nominees

Critics Choice Documentary Awards – Winners

“Top Docs” Interviews with directors of these Oscar Shortlisted films:

All that Breathes

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Bad Axe

Descendant

Fire of Love

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song  

The Janes

Last Flight Home

Moonage Daydream

Navalny

Retrograde

The Territory

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@akstanwyck on Instagram and twitter

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

When it comes to making documentaries with impact, filmmakers Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci ("Living on One Dollar", "Salam Neighbor"), co-founders of the non-profit film studio Optimist, have walked the walk. Chris and Zach have created more than 15 films and series that have raised over $91 million dollars for the films’ causes. Their films and the impact work supporting them have changed lives and inspired thousands. Chris joins Ken for a special "Top Docs" episode to discuss the ins-and-outs of "impact filmmaking".

What do we mean when we talk about impact in relation to documentary filmmaking? What are some strategies for launching a successful impact campaign? What are Chris' top picks for pathbreaking, unforgettable impact films? Don't miss this insightful conversation. It will definitely impact how you see documentaries from here on.

For more information, go to:

Optimist Doc Club

Films mentioned in this episode:

Living on One Dollar

Salam Neighbor

Five Years North

Aftershock

The Territory

Last Flight Home

The Cove

Blackfish

The Social Dilemma

Paris is Burning

Miss Representation

For Sama

The Reason I Jump

Other resources:

Exposure Labs

impactguide.org

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@christemple on Instagram and @Christemple8 on twitter

@optimist on Instagram and @OptimistFilms on twitter

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

The story seems simple enough:  An elderly man returns to his homeland to build a house for his family.  And this man, Julian, seems a congenial, inviting presence:  Always offering food, drink, and conversation.  But in Iliana’s Sosa’s new documentary about her beloved grandfather, “What We Leave Behind,” there’s always a sense of mystery lurking.  

Sosa builds this tone through her beautiful cinematography which captures not only everyday Mexican life, but also the deeper time of a place which contains the ruins of “The House of 100 Doors”--built for a demanding Spanish bride–as well as a rock named “El Castillo” where witches live.  The result is a very personal film which also pulls us into the history of a family both Mexican and American, as well as the broader cultural and even economic relationship between the two nations. The film ultimately poses the question to all of us:  What will be our legacy?

What We Leave Behind is now playing on Netflix.

Hidden Gem:  A Married Couple

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

“The pivot”. It is one of the most talked about topics among documentary filmmakers. And for good reason. An unpredictable and ever-changing world can render the best laid plans obsolete and wreak havoc for filmmakers. In the course of making his urgent new documentary “Retrograde”, Matthew Heineman (“City of Ghosts”, “Cartel Land”) found himself facing a doozy of a pivot. After years of persistence, he and his team had finally gotten permission to embed with a group of U.S. Army Green Berets stationed in Afghanistan, only to encounter, with the U.S. pullout of all of its troops, a story without any characters. But when the U.S. Special Forces left, Matthew pivoted to the even more dramatic story of an Afghan general trying desperately to lead his troops and defend his crumbling nation against the fast-encroaching Taliban.

Joining Ken on “Top Docs”, Matthew discusses how he navigated this major shift and also sheds light on his distinctive approach to documentary storytelling. Why does Matthew intentionally exclude context from his films, believing that this creates a much more visceral and emotional impact? How did Matthew and the film’s other cinematographers manage to capture moments of great intensity without, in certain situations, understanding what was being said? And, up against a stroke of extraordinary bad luck, how did Matthew reconceive the film’s final scene in such a way to make the film’s ending even more powerful than he could have imagined. Thank goodness for the pivot.

“Retrograde”, released by National Geographic Documentary Films, is available now for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

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@mheineman on Instagram and @MattHeineman on twitter

Hidden Gem: Murderball

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Director Reid Davenport joins Mike to discuss his new documentary, “I Didn’t See You There.”  As the title intimates, this is a film about seeing and being seen.  Reid confronts not only the legacy of P.T. Barnum–which he traces all the way to photographer Diane Arbus–but what he sees as the possibility of his own participation in the “freak show”, one which he notes doesn’t necessarily require a tent!  He even questions the motivations of what he calls the “Neoliberal” documentary audience: what compels them to watch, to even pat themselves on the back?

Reid and Mike talk about both the pleasures as well as the challenges of navigating Oakland’s urban landscape in a wheelchair.  Reid explains how his new camera allowed him to shoot his own film, as well as facilitated showing the world from what will be to many a wholly new perspective.  And he describes a variety of purgatories that he experiences:  with his family, but not mobile; mobile, but without them. 

“I Didn’t See You There” will be showing on PBS’s POV starting January 9th.

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@reidjdavenport on instagram and @ReidDavenport on twitter

@idntseeyoutherefilm on instagram and @IDidntSeeUFilm on twitter

Hidden Gem:  Goodbye CP

The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

One of them is a pathbreaking filmmaker whose oddball, bracingly original work re-defined the underground cinema of the 1960s and ‘70s. The other is one of the most acclaimed and beloved actors of the last 35 years. But, to each other, they are simply “Sr.” and “Jr.” — Robert Downey, Sr. (“Putney Swope”, “Greaser’s Palace”) and Robert Downey, Jr. (“Chaplin”, “Iron Man”), that is. At first glance, filmmaker Chris Smith’s (“100 Foot Wave”, American Movie”) beguiling new Netflix documentary “Sr.” is a thoroughly engaging up-close-and-personal look at this immensely talented father-son duo. But, when Sr. is diagnosed with a life-threatening degenerative disorder midway through production, the film takes on deeper and more universal meanings. What unfolds is a truly moving account of a son’s desire to better understand and connect with his somewhat enigmatic father before it’s too late.

Joining Ken on “Top Docs”, Chris describes the film’s evolution from a portrait of an artist to a much more personal family drama once Sr. was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. What was it like to arrive at Jr.’s house on the first day of shooting and be told, to your surprise, “Nothing is off limits.”? How did Sr.’s genius manifest itself in the rather unusual request he made of Jr. for a full-throated performance of a German folk song in order to engineer the perfect “left turn” for the movie? And, what email did Chris receive at the 11th hour that led to the film’s new and final ending? In making the film, one of Sr.’s guiding principles that Chris took to heart was to “learn to trust anything and anything can happen”. After watching “Sr.” and listening to our conversation with Chris, we trust that you’ll feel pretty much the same way.

“Sr.” debuts on Netflix on December 2nd. 

Hidden Gem: “Vernon, Florida”

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

With its mouth-watering comfort food and welcoming atmosphere, Rachel’s of Bad Axe is the kind of family-run restaurant you’d be lucky to find in your neighborhood or passing through any small town. But, in this case, Rachel’s, started by the Siev family 25 years ago and still going strong, stands for something much bigger. As filmmaker David Siev shows in his remarkably candid and deeply emotional first feature “Bad Axe”, the very essence of the modern American dream, in all its complexity and contradiction, is represented in his parents’ struggles to make it in the rural community of Bad Axe, Michigan.

David joined Ken to talk about how, at the onset of the pandemic, he returned to Bad Axe to join his family and instinctively started filming everything. Not intending at first to make a documentary, over time, David found an irresistible and urgent story emerging: that of a “model minority” family beginning to find its voice in Trump’s America. What was the “light bulb moment” that led David down the path of making a documentary? In what ways did his father’s lingering childhood trauma of living through and escaping the Killing Fields of Cambodia create a cascading effect on the family? And how is it that a place, which, at times, can be outright vicious to the hard-working Sievs, also inspires the kind of love letter that David sees at the heart of his film? Alternating chilling scenes of intolerance with poignant moments of a family’s unshakeable faith in each other, “Bad Axe” is a story as American as apple pie, baked with love by this extraordinary Cambodian Mexican American family.

Hidden Gem: “Sam Now”

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@badaxefilm

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“Bad Axe” is currently available for streaming on Prime Video and other streaming services.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

All you need to know about Ryan White’s (“The Keepers”, “The Case Against 8”) enthusiasm for taking on the project that would eventually become his awe-inspiring new documentary “Good Night Oppy” is that the Cabbage Patch doll he had as a kid was the astronaut version (currently selling on Etsy for up to $200). Couple this opportunity to revisit his childhood passion for space with the fact that the company behind the project is Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment — makers of Ryan’s favorite movie of all-time, “E.T.” — and what you’ve got is the perfect creative marriage of filmmaker and subject.

Ryan joined Mike and Ken to explore the constellation of joyful moments and creative challenges that propelled “Good Night Oppy” on its journey from launch to successful landing. After the experience of spending 90 minutes inside a photoreal environment of Mars, what scene turned everything on its head and became Ryan’s favorite of the movie? What’s the inherent tension that exists between NASA scientists and engineers, and how did they manage to gel so well on this mission? How does the film bring to life the story of an adorable robot while remaining, at its core, a film about people and their attempt to do something for the betterment of humankind? And, as Oppy reaches the end of his miraculous mission, why did a song of Billie Holiday’s take on a starring role? Join us for an out-of-this-world conversation with Ryan White. Cabbage Patch doll not included.

Hidden Gem:

“Bad Axe”

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“Good Night Oppy” premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 23.

“At first, I was terrified”. These are not words you expect to hear very often from Laura Poitras, one of the world’s most fearless and acclaimed documentary filmmakers. Afterall, this is the filmmaker who took on the U.S. intelligence community with her Academy Award-winning film “Citizenfour” about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. But shortly into our “Top Docs” interview about her trenchant and luminous new documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”, Laura began to use words like “nervous”, “intimidating”, and “terrified”. Rather than experiencing a potentially dangerous physical situation or government surveillance operation, Laura, instead, found herself confronting something even more formidable, the groundbreaking visual artist Nan Goldin. Not wanting to come up short in her portrait of someone that Laura describes as a legend, hero and inspiration, Laura was driven to create a documentary that would do justice to Nan, her artwork and her activism.

Laura joined Ken on “Top Docs” to talk about how she and Nan came together to collaborate on the film and form a strong creative partnership. Given Nan’s frequent use of live slideshows to present her most well-known work, how did Laura and Nan figure out the best way to feature Nan’s art in the film? Why and how did Nan and the activist group that she founded in response to the opioid crisis train their sights on the Sackler family, whose company created OxyContin? And in what ways do big themes like destigmatization, resistance and legacy feature prominently in the film? Join us for this lively conversation… and don’t be afraid.

Hidden Gems:

“Crossroads”

“Perfect Film”

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“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” will be released by NEON in theaters on November 23 in New York City and December 2 in Los Angeles and San Francisco. A national release will follow. The film will premiere on HBO and HBO Max at a date to be announced

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

When filmmakers Tamana Ayazi (making her feature doc debut) and Marcel Mettelsiefen (“Watani: My Homeland”) set out in early 2020 to shoot a film about the new generation of young, well-educated Afghans, they knew they wanted to find a strong woman to tell this story. Instead, they encountered a force of nature: Zarifa Ghafari, the 26-year-old mayor of Maidan Shahr, who was not only one of Afghanistan’s first female mayors, but also its youngest. Tamana and Marcel’s thought-provoking, insightful and impassioned new Netflix documentary “In Her Hands” is Zarifa’s story, but it also opens its lens to track a much broader and more tragic narrative. Over the course of 19 months of filming, the filmmakers witnessed the end of one dream for Afghanistan and the rise of its polar opposite.

Tamana and Marcel joined Ken on “Top Docs” to discuss Zarifa, her courageous struggles on behalf of the people of Maidan Shahr and the eventual triumph of the Taliban. How did this team of two directors — one from Afghanistan, the other from Germany — combine forces and eventually get to the point where they could practically read each other’s minds? Why did the search for a strong secondary character solve one dilemma but lead to yet another? And, as a female director filming with the Taliban, what were the special challenges and quandaries that Tamana faced? A story with many twists and turns, “In Her Hands” shows that, in any given situation in Afghanistan, the answers may be just beyond one’s grasp.

Hidden Gems:

Tamana: Facing the Dragon

Marcel: The Distant Barking of Dogs

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“In Her Hands” premieres globally on Netflix on November 16.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Elvis Mitchell, longtime host of KCRW’s “The Treatment”, and producer of “The Black List”, joins Mike to discuss his new documentary “Is that Black Enough for You?”  The film recounts an explosion of Black Film which occurred mainly in the period of 1968-1978, placing it within the context of both the prior failure of Hollywood to provide real representation of Black characters, as well as a strand of chiefly independent African American-produced film that Elvis traces back to as early as the 1910s and 1920s.  

Elvis tells Mike how the movies affected his grandmother’s (literal) dreams, as well as how they drove the (figurative) dreams and fantasy life of his stellar cast.  Elvis explains to Mike his nuanced view of the legacies of such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier, and Orson Welles.  What role did Mohammed Ali play for Black filmmakers?  And how did Diane Sands embody the promise of this era?  Mike and Elvis also discuss his process–narration first, clips second–and why he passed on the declamatory “They call me Mr. Tibbs” moments in favor of clips which demonstrate the interiority and development of characters.

And, of course, Elvis and Mike had to talk about the music:  Isaac Hayes; Earth, Wind & Fire; Curtis Mayfield… and Alessandro Alessandroni!?

“Is the Black Enough for You” streams on Netflix starting Friday, November 11th.

Hidden Gem:

Portrait of Jason

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The presenting sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

From its lyrical opening shot of rats scurrying across an empty, moonlit lot somewhere in New Delhi, Shaunak Sen’s (“Cities of Sleep”) thoroughly original new documentary “All that Breathes” makes it clear that generous helpings of the cinematically sublime will be served up along with gritty doses of reality. The film follows Nadeem and Saud, two brothers who run a makeshift bird clinic and tend to the ubiquitous black kites of Delhi, which are falling out of the sky at alarming rates. Equal parts character study, environmental/ecological think piece and spiritual contemplation, “All That Breathes” exists in that rare space between the mythological and the all too real.

Shaunak joined Ken on “Top Docs” to discuss the film’s rich visual approach, thought-provoking themes and complex relationships. Sitting in his car stuck in a traffic jam, what inspired Shaunak to go home and immediately begin to research the topic that would lead him to the brothers’ basement clinic? In the midst of the climate change crisis, why did Shaunak find Nadeem and Saud, with their “head down” approach, to be such philosophically interesting figures? And with India’s anti-Muslim fervor creeping ever closer to the brothers’ sanctuary, how did Shaunak figure out the best way to reveal what was happening in the world outside without losing focus on the brothers and their birds? Join us for this engaging conversation with the director of one of the year’s most acclaimed films.

Please note: we apologize for some audio issues experienced during the recording of Shaunak’s interview and ask you to please bear with us.

“All That Breathes” is currently in limited theatrical release and will be on HBO and available for streaming on HBO Max at a date to be announced.

Hidden Gem:

¡Vivan las antípodas! 

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

When your dad — who is also your best friend and your family’s source of inspiration — announces that he has made the decision to die, the immediate reaction is shock and revulsion. But, after careful consideration and discussion, it became clear to the Timoner family that paterfamilias Eli, who had been battling very severe illness and a rapidly deteriorating quality of life, was ready to take this final step in his life’s journey. In “Last Flight Home”, her shattering, deeply moving and, ultimately, spiritually restorative new documentary, acclaimed filmmaker Ondi Timoner (“DIG!”, “We Live in Public”) embraces her most challenging and personal project by documenting her father’s last 15 days of life.

Ondi joined Ken on “Top Docs” to discuss what it was like to experience this devastating loss while, at the same time, “quarterbacking” her father’s care and orchestrating the shooting and editing of this extraordinary portrait of an exceptional man. How did Ondi go from iPhone recordings of her dad to making a full-blown feature doc — and how did she ensure that everyone in her family, especially her dad, was supportive of it? How does California’s End of Life Option law work, and how has it changed since the film was made? What does Ondi mean when she describes this as “the greatest experience of my life”, and what does she hope the film will accomplish? Join us for this intimate conversation. You’ll begin to understand why Eli’s “last flight home” is one more leg on a journey that goes on and on.

“Last Flight Home” is currently in limited theatrical release and will be released by MTV Documentary Films at a date to be announced.

Hidden Gem:

Keep On Keepin’ On

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Can we all agree that the date of August 20, 2015 should be enshrined as one of the most important in the history of documentary? In case you’ve forgotten, that’s the date that “Documentary Now!” burst on the scene with the airing of its first episode: “Sandy Passage”, an unforgettable debut starring Fred Armisen and Bill Hader parodying the Maysles’ classic documentary “Grey Gardens”. Somehow, this crew of on and off-camera SNL talent (the show’s co-creators are Armisen, Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas) managed to pull off the not-so-small miracle of parodying the high priests and priestesses of documentary in half-hour masterpieces and, just as miraculously, found a network to actually air the program (IFC, for the record). Fast forward seven years and “Documentary Now!” has just premiered its first episodes of season 4 (actually, season 53 in the bizarre-o world of “Doc Now!”).

Seth, Rhys and Alex Buono (who directs with Rhys and is also the show’s cinematographer) took time away from whatever else they were doing to join Mike and Ken on Top Docs and talk about the collective creative genius (our words, as they are far too modest) behind this unique show. Stay tuned for answers to such questions as: “Why did it take until season 4 (er, 53) to parody the highly imitable Werner Herzog and Les Blank’s portrait of him, “Burden of Dreams”? How did the team find itself on a remote Welsh mountainside trying to build a sitcom set as howling winds threatened to blow the whole thing to smithereens? And what do you say to Cate Blanchett when she asks, “Is it OK if I wear giant Coke bottle glasses?” Join us as we peal back the layers on the show that dances on the line between the sublime and the ridiculous while never straying from its love of documentary. To paraphrase the show’s host, the immortal Helen Mirren, “I give you ‘Documentary Now!’”

Documentary Now! season 4 episodes discussed in this podcast include: “Soldier of Illusion” (written by John Mulaney) (parts 1 and 2), “Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport” (written by Seth Meyers), and “How They Threw Rocks” (written by Seth Meyers)

Documentary Now! can be seen on IFC and streaming on AMC+.

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It’s not really about the ship. The first thing you have to understand about Margaret Brown’s (“The Great Invisible”, “The Order of Myths”) brilliant new Netflix documentary “Descendant” about the Clotilda, the last known ship to arrive with enslaved Africans in the U.S., is that it’s not primarily about the search for and discovery of this historic vessel. What carries her complex and lyrical film along in its looping journey across time and place are the stories of the descendants themselves. Lorna Woods, Joycelyn Davis and Emmett Lewis are just a few of the remarkable “treasure keepers” of Africatown, now part of Mobile, Alabama, who, for generations, have shared and protected the stories of their ancestors. But, when, as Margaret documents, the ship is discovered, who is to say where the narrative will go from here?

Margaret joined Mike and Ken to discuss how she picked up where she left off from her 2008 film “The Order of Myths”, also set in her hometown of Mobile, to embark on this unique creative journey. How did the work of writer, anthropologist and filmmaker Zora Neale Hurston’s inspire Margaret and become, through Hurston’s book “Barracoon”, a key narrative device in the film? Why did Margaret turn off the camera in the midst of shooting one of the most powerful moments in the entire film? And why is the issue of zoning, as unsexy as it is, so crucial to understanding the past, present and future of Africatown? As Margaret puts it, “Where I ended the film is not the end of their story…. The story continues”.

Hidden Gem:

Last Flight Home

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.     

“It’s a caper story, a heist movie, with women at the center. They were outlaws.” So says Tia Lessin (“Trouble the Water”), one of the directors of “The Janes”, the thoroughly engrossing new HBO documentary about… abortion. Set in Chicago, in the late 60’s and early 70’s, “The Janes”, also directed by Emma Pildes (“Jane Fonda in Five Acts”), tracks the mostly forgotten story of a courageous band of women, who, fed up with the lengths to which women had to go to seek abortions, took matters into their own hands (literally). “The Janes” was an underground service which provided safe, affordable – and illegal – abortions but also a social movement that transformed the lives of countless women.

Tia and Emma joined Ken on Top Docs to discuss how the film came together, why, after so many years, the Janes were eager to share their stories and how the film’s timing couldn’t be more impactful. How did Emma’s family connection to the Janes unlock the door to this incredible story? What led this group of diverse women to embark on such a project, at great personal risk to themselves? And, how was it that an illegal abortion service was allowed to operate as an open secret in this heavily Catholic city — until the day it wasn’t? Now that we are in a post-Roe world, nothing could be more timely, instructive or inspiring than “The Janes”.

“The Janes” is now available on HBO and for streaming on HBO Max.

Hidden Gem:

Tia Lessin: “In Search of Monsters”

Emma Pildes: “Inquiring Nuns”

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Four young men arrive in South Africa from their native Zimbabwe and find each other through their love of–and professional dedication to–wine.  Tinashe the big picture philosopher; Pardon the competitive jokester; Marlvin, pious and warm; and Joseph, the stalwart leader of Team Zimbabwe--all will overcome the obstacles facing them as refugees to arrive at the World Championship of Wine Tasting in France.

Directors Rob Coe and Warwick Ross join Mike to discuss their film “Blind Ambition”.  They talk about everything from the socio-political challenges of Southern Africa to how they sought to show (not tell) what it means to determine the varietal, country, region, even producer of a wine “blind”, by sight, smell, and taste alone.

Hidden Gems:

Stories we Tell

2040

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  

Ben Crump knows what it’s like to be in the eye of the storm. As a civil rights attorney representing families in some of the most high-profile cases involving police killings in recent years (including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor), Ben is constantly in the spotlight. But as Nadia Hallgren’s (“Becoming”) powerful and incisive documentary portrait “Civil” reveals, it is in the more private moments that Ben really shines, offering the kind of support and genuine concern, in addition to expert legal advice, that these grieving and enraged Black families so desperately need and deserve.

Joining Ken on “Top Docs”, Nadia goes beyond the edges of the film frame to offer insights into what makes the extraordinary Ben Crump tick, as well as to share stories about her own creative journey. How did George Floyd’s tragic murder drive Nadia’s search for a new film and why was this project the perfect answer? What did Nadia learn by seeing Ben with his family that gave her a new perspective on his life and work? And what do Ben’s other, not-so-high profile, cases tell us about his ongoing struggle to see that Black people are treated fairly once-and-for-all? Just as Ben seeks justice for his clients, Nadia’s camera is there, too, revealing how things are — and showing us how they should be.

“Civil” is now available for streaming on Netflix.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  

What happened to Sinead O’Connor?  It can be too easy to misremember the “after” story, of  how quickly in the wake of her appearance on Saturday Night Live in October of 1992, this once megastar largely disappeared from the brightest lights of the world stage .  But it also is too easy to ignore the “before” story of what brought her to fame early in life.  In “Nothing Compares”, Kathryn Ferguson traces Sinead’s story from her childhood years with an abusive mother and time in a reformatory school in Ireland to stardom–first in London, and then worldwide.  Along the way, Ferguson skillfully weaves in the story of what the film posits as another abusive relationship:  that between Ireland and the Catholic Church.  From these twinned stories Sinead emerges as not just a pioneer in the realm of music, but one who cut a path for other activists to follow–within Ireland and beyond.

You can watch “Nothing Compares” on Showtime starting September 30th.

Hidden Gem: The Arbor

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The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

He survived a government-orchestrated poison attack. He pranked the Russian security agency. He endured (and continues to endure) solitary confinement in a remote gulag. Oh, and he also made some pretty cool TikTok videos. His name is Alexei Navalny, and, as Russia’s leading opposition figure, he will use whatever means possible to try to end the authoritarian regime of President Vladimir Putin. He’s also the subject of Daniel Roher’s (“Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band”) timely and relentlessly gripping documentary political thriller “Navalny”.

In the midst of Putin’s unprovoked and disastrous war on Ukraine, Daniel joined Mike and Ken for an engaging conversation about Navalny’s perilous journey, from surviving an assassination attempt to his recovery in Germany and subsequent return to Russia and imprisonment. What led Daniel, in October 2020, from “a place of desperation” to the “Hail Mary pass” of his filmmaking career? How did he navigate the complexity of making a film about a man, who, as a master deployer of media tools himself, was at first skeptical of the documentary and then participated in a battle of wits about creative control over its direction? Finally, how did Daniel ensure that the film retained the sense of hope that Navalny, against all odds, continues to deploy against the dark forces conspiring against him and the Russian people? With its layered narratives, “Navalny” has as much in common with a classic Russian novel as it does with a James Bond thriller. We hope you will enjoy peeling back the layers with us and Daniel at least as much as those TikTok videos.

“Navalny” is available on HBO and HBO Max.

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@Navalny

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  

“I was drowning”. Acclaimed filmmaker Brett Morgen (“Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck”, “The Kid Stays in the Picture”) knew he was in deep trouble creatively when he sat down to write the script for his latest documentary and days stretched to weeks and then months. When your film subject’s own creative output is as varied, unpredictable, and brilliant as rock star David Bowie’s was throughout his legendary career, the pressure to measure up can be paralyzing. But, eventually, Brett cracked the narrative code, and the result is his remarkable new documentary, “Moonage Daydream”.

Following the film’s successful launch on IMAX screens, Brett joined Mike and Ken to talk about the emotional rollercoaster of his seven-year odyssey to bring this cinematic exploration of David Bowie’s creative and spiritual journey to life. Faced with two visions of how to approach the topic, why did Brett choose the road less traveled — “a non-biographical experiential non-fiction film” — rather than the more linear musical jukebox that would have surely been the easier path? What is the “covenant” that Brett created with the audience? And after experiencing a massive heart attack at the beginning of the project, how did Brett draw inspiration from Bowie and gain insight into how to live his own life? Join us for this wide-awake conversation that is not intended to answer all of your questions about this extraordinary film, but will, hopefully, provoke more questions. That’s just how it is with David Bowie… and Brett Morgen.

A Neon release, “Moonage Daydream” is now showing in theaters worldwide.

Hidden Gem:

“The Nuer” by Hilary Harris and George Breidenbach, produced by Robert Gardner and Hilary Harris

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

A mustard-colored Porsche races through the streets of Washington, DC. A crazed political operative holds a pencil to the throat of a former presidential advisor. An orgy hosted by a prominent businessman rages through the night. Does this sound like a documentary about Watergate? Well, it’s not actually. These entertaining, adrenaline-fueled moments are brought to you by the 8-part Starz limited series “Gaslit” starring Julia Roberts and Sean Penn about Martha Mitchell, John Dean and the events of Watergate. So, did this stuff really happen? In this special podcast that we’re calling “Fact or Fiction”, Ken sits down with a Watergate expert to see how well the series measures up to the facts and discusses why it matters.

Where did the idea for “Fact or Fiction” come from? Recently, as Ken was preparing to interview the two directors of the Netflix documentary “The Martha Mitchell Effect”, he was also watching “Gaslit”, which covers most of the same historical terrain. With each new episode, Ken began to wonder how much of this is true and wouldn’t it be great to be able to put that question to an expert on Watergate. Enter Jim Robenalt. Jim is a lawyer and writer who has co-taught a course with central Watergate figure (and “Gaslit” main character) John Dean. He’s also someone who practically lives and breathes the facts of Watergate. The format is simple: Ken describes a scene from “Gaslit” and Jim weighs in on whether the events depicted in that scene are mostly fact or fiction. We can’t guarantee that this podcast will hold your attention as much as that orgy, but it is certainly inspired by actual events, and we swear that Jim Robenalt is a real person, not a composite character.

Directors Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy talk about “The Martha Mitchell Effect” on “Top Docs”

Jim Robenalt is the author of “January 1973: Watergate, Roe v. Wade, Vietnam, and the Month That Changed America Forever”

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The Presenting Sponsor of Top Docs is Netflix.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Executive Editor of Awards Scott Feinberg joins Mike and Ken to break down this year’s Emmy nominees in all the major documentary categories, including Outstanding Documentary Program; Outstanding Series; Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking; and Outstanding Directing. After considering all the angles, Scott pulls no punches in giving his take on who he thinks will take home top honors. Scott also sheds light on this year’s Emmy rule changes, how the voting process really works, recent historical trends… and even gives a sneak peak of this year’s early documentary Oscar buzz. Let the awards season begin!

An award-winning columnist and podcast host (“Awards Chatter”), Scott Feinberg is The Hollywood Reporter’s Executive Editor of Awards. Scott anchors THR’s coverage of the Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy races, as well as major film festivals. His work has been recognized with six National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards and five SoCal Journalism Awards from the Los Angeles Press Club.

Our Presenting Sponsor is Netflix.

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When the writer Glenn Kurtz stumbled upon an old home movie buried in his parents’ closet in Florida, he inadvertently discovered a whole world that, tragically, had been nearly erased from history. Returning as a tourist in 1938 to the small village of Nasielsk outside Warsaw where he grew up, his grandfather David Kurtz brought with him a brand new 16mm Kodak movie camera. The three minutes of footage he shot there, which later turned up in the closet, are now among the only surviving moving images of any of the Polish villages destroyed in the Holocaust. Years later, the writer and critic Bianca Stigter (“Three Minutes – Thirteen Minutes – Thirty Minutes”) would see those three minutes posted on the website of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and embark on her own investigative journey. The result is the extraordinary documentary Three Minutes: A Lengthening.

Joining Ken to discuss her film, which includes Kurtz’ original footage, Bianca describes her creative “lengthening” process, which involved adding fascinating historical context and an almost microscopic level of detail. With very few markers, how were Glenn and Bianca able to identify people and places in the footage? Why was it so important to Bianca that viewers experience the footage actively rather than passively — and how did her filmmaking encourage that dynamic? And how did a key sequence in the film turn into an unforgettable memorial to over 150 people whose faces were captured by David Katz’ camera? While nothing can bring back the Jewish community of Nasielsk, the efforts of first David, then Glenn, and now, Bianca, have at least ensured that their stories and faces will live on in our own collective memories.

“Three Minutes: A Lengthening”, which is being released by Super LTD, can be seen in select theaters nationwide starting on August 26.

Hidden Gem:

Rose Hobart

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

Not yet 19 years old, a young man named Bitaté Uru-eu-wau-wau is approached by an elder, who tells him, ready or not, it is time for Bitaté to become his community’s new leader. With Brazil’s election of a right-wing president on the horizon, bands of illegal settlers clearing forests, and the impending disaster of climate change, how in the world can Bitaté take on such a staggering responsibility? But he knows he must: the fate of not only his own small Indigenous community but of the entire Brazilian Amazon hangs in the balance. With the stakes constantly rising, first-time feature director Alex Pritz (“My Dear Kyrgyzstan”) brilliantly depicts the opposing forces at play in his urgent and stunningly beautiful documentary “The Territory” from National Geographic Documentary Films.

Joining Ken to talk about the chain of events that led him to the Uru people and their threatened way of life, Alex discusses the close collaboration with the Uru community that made the documentary possible and gave shape to what it would become. How was Alex’s relationship with the environmental activist Neidinha Bandeira a significant first step in developing trust with the Uru? What was the crucial suggestion from Bitaté and Neidinha that led to the film’s impressively even-handed inclusion of opposing points of view? And in what ways were the composer Katya Mihailova’s contributions critical to establishing the locations and building deep connections with the different people featured in the film? Depicting the highs and lows of the Uru people, “The Territory” is an unflinching look at the Amazon today and offers a cautionary glimpse of what may lie just ahead.

“The Territory” can be seen in select theaters nationwide.

Hidden Gems:

Cusp

Mayor

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

In the delightful and, yes, delicious CNN Original Series “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” the beloved actor/writer/director is constantly on the move, setting out to discover what makes each of Italy’s 20 regions unique. By the end of season two, Stanley had tramped across nine of them, and along the way, sampled enough pasta and salumi to feed a small army of production assistants.

London-based Ian Denyer, who came on board to direct “Venice” (for which he is Emmy®-nominated), “Umbria” and “London” for the show’s second season, joined Ken for an amiable and enlightening chat about the series and the man himself. How did Ian win over Stanley in his initial Zoom interview and come to realize that a shared sensibility around dry humor would not only bind them together but infuse the second season with added flavor? How did Ian’s introduction of a third camera open up new creative possibilities, as well as a tricky set of technical challenges? And, in spite of all the glorious eating and drinking, why does Stanley’s primary interest with the show lie elsewhere? Whether Stanley ever actually “finds” Italy or not is beside the point. Watching these episodes — and listening to Ian’s beguiling behind-the-scenes stories — you will find yourself being entertained, educated, and moved, as well as highly motivated to go searching on your own.

“Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy”, which is nominated for five 2022 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary / Nonfiction Program”, can be seen on CNN.

Hidden Gem:

Russia from My Window

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

When Claude Motley got shot… everything changed. Not just for Claude, whose jaw was shattered by a bullet fired through his car window, but for Nathan, the 15-year-old youth who pulled the trigger and for Victoria, the woman who shot Nathan when he tried to rob her, too. These tragic events in Milwaukee in 2014 unleashed a chain reaction of trauma and devastation that continues to wreak havoc on the lives of everyone involved. Brad Lichtenstein’s masterfully crafted, emotionally powerful and profoundly troubling Emmy®-nominated documentary “When Claude Got Shot” explores micro as well as macro perspectives on how gun violence is impacting countless lives in America today.

Joining Ken for his second Top Docs appearance, Brad (“American Reckoning,” “Ghosts of Attica”) shares the gut-wrenching experience of watching his close friend Claude go through this terrible ordeal and the conversations that led to the difficult decision to make the film. How does Claude’s conflicted relationship with the city of Milwaukee play a central role in the film? What happens when Claude and his wife, determined to see that justice is done, find themselves enmeshed in a criminal justice system ill-equipped to serve the needs of communities of color? And how did Brad earn the trust of Victoria, Nathan, and Nathan’s mother while they were going through one of the darkest periods of their lives? As Brad describes Claude’s painful journey and his path toward forgiveness, it becomes clear that when Claude got shot, everything changed… but not all hope was lost.

“When Claude Got Shot”, which is nominated for the 2022 Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, can be watched on PBS.org by those with access to the PBS Passport program.

Hidden Gem:

Music for the Movies: Toru Takemitsu

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

After pop star Britney Spears’ controversial 13-year conservatorship finally came to an end in November 2021, Spears credited the #FreeBritney movement: “I honestly think you guys saved my life.” Filmmakers Samantha Stark and Liz Day also played no small role. When their documentary “Framing Britney Spears” premiered in February of that year, it sparked a flurry of international news coverage and put the spotlight on a conservatorship that seemed less about protecting Spears than it was about controlling and silencing her — and enriching her father and conservator, Jamie Spears. In the months following their film, Samantha and Liz continued to delve into the story and their September 2021 follow-up film, the Emmy®-nominated “Controlling Britney Spears” laid out even more shocking revelations.

The two filmmakers joined Mike and Ken for a deep dive exploration of the ins-and-outs of the conservatorship and the mechanisms used to surveil and manipulate Spears. How is it possible that a mega superstar, who kept to a rigorous performance schedule and was raking in millions of dollars, continued to be subjected to a court-ordered conservatorship? What caused some of the key people working for Britney to break their silence and open up to the filmmakers, at their own potential legal peril? And in what ways does the stigma of mental illness play a part in the Britney Spears saga? Tune in to our conversation to hear how these two highly skilled and determined journalists/filmmakers broke this important story, which continues to resonate and reverberate well-beyond Britney herself.

“Controlling Britney Spears”, which is nominated for the 2022 Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, is available for streaming on Hulu.

Hidden Gems:

Liz: 7 Up

Samantha: Special Flight

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@LizDDay

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

He pops up often in your social media livestream, appearing from just about every corner of the globe. His head bobbing up-and-down in the frame, his voice slightly frantic, he reports in real-time from the frontlines of whatever new catastrophe has left thousands – or even millions — of people in desperate need of food and to describe what’s being done about it. He’s world-renowned Chef José Andrés and his organization, World Central Kitchen (WCK), has become legendary for its quick response in the aftermath of fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, Covid, and, most recently, the war in Ukraine. As José says in the urgent, riveting new Ron Howard (Rebuilding Paradise, Thirteen Lives) documentary “We Feed People”, “We not only feed people. We create systems.”

Ken recently spoke with the film’s producer Sara Bernstein (Leave No Trace, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing) about this exhilarating Emmy®-nominated documentary and the challenge of making a film during the pandemic. How did the film’s director Ron Howard encounter WCK’s work first-hand and why did he keep coming back to the idea of making a film about them? Why did the film’s focus shift from a verité style production to a portrait of WCK’s evolution from a small band of do-gooders into the powerhouse food relief organization that it is today? And how did the film team’s commitment to presenting a three-dimensional, warts-and-all portrait of José result in a more nuanced and, ultimately, more emotionally resonant and fully realized film? Join us for this Tapas-inspired dish of valuable lessons learned about food relief efforts and delicious behind-the-scenes filmmaking stories.

Hidden Gem:

Navalny

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

Legendary Director Peter Jackson joins Mike to discuss the Emmy-nominated “The Beatles: Get Back”.  Peter discusses why after a career that has spanned “Heavenly Creatures,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit,” and “King Kong,” he turned to documentary filmmaking with "They Shall Not Grow Old." And how the techniques that he employed in turning the trenches of the First World War to life  came to be useful when faced with the 60 hours of 16mm film shot by Michael Lindsay Hogg in 1969 during the Beatles’ rehearsal for and recording of “Let it Be.”

Peter tells Mike about the challenges posed by the 130 hours of sound recordings, and how his team wrote custom software to isolate and clarify sound–and how this became the spine of the film.  He virtually brings us into the New Zealand editing bay with Jabez Olssen where his team (again) built new processes to make the rushes amenable to editing.  He explains to Mike why the now-famous scene of Paul creating “Get Back” was–for the sake of historical accuracy–not overly edited, and how the rooftop concert was edited in one productive week before showing it to the surviving Beatles.  And he sums up his years of daily exposure to the inner workings of the Beatles by saying that they were 4 nice boys with incredible talent who managed to find each other.

“The Beatles: Get Back” is now streaming on Disney+.

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@jabezolssen

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. They were America’s most beloved couple and Hollywood’s ultimate power couple. But when the studio lights were turned off, what was it like being the “real” Lucy and Desi? How did their relationship inform everything they did — from creating the groundbreaking sitcom “I Love Lucy” to running one of Hollywood’s most successful television studios? With “Lucy and Desi”, multi-hyphenate comedian-actor-producer — and now documentary director — Amy Poehler aims her prodigious talent at cracking the story of Lucy and Desi, with Emmy®-worthy results.

Mike and Ken recently had the opportunity to speak with the film’s Emmy-nominated editor Robert A. Martinez (“The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”, “Pavarotti”) to discuss what it was like to sit at the controls of this refreshing, revealing and, at times, surprising portrayal of this dynamic duo. How did Amy’s directorial chops drive the storytelling beyond the superficial “Wikipedia” treatment that it could easily have been given? For the filmmakers, why was it so important to lift up the accomplishments of Desi Arnaz, who, all-too-often has been overlooked in the shadow of Lucille Ball’s comedic brilliance? And what did the comedic genius Buster Keaton see in Ball that enabled her, through tireless rehearsal, to develop a style of comedy that was way ahead of its time? Ultimately, “Lucy and Desi” is about neither Lucy nor Desi’s individual talents, but about the magic that they created as one unit, leaving a legacy that will last as long as the human species comes factory-equipped with a funny bone.

“Lucy and Desi”, which is nominated for six 2022 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

Find our conversation with Mark Monroe about “The Bee Gees” here.  

Hidden Gem:

No No: A Dockumentary

Follow on Twitter: @topdocspod

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

Frederick Douglass was not only one of our greatest activists, he was a great writer, an artist who worked in words.  Director Julie Marchesi (P.O.V., American Masters, African-American Lives) and producer Seun Babalola (NOVA, The United Shades of America, Africa Everywhere) explore the growth of his mind and the power of his words in their Emmy-nominated “Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches.”

Each speech is performed by one of the film’s all-star cast (Nicole Beharie, Colman Domingo, Jonathan Majors, Denzel Whitaker, Jeffrey Wright) and André Holland provides a narrative spine by reading from Douglas’ autobiographies.  Inspired by David Blight’s magisterial biography, the film is light on didacticism but shot-through with the inspiration that can only come from one born under slavery and freed by his own actions and words.  

“Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches” is now streaming on HBO.

Hidden Gems:

Dear Zachary

Battleground

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“Nazaré”. To those who follow the world of big wave surfing, the word speaks for itself. A once sleepy fishing village on the coast of Portugal, Nazaré has now become one of the world’s preeminent big wave surfing spots. It’s also the most likely future location for that most elusive of all surfing dreams: the 100-foot wave. As the hunting ground of legendary surfer Garrett McNamara, Nazaré plays a starring role in the thrilling six-part, Emmy®-nominated HBO series “100 Foot Wave” directed by Chris Smith (“Tiger King”, “American Movie”).

“100 Foot Wave” Executive Producer Joe Lewis (“Fleabag”, “Transparent”) recently sat down with Ken to plunge beneath the surface of the film team’s creative process. How did a conversation with his wife about a distant relation by marriage lead Joe to Garrett McNamara, who spent years working with local officials to put Nazaré on the map of big wave surfing? How did the filmmakers go from thinking they were pitching a feature film to making a six-part series that is now well on its way to a second season? And what was it like collaborating with Garrett and his wife Nicole, whose one condition was, “We don’t want to make a surf movie”? You’ve heard it a million times: it’s the journey that counts. But, if the waves break just right, you can be sure that Garrett or one of his cohorts will be there at Nazaré to catch that 100-foot wave. Please join us as we explore this incredible journey with Joe. It’s the most fun you can have while staying dry.

Hidden Gems:

Sub Eleven Seconds

Vernon, Florida

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

George Carlin wasn’t just a comedian, he was one of the great American artists of the later half of the 20th-Century, and he was shaped by and interacted with the great events of his day with intelligence, wit, and an ever-adapting nature.  That’s what co-director Michael Bonfiglio (with Judd Apatow) of  “George Carlin’s American Dream” explains when he sat down with Mike.

Bonfiglio’s (producer of “Paradise Lost 2 & 3”, “Some Kind of Monster” & “The Zen Diaries of Gary Shandling”) film traces the “straight” comic of the 60s, the more personal and edgy comic of the 70’s that we all know, and even the darker–but equally important, the film argues–comic of the 80s and 90s.  Michael and Mike discuss the roots of Carlin’s comedy in his Catholic school childhood in Manhattan, the birth of his comedy career in Los Angeles, and the cocaine-fueled 70s.  Throughout, his wife Brenda and daughter Kelly stood by him, and despite his solitary nature, his comedy cohort inspired and challenged him.  “George Carlin’s American Dream” is now playing on HBO.

Hidden Gem:  The Velvet Queen

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@mbonfiglio2000

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Racking up win after win, Mack Beggs is well on his way to an undefeated season and a second consecutive Texas state high school wrestling crown. But, far from being recognized as the top athlete that he is, Mack finds himself the target of criticism from parents, social media trolls and national commentators. As a young trans man, Mack wants nothing more than the opportunity to compete against other young men. But Texas law prevents this, and so Mack has no choice but to take on not only his female competitors but also the kind of vicious discrimination that is regularly inflicted against young trans athletes throughout the country. In their standout Emmy®-nominated documentary “Changing the Game”, director Michael Barnett (“Superheroes”) and producers Clare Tucker (“The Mars Generation”) and Alex Schmider (“Disclosure”) follow Mack’s victories and struggles along with two other courageous trans athletes: Sarah, a skier and activist in New Hampshire, and Andraya, a track star in Connecticut.

Joining Mike and Ken to talk about their game-changing documentary, Michael, Clare and Alex discuss the challenges of making a film about trans athletes in the context of a fraught political context. What led Michael and Clare to invite Alex, the Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD, to join the creative team as producer, and how did their collaboration benefit the film in multiple ways? Why was it a priority for Michael that the cinematic quality of the film match the visual standards of a Nike ad? And what was the toughest scene, emotionally, to include in the film, and why was it so important for people to see it? Join us for this illuminating conversation with three filmmakers determined to go to the mat to “give these young athletes their stories back”.

“Changing the Game” is currently streaming on Hulu.

Hidden Gems:

Michael Barnett, Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story

Clare Tucker, A Thousand Cuts

Alex Schmider: No Ordinary Man

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@ChangingGameDoc

@anderfinn

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To get involved:  TheTrevorProject.org

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

With 55 million matches to date, Tinder advertises itself as the world’s most popular dating app. But, back in 2019, it was one match in particular — between a Norwegian woman living in London and a charming, self-described “Prince of Diamonds” — that became a viral sensation. It turned out that “Simon Leviev” was no prince, but a convicted con artist who used Tinder to woo a series of women in an elaborate Ponzi scheme that left them emotionally devastated and thousands of dollars in debt. In the thrilling and eye-opening Emmy®-nominated Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler”, filmmaker Felicity Morris (“Don’t F**k With Cats”) deftly tracks the story of three courageous women who went public with their stories of being conned by Leviev and sought their own measure of sweet justice. 

Talking to Mike and Ken from her home base in London, Felicity gives her inside take on the swindle and on the making of the film. How did Simon go beyond the conventions of a more traditional con to create such a successful emotional one? How was the story of Ayleen Charlotte, a Dutch woman defrauded by Simon, the key to unlocking the film’s third act? And why does Felicity think that “The Tinder Swindler” — Netflix's most popular documentary of all-time when it launched — resonates so deeply with people? Answers to these questions and more can be found in our podcast interview with Felicity. Just remember to “press play” rather than to “swipe right”.

“The Tinder Swindler” is currently streaming on Netflix. You can also learn more on Felicity’s podcast, “The Making of a Swindler”, available on “You Can’t Make This Up”.

Hidden Gem:  “’Twas the Fight Before Christmas”

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@fliss_morris

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Listen to our recent conversations with these Emmy®-nominated directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"
• Felicity Morris on “The Tinder Swindler”

It’s more than a song.  As Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller (“Ballet Russes”, “The Galapagos Affair”) point out in their new documentary, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” is a journey.  A journey of artistic and spiritual discovery, a 7-year Odyssey of composition, and, once all but lost, an even longer journey to find its place as one of our most admired songs, admiration which take the form of critical praise and popular renditions that can be found in Dreamworks movies and primetime talent shows.  Join Mike as he travels this decades-long path with Dayna and Dan.  

“Hallelujah:  Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song,” from Sony Pictures Classics, is now playing in select cities.

Hidden Gems:

The Truffle Hunters

The Five Obstructions

Leonard Cohen Covers:

Sharon Robinson’s “Alexandra Leaving” on YouTube or Spotify

Emmylou Harris’ “The Stranger Song” on YouTube or Spotify

Roberta Flack’s “Suzanne” on YouTube or Spotify 

Also discussed:

The Holy and the Broken:  Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah”

Howling at the Moon: The Odyssey of a Monstrous Music Mogul in an Age of Excess

Coined by a Harvard psychologist in the 1980s, the “Martha Mitchell Effect” describes a process in which a person’s beliefs are initially labeled as delusional but later turn out to be true. But who was the real Martha Mitchell? What were her claims about Watergate? And why, until now, has she been largely erased from our collective memory?

Opening up to Ken about their riveting all-archival documentary short “The Martha Mitchell Effect”, filmmakers Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy describe how they set out to widen the lens on Watergate beyond “All the President’s Men” to include the key perspective of Martha Mitchell, wife of former Attorney General and Nixon campaign chief John Mitchell. Dismissed at the time as being crazy and a drunk, Martha was, in fact, the victim of a well-planned gaslighting campaign hatched by Nixon, his top aides and even her own husband. Stunning in its revelations and highly immersive in its creative approach, this powerful film will no doubt leave you with a new perspective on those dark days of American history. Speaking truth to power tends to have that effect on people.

“The Martha Mitchell Effect” is now streaming on Netflix.

Hidden Gems:

Debra: “More Than I Remember” by Amy Bench

Anne: “Deerwoods Deathtrap” by James P. Gannon

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@themarthafilm

@anne_alvergue

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  Listen to our recent conversations with directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Rory Kennedy on "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing"
• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"

Love and Lava, Magma and Matrimony.  Sara Dosa’s (“The Last Season”, “The Seer and the Unseen”)  “Fire of Love” encourages such puns, and that’s no accident:  The film explores the relationship of Katia and Maurice Krafft, married volcanologists as they chart the world's volcanoes from the late 1960s until their untimely deaths in 1993.  It’s a film that takes science seriously, but, like its subjects, isn’t afraid to have some fun.

Join Mike as he speaks with Sara about how she’s reworking the standard nature documentary:  How her narrator, Miranda July, explores science as inquiry rather than established fact, and how by juxtaposing seemingly whimsical graphics, Dosa complicates the standard narrative.  How does the growing relationship between the Kraffts echo their relationship with volcanoes?  What role do the twin montages at the heart of the film play in developing both those relationships?  How did the Kraffts differ when it came to dealing with the deadly reality of volcanic exploration?  Finally, how did their interests develop toward the ends of their lives as they began to focus more on the effects of volcanoes on humans, and what is their ultimate legacy?

“Fire of Love” from National Geographic Documentary Films can now be seen in select cities and will be rolling out across the U.S. over the summer.

Hidden Gem:  Jaddoland

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@saradosa

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Sha’Carri Richardson is fast. Really, really, really fast. At the 2021 U.S. Olympic trials, Sha’Carri, only 21 at the time, ran the 100-meter finals in 10.84 seconds, more than a tenth of a second faster than her closest competitor. In “Sub Eleven Seconds”, his artfully crafted documentary portrait of this superstar athlete at a moment of peak performance, the director Bafic captures Sha’Carri’s split-second athletic brilliance, refreshing honesty and totally original style.

As part of our focus on NextGen filmmakers — up-and-coming talents in the documentary world — “Top Docs” is pleased to be partnering with the 28th Palm Springs International ShortFest  (June 21 – 27) to feature several filmmakers with outstanding documentary shorts in this year’s festival. In this episode, Ken and Bafic explore a wide range of filmmaking topics, from the lessons the filmmaker gleaned from Francis Ford Coppola about identifying the core idea of one’s film (in this case, time itself); to Errol Morris’s famous interviewing device, the Interrotron; and the huge influence of the Texas-based music genre “chopped and screwed” on the film’s most critical sequence. “Sub Eleven Seconds” screened as part of the ShortFest documentary shorts block called “Truth Be Told”.

Check out the film at NewYorker.com or YouTube and then take the time to listen to our podcast.

Hidden Gem: Lock Off by Akwasi Poku.

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@BAFIC

@topdocspod

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  Listen to our recent conversations with directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Rory Kennedy on "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing"
• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"

In a small town in India, a cow vigilante group seeks to recruit teenage boys to join its ranks. Who are these so-called cow vigilantes and how are they using the welfare of the cow, which is sacred to India’s majority Hindu population, to fan the flames of nationalist extremism? In Varun Chopra’s fascinating, multifaceted and provocative new short documentary “Holy Cowboys”, the filmmaker follows Gopal and his friends as they come under the powerful influence of one such group that, in the name of protecting cows, espouses violence against those, including Muslims, who do not share their beliefs and practices.

As part of our focus on NextGen filmmakers — up-and-coming talents in the documentary world — “Top Docs” is pleased to be partnering with the 28th Palm Springs International ShortFest (June 21 – 27) to feature several filmmakers with outstanding documentary shorts in this year’s festival. In this episode, Ken talks to Varun about his nuanced, inventive portrait of Gopal and the larger cultural, political and economic context surrounding his story.

“Holy Cowboys” is part of the documentary shorts block called “Higher Ground” screening Saturday, June 26th at 10:00 AM at the Camelot Theatres, Palm Springs. For more information about ShortFest and “Holy Cowboys”, please go to: https://psfilmfest.org/2022-shortfest

Short doc recommendation: “A Broken House” by Jimmy Goldblum

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  Listen to our recent conversations with directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Rory Kennedy on "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing"
• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"

Like a freshly sculpted work of clay, director Rebeca Huntt’s stunning documentary debut BEBA captures in real-time her family’s fluid interpersonal dynamics; the complicated legacies of inherited national, ethnic and racial identity; and her own brewing caldron of coming-of-age dramatics. To call it a “personal film” is both a wild understatement and a reductive miscalculation: “BEBA”, for all its personal complexities, is a profound spiritual quest intended to stir existential questions in the audience and provoke a deep dialogue. Shot in vivid and pulsating 16mm film, “BEBA” is also a feast for the senses and a fever dream for the imagination. In short, it is a film to be reckoned with — and not to be missed.

Fresh off the film’s Tribeca Film Festival screening in her hometown of New York City, which plays a starring role in the film, Rebeca shares with Ken her searching personal journey and eight-year creative quest to bring “BEBA” to life. What was the “meta” experience like of making a film about her life, while at the same time living in the day-to-day? How did the probing interviews that she conducted with her family reveal fascinating truths, but also bring simmering tensions to the surface? Why was film the perfect medium to express everything that she was experiencing and wanted to convey? Join us as Rebeca sheds light on “BEBA”, both the film and the person, two powerful creative forces in the universe.

“BEBA” is being released in theaters by NEON starting on June 24th.

Hidden Gem: “Finding Christa”, “Suzanne, Suzanne”; both by Camille Billops

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@filmbeba

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  Listen to our recent conversations with directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Rory Kennedy on "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing"
• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"

A phone call between mother and daughter. A bad dream. Home movies. Seems simple, yet Ash Goh Hua’s short documentary “The Feeling of Being Close to You” expertly navigates physical and emotional space to provide a compelling, affecting story of attempted reconciliation.

“The Feeling of Being Close to You” will play at the The Palm Springs International ShortFest as part of the “In Search of Lost Time” series on Thursday, June 23rd 2PM, at the Camelot Theatres (Palm Springs Cultural Center).  We are delighted to be partnering with Shortfest to promote promising NextGen filmmakers. And if you can’t make it to Palm Springs, on June 25th it will play Brooklyn’s BAM CinemaFest.

Hidden Gem:  Learning Tagalog with Kayla

Follow on Twitter: @topdocspod

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  Listen to our recent conversations with directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix:

• Rory Kennedy on "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing"
• Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"
• Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"

Hollyn and Colie are range riders. Every day during the summer, these highly skilled hired hands ride their horses across the remote, rugged Idaho mountains, pushing cows across sky-high ridges to their final destination. It’s hard work for low pay, but the rewards are plentiful: the thrill of the open range, the symbiotic relationship with their animals, and, not least of all, the close bond of friendship with each other. In her magical new documentary “Bitterbrush”, Emmy®, Peabody and Sundance Award-winning filmmaker Emelie Mahdavian (producer/writer/editor, “Midnight Traveler”) poetically and precisely captures the sights, sounds and timeless rhythms of this fiercely beautiful landscape. She also shows us, as few have before, the mutual love and support (and humor) that can happen between two women who care for each other as much as the land that will always be home.

Joining Ken for a wide-ranging conversation, Emelie describes how, living in this part of Idaho herself, she came to meet Hollyn and Colie and embark on this unique cinematic journey. In what ways did she avoid the clichés and tropes of the Western genre to forge her own narrative path? How did she and her cinematographers develop the right camera rigs to shoot images both awe-inspiring and intimate in such a challenging environment? And how did a magnetic 12-minute scene reveal as much to Colie about herself as it did to those watching? Saddle up and come along for this fascinating conversational ride.

“Bitterbrush” is being released in theaters by Magnolia Pictures starting on June 17th.

Hidden Gem: 

Listening to Kenny G

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@bitterbrushdoc

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.  Listen to our recent conversations with directors whose documentaries are currently on Netflix.

Rory Kennedy on "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing"

Andrew Rossi on "The Andy Warhol Diaries"

Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah on "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"

As part of our focus on NextGen filmmakers — up-and-coming talents in the documentary world — “Top Docs” is pleased to be partnering with the 28th Palm Springs International ShortFest (June 21 – 27) to feature several filmmakers with outstanding documentary shorts in this year’s festival.

In this episode, Ken talks to Pavel Mozhar, director of the IDFA-award-winning short documentary “Handbook”, a chilling exposé of the mass arrest and torture of protestors in the filmmaker’s native country of Belarus. Pavel, who now lives and goes to film school in Berlin, takes a unique, genre-bending approach to documenting the Lukashenko regime’s brutal and highly systematized tactics used against its own citizens following the presidential election in August 2020.

“Handbook”, which has its North American premiere at ShortFest, is part of the documentary shorts block called “A Dose of Reality” screening Saturday, June 25th at 10:00 AM at the Camelot Theatres, Palm Springs. For more information about ShortFest and “Handbook”, please go to: https://psfilmfest.org/2022-shortfest

Short doc recommendation from Pavel:

“89MM from Europe” by Marcel Łoziński

Follow us on twitter:  @topdocspod

What more can be said about Andy Warhol? Campbell’s Soup. Marilyn Monroe. Pop Art. The Factory. Fright wig. 15 minutes. Connect the dots and you feel pretty confident in your short-hand knowledge of who Warhol was and his place in modern art and contemporary culture. But, as much as Andy Warhol is a household name when it comes to 1960’s celebrity icons, not a lot is known about Warhol’s interior life or his intimate relationships. Using Warhol’s diaries (published just two years after his death) as a springboard, Emmy Award®-nominated filmmaker Andrew Rossi (“Page One: Inside the New York Times”, “Ivory Tower”) takes aim at those parts of Warhol’s life and career that are far less familiar to us. The result, Rossi’s sprawling new, must-see six-part Netflix series “The Andy Warhol Diaries”, is a fascinating portrait of the man who stated his desire to be “like a machine,” but, in reality, was a deeply emotional person whose intimate relationships and vulnerabilities reveal much about who he was and offer valuable insights into the enduring brilliance of his art.

How did Rossi use new A.I. technology, and the skills of actor Bill Irwin, to create a chillingly lifelike version of Warhol’s voice? Who were Jed Johnson and Jon Gould, and in what ways do these men unlock the key to understanding Warhol’s emotional life? Why was it so important to Rossi to explicate Warhol’s diaries as a seminal queer text? How did Warhol’s complicated relationship with the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat lead to one of the most creatively fruitful collaborations in the history of modern art? The truth is Andy Warhol was famous for a lot longer than 15 minutes. But now — thanks to Andrew Rossi’s masterful, exhaustively researched and richly-layered series — we have a window into the off-screen Warhol. It turns out that all the things that he was not famous for give us a whole new perspective on the artist and the man.

Now on Netflix

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@a_rossi

@topdocspod

An expat journalist reflects on the recent revolutions that have transformed her native Ukraine. A filmmaker, looking for spiritual advice, goes to a secretive Buddhist monastery in Kyoto. A mother grieves for her young son and seeks answers about why childhood drownings are shockingly common. A young dancer finds her way back to performing after experiencing a life-changing swimming accident. What do these four compelling films have in common? The answer: in each case, a first-time feature documentary director shares a deeply personal point of view that can only be fully explored by turning the camera on him or herself. They are also the four films featured in “Top Docs”’ first live, in-person event, a lively, illuminating and emotional panel discussion called “In the Frame: The Art of Personal Documentary”.

On Saturday, May 14, at the recently concluded 41st Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, “Top Docs” brought together filmmakers Katya Soldak (“The Long Breakup”), Ahsen Nadeem (“Crows Are White”), Chezik Tsunoda (“Drowning in Silence”), and Kelsey Peterson and Daniel Klein (“Move Me”), whose films were screening at the festival. Moderated by Ken, the panel delved into such questions as: What brought you to the critical creative moment when you decided to go on camera? What makes a personal documentary different from other modes of documentary storytelling? How did you navigate the sensitive issue of whether to film your friends and family? And where did you find the courage to excavate your own archive of home movie footage even if that meant potentially reliving personal trauma? It’s a remarkably frank conversation with four filmmakers just stepping onto the feature documentary stage, and one that we know you won’t want to miss.

“In the Frame” is the first in a series of “Top Docs” podcast events that spotlights the next-gen wave of up-and-coming documentary filmmakers. Stay tuned for more next-gen interviews as part of our partnership with the Palm Springs International ShortFest, which takes place June 21 – 27 in Palm Springs, CA. See https://psfilmfest.org/2022-shortfest for more details about ShortFest.

“If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going” was a phrase uttered by generations of pilots in reference to the storied Seattle-based company that was virtually synonymous with American engineering know-how. But, in 2018, a practically brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft crashed soon after takeoff in Indonesia, followed five months later by a second 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia. All told, between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights, 346 people were killed. And Boeing’s reputation lay in tatters. In her searing new Netflix documentary “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing”, Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy (“Last Days in Vietnam”, “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”) sets out to examine not only how and why these planes went down, but to explain the crash of Boeing itself.

Rory joins Mike and Ken on “Top Docs” to talk about her collaboration with former Wall Street Journal reporter Andy Pasztor who doggedly investigated Boeing. Why was he a perfect guide for telling this story? In what ways did the family members of those who died in the crashes prove to be among the most articulate and knowledgeable voices about the crashes? What was the one condition that Garima Sethi, the widow of the Lion Air pilot, put on doing an interview with Rory, and how did Rory convince her that this was, indeed, the one thing that she had to talk about? How did Rep. Peter DeFazio help break open the “case against Boeing”? After all this, would Rory herself set foot on a 737 MAX today? You’ll want to stay tuned to the end of the podcast to find out. The answer may change how you feel about the next flight you take.

“Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” is currently streaming on Netflix.

Hidden Gem:  Moon Age Daydream

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@roryekennedy

@topdocspod

Long before Kanye West became one of the most famous people on the planet, he was a 19-year-old up-and-coming producer of beats trying to make a name for himself in the local Chicago rap scene. Enter comedian Coodie Simmons, host of a local cable access show, who — taking inspiration from the landmark documentary “Hoop Dreams” — decided to turn his camera full-time on Kanye, sensing the young rapper had what it took to make it big. Now, 24 years and over 300 hours of footage later, Kanye is a household name and Coodie’s dreams for creating an epic documentary have also come true. Directed by Coodie and his longtime collaborator Chike Ozah, the new three-part Netflix docuseries, “jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy” is an unprecedented, longitudinal portrait of a huge global superstar that tracks, in real-time, Kanye West’s rise to — and struggles with — fame.

Joining Ken for a wide-ranging conversation about their remarkably intimate and beautifully crafted documentary, the captivating duo of Coodie & Chike (“Benji”, “A Kid from Coney Island”) take us on the long, winding journey that led from the streets of Chicago into the recording studios of New York City and LA, and, eventually, as Kanye became a global phenomenon, to such places as the Dominican Republic and China. What is it like to have Kanye’s mother embrace you as a member of her own family — and then to have to face the wrenching task of putting together a memorial video of her life when she dies suddenly just a few years later? How does one make the hard decision, after filming one’s “young brother” for decades, that, in certain uncomfortable situations, turning off the camera may be the right call? And, ever the comedian, why did Coodie think the comedic device of the “callback” would be the perfect way to make Kanye West’s retainer (yes, the budding rap star wore a retainer) one of the film’s most memorable recurring bits? As Coodie says in the documentary, “Everything happens for a reason.”

“jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy” is currently streaming on Netflix.

Hidden Gems:

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling

The Gods Must Be Crazy

In “Sirens”, Rita Baghdadi (“My Country No More”, “City Rising”) joins to Mike to discuss her portrayal of the all-women Lebanese heavy metal band Slave to Sirens, with a focus on Sherry, the virtuosic lead guitarist, and Lilas, the rhythm guitarist who is the charismatic center of the band.  As much a coming of age story as a rock doc, “Sirens” explores not only their music, but the lives, relationships, and loves of their young lives.  In this highly layered film, the backdrop is the revolutionary Beirut of 2019 and beyond, and the impact of that country’s ever-hopeful and ever-tragic fate can be felt in their views of the past, present, and future.

Hidden Gem: 

Fraud

“Sirens” screenings at the Minneapolis Saint Paul International Film Festival

Friday, May 13 | 9:45 PM | The Main

Wednesday, May 18 | 7:00 PM | The Main

For more information about the Festival, go to: https://mspfilm.org/festivals/mspiff/ 

“He's not a dusty antique from the past; he's the beginning of now”  That’s how Marc Shaffer describes the subject of his film, Exposing Muybridge.  Mike and Marc explore the strange and varied career of Eadweard Muybridge (just one of the many versions of the name he gave himself over the years).  Born in Britain, he moved to New York to sell books, and then to San Francisco to become an early photographer of the American West as well as its native inhabitants.  He then had the fortune (both good and mis-) to garner Leland Stanford, rail tycoon and Californian politician, as a patron.  He started with photographs of Stanford’s family, but then moved on to the series of pictures that would make him a known worldwide:  Proving the long-argued notion that at some point in full gallop, all 4 of a horse's hooves leave the ground. 

Disavowed by Leland Stanford just as he was about to be honored by the Royal Society of his home country, Muybridge returned to America and supported by the likes of painter Thomas Eakins, took up residency at The University of Pennsylvania.  Here he continued his motion studies, but as Shaffer and his experts demonstrate, in a manner that revealed as much about the mores and prejudices of his day as they do about the nature of motion.

Aided by the exemplary explanatory mode of none other than Muybridge fan and collector Gary Oldman, Schaffer reveals much about Muybridge’s life, technique, and art.  And he demonstrates the impact on our culture from Francis Bacon, to The Matrix, to Jordan Peele.

“Exposing Muybridge” screenings at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival

• Monday, May 9 | 4:40 PM | The Main
• Tuesday, May 10 | 1:45 PM | The Main
• Friday, May 13 | 1:50 PM | The Main

For more information about the Festival, go to: https://mspfilm.org/festivals/mspiff/

Hidden Gem:

Hearts of Darkness

In 1976, a curator at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnography discovered a long-forgotten item stored away in the museum’s collection: a series of stark but stirring daguerreotypes taken in 1850 that are believed to be the oldest photographs of enslaved Africans in the U.S. While the discovery made headlines across the country, they did not prompt a serious inquiry by Harvard to find out more about the photographic subjects, who included a man called Renty and his daughter Delia. David Grubin’s soul-searching documentary “Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard” reveals the story behind the people in the photographs and the long, heroic quest of Tamara Lanier, Renty’s great great great granddaughter, to convince Harvard to turn over what she considers to be her family pictures.

Joining Ken to talk about “Free Renty”, director David Grubin describes how this film journey began with a conversation with his cousin Michael Koskoff, one of Tammy’s lawyers in her lawsuit against Harvard. How did Tammy also get Benjamin Crump, one of the nation’s most prominent civil rights attorneys, to take on the case? What happened to make the legal team, all of a sudden, pivot from avoiding the word “reparations” in its legal argument to embracing the term with gusto? And how did the plot thicken when Tammy came face-to-face with the descendants of Louis Agassiz, the renowned but racist Harvard professor who originally commissioned the daguerreotypes? Whatever the legal case’s ultimate outcome, this eloquent documentary makes it clear that, by telling Papa Renty’s story, Tammy has finally given voice to her enslaved ancestors and re-claimed the true power and the humanity behind these cruel images.

Our Top Docs conversation with David Grubin is part of our partnership with the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (May 5 – 19, 2022) to spotlight the more than 40 documentary feature films screening at this year’s festival.

“Free Renty Lanier v. Harvard” screenings at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival:

• Sunday, May 15, 4:00 PM CT, Capri Theater, Minneapolis
• Wednesday, May 18, 2:00 PM CT, MSP Film at the Main (formerly the St. Anthony Main Theatre), Minneapolis

David Grubin will be attending both screenings.

The film is also available to be screened virtually during the Festival and is accessible throughout the U.S.

For more information about the Festival, go to: https://mspfilm.org/festivals/mspiff/

Hidden Gem:  

Listening to Kenny G

While over the decades, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has periodically been front page news in America, for the most part, the issue has not taken center stage in U.S. politics. But what if it turned out that, unbeknownst to the vast majority of Americans, state legislatures throughout the country have been approving bills that not only took a stand on the conflict, but actually penalized some Americans for expressing an opinion on the issue? In her revelatory and thoroughly gripping documentary “Boycott”, director Julia Bacha has uncovered a widespread and deeply disturbing effort over the last several years to punish individuals or companies that support the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) Movement against Israel — or even refuse to sign an oath stating that they have not participated in any such boycotts.

Ken sat down with Julia to find out more about this vastly under-reported and troubling story and to hear about the creative challenges involved in reaching audiences that may not have heard much — or anything — about the issue. What drew her to the three central characters in the film and their uphill legal challenges to the law? How did she react, when, suddenly, out of the blue, she ran into an Arkansas state senator who had some surprising revelations to share about his vote on the state’s anti-BDS measure? How did Julia connect the dots between the Israeli government, the U.S. Christian fundamentalist movement and the Democratic and Republican Parties? As the facts pile up and the revelations keep coming, it becomes clear that the issues raised by “Boycott” are sure to make us stand up and pay attention. Nothing less than the First Amendment is at stake.

Our Top Docs conversation with Julia Bacha is part of our partnership with the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (May 5 – 19, 2022) to spotlight the more than 40 documentary feature films screening at this year’s festival.

Information about the “Boycott” screenings at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival:

“Boycott” screens in-person at The MSP Film at The Main Theatre in Minneapolis:

Wednesday, May 18, 6:30 PM CT, The Main 2

Thursday, May 19, 12:30 PM CT, The Main 2

Julia Bacha will be attending both screenings.

For residents of Minnesota only, the film also can be screened virtually during the Festival.

More information about the screenings can be found here.

Hidden Gem:

Elena

In this installment of Anatomy of a Scene, “Ailey” director Jamila Wignot describes the creative process behind a key sequence in her remarkable portrait of American dance legend Alvin Ailey. After building his hugely successful dance company from scratch, Ailey felt an ever-increasing amount of pressure and eventually broke down. Jamila and her team, guided by Ailey’s point of view, figured out how to “mirror and imagine” Ailey’s overwhelming sense of disorientation during this crisis. Creating a montage of clips of New York City culled from the avant-garde films of Jonas Mekas, Jamila and her editors play with time – speeding things up, slowing them down, running shots in reverse. Added to that are layers of sound and music in rhythm with Ailey’s own recorded words. Cut together very early on, the sequence helped the filmmakers to “arrive at the language of the film,” which they would then “carry through, in all parts of the film.”

Note: We recommend that, if possible, you follow along with us. The scene takes place from 1:12:07 – 1:14:47, timed from the beginning of the movie. “Ailey” is available for streaming on Hulu.

To listen to our previous conversation with Jamila about “Ailey”, check out the episode on Top Docs.

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In this powerful Anatomy of a Scene featurette, “Attica” director Stanley Nelson, recently awarded the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary, focuses on a climactic sequence near the end of the Oscar-nominated film. Stanley takes us inside the prison yard at Attica after authorities have re-taken control of the yard and proceed to systematically humiliate, torture, and exact revenge against the prisoners and their leaders. He discusses the thinking behind individual shot selection, the impact of having the composer write one continuous piece of music in different movements, when to use talking heads vs. voice over and the potentially controversial decision not to blur photos or only show prisoners from the waist up when they are paraded completely nude through the prison grounds.

Note: We recommend that, if possible, you follow along with us. The scene takes place from 1:41:13 – 1:46:47, timed from the beginning of the movie. “Attica” is available for streaming on Showtime and on Amazon Prime.

To listen to our previous discussion with Stanley about Attica.

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It starts like a modern day fairy tale:  from the cotton fields of Mississippi, to three national collegiate championships, to scoring the first basket in Olympic history.  But despite all her plaudits, when all that had passed, Lusia Mae (Lucy) Harrison felt she could pursue the game no further.  In his Oscar-nominated short, “The Queen of Basketball,” director Ben Proudfoot (nominated just last year for “A Concerto is a Conversation”) puts Lucy front and center to tell her own story, while he skillfully illustrates it with both a compelling contemporary portrait as well as well-chosen archival footage.  It’s a story of pride–both for her career and her for her family of 4 outstanding children–but also one of athletic potential halted in its path.  

Join Mike as he and Ben explore the history behind both Lucy’s life and women’s basketball, as well as the choices Ben made in creating this engaging film. And then watch “The Queen of Basketball” on the New York Times site or on YouTube!

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After a series of highly improbable coincidences, filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt (“The Smell of Burning Ants”) finds himself back in his old elementary schoolyard making a film about a bullying incident from 50 years ago. Building on Jay’s own hazy recollections and those of his former 5th grade classmates, “When We Were Bullies” brilliantly pieces together a highly personal story that masterfully evokes universal themes and excavates a shared emotional terrain.

Ken recently spoke with Jay on “Top Docs” to discuss how he landed upon just the right animation technique to tell the story, what it was like for him to meet up decades later with his former 5th grade teacher, and how Jay, unexpectedly, came to connect the bullying incident with a separate personal trauma that he had tried to keep hidden from his classmates. A thoroughly original and deeply touching film, “When We Were Bullies” is one of five documentary shorts nominated for this year’s Oscar for Best Documentary Short.

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Now that the five Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature have been chosen, the final countdown to see who will win the coveted statuette is underway! Variety’s Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis, who’s been following the race closely for months, joins Top Docs to discuss each of the nominee’s’ chances, handicaps the race (as of the taping date!), and offers his own early prediction for a winner. He also addresses how the Academy’s Documentary Branch, which chooses the five nominees, differs from the general Academy voters, who control the fate of the nominees. And don’t forget the shorts! Clayton sounds off about how he'd like the Academy to step up when it comes to promoting the Oscar-nominated shorts.

Clayton Davis is Variety’s Film Awards Editor. He is also one of the hosts of the "Variety Awards Circuit Podcast" and the video web series, "The Take." He's been an awards, film and television analyst and critic for more than 15 years and has co-hosted the Oscars Pre-Show on ABC. Clayton is also co-founder and president of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association and is a board and active member of the Critics Choice Association.

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Hidden Gem:  Who We Are

Nostalgia isn't all bad.  That’s one of the themes of our conversation with Lisa Hurwitz, director of “The Automat”, which charts the rise and fall of a uniquely American institution–though one with surprising roots in Northern Europe.  Despite what you might have seen in the pictures, The Automat was more than brass, nickels, and glass windows.  It was an inclusive, and for many, magical place, one from which luminaries such as Colin Powell, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Howard Schultz drew important personal and professional lessons.  Find out what advice Mel Brooks gave Lisa–and check out the film to hear him sing a song he composed about the Automat with a full orchestra!

"The Automat" will be shown at the Film Forum in NYC starting February 18th, as well as the Laemmle Royal, Laemmle Town Center, and Laemmle Playhouse in the LA area starting February 25th.

Screenings:  automatmovie.com

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Hidden Gem:  AKA Doc Pomus

Books Mentioned:

Trapped behind the Automat 

The Automat

We need to talk about W. Kamau Bell. The talented stand-up comic and popular CNN series host/Executive Producer (“United Shades of America”) has just made his initial foray into directing with the provocative and definitive 4-part Showtime docuseries, “We Need to Talk About Cosby”. When a cultural icon like Bill Cosby, who was once so beloved as to be referred to as “America’s Dad”, is later convicted of using his power and prestige to rape women, the need to reassess his role in society, and the space he occupies in our collective psyche, becomes imperative. But it isn’t until now, thanks to Kamau’s skillfully crafted, sensitive and brutally honest series, that this important conversation is finally beginning to take place.

In our own frank and personal Top Docs conversation with Kamau, he discusses what it meant for him to come to grips with the dark truths that have been a part of Cosby’s life for decades, but, which, until recently, were kept mostly hidden. What was it like for Kamau to approach dozens of people to participate in the documentary only to be met, time-and-again, with silence or rejection? Why was “The Cosby Show” such a powerful moment of identification for Black people in America and how did Kamau depict this in the documentary? How did Kamau and his creative team decide on a narrative approach to including the stories of the many survivors of Cosby’s abuse in such a way that portrays them as more than just victims? And, when making the film began to take a personal toll, who did Kamau turn to for support and encouragement? Join us for this vital conversation about Bill Cosby… and about us. Rest assured, there is plenty to talk about. “We Need to Talk About Cosby” can be seen now on the Showtime Network and Showtime Streaming.

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Some Documentaries that Inspired Kamau:

Surviving R. Kelly

O.J.:  Made in America

Australia is burning. And so is Greece, China, South Africa, Brazil, Congo, and even Siberia. And, of course, California is burning, more so than ever. In her eye-opening documentary “Bring Your Own Brigade”, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker (“The Crash Reel”, “Waste Land”) skillfully lays out the causes and consequences of the terrifying, apocalyptic fires that represent a global crisis burning out of control. Focusing on the twin monster fires that engulfed Northern and Southern California on November 8th, 2018, Lucy hits the road to interview a wide range of experts, first responders, fire victims and Native American tribal practitioners to learn about the history behind California’s ongoing and fraught relationship to fire.

On a recent, calm California night, Ken spoke with Lucy about her vow to “get to the bottom” of why these horrific fires keep happening. Why did she decide, for the first time, to put herself in her own movie? As her thorough inquiry unfolded, in what ways were Lucy’s assumptions about the relationship between climate change and fire challenged? And, as desperate as this situation is, why does she believe that something can be done to help prevent these catastrophes in the future? You’ll learn a lot from this episode of Top Docs and maybe even experience a spark of something called “hope”.

“Bring Your Own Brigade” can be streamed for free at CBSNews.com.

Hidden Gems:

Streetwise

The Farm

Alvin Ailey is alive and well. That is the lasting impression one gets from “Ailey”, filmmaker Jamila Wignot’s vibrant and probing documentary portrait of one of the 20th Century’s greatest artists, the late dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey. Ailey’s masterworks are still performed throughout the world. The dance company he founded more that 60 years ago, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, continues to thrive. But who was Alvin Ailey? What drove him? What tormented him? How did he loom so large for countless dancers but remain largely an enigma as a man? 

In Ken’s deep dive “Top Docs” conversation with Jamila, she discusses the many challenges involved in understanding and visually representing Ailey’s life and legacy. How did she avoid the tropes and traps of the standard documentary portrait? How did she use archival footage in such a way to create a constant sense of movement? What did Bill T. Jones, a dance legend in his own right, say once the camera was turned off? And what were the keys to creating a film that would put the audience in “(Ailey’s) body so that you would be experiencing his life as he experienced it”? Experience our conversation with Jamila on Top Docs now and stream “Ailey”, which is part of PBS’ American Masters series, for free until February 8th at PBS.org.

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Jamila @jamilawignot

Top Docs @topdocspod

Hidden Gem:  Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

Jessica Kingdon’s stunning feature documentary debut, the Oscar-shortlisted “Ascension”, is an enthralling, immersive journey into the heart and soul of today’s People’s Republic of China. With her unerring ability to capture small details and depict epic scale, Jessica gives us a privileged tour of the so-called “Chinese dream” at the center of China’s propulsive economy. Illuminating, awe-inspiring — and, at times, quite funny — “Ascension identifies singular moments of poetry in everyday life and elevates them to high art.

Joining Ken to talk about the film, Jessica describes how she gained inspiration from her great-grandfather’s poem that begins and ends the film. With seemingly endless possibilities to choose from, how did she identify and gain access to the wide range of locations that enliven the film? What was it like shooting at the sex doll factory depicted in the film (spoiler: it was even crazier in person)? And what were some of the scenes that didn’t make it into the film, such as the emotional graduation ceremony for the international butler academy? “Ascension” is not only a remarkable film but an apt description of Jessica’s fast rise to join the top tier of documentary filmmakers. Watch the film on Paramount+ and listen to the podcast to find out for yourself.  

Hidden Gems:

Acasa, My Home

China’s Van Goghs

In her searing Oscar-shortlisted HBO Documentary “In the Same Breath”, award-winning filmmaker Nanfu Wang challenges both the Chinese and U.S. governments’ initial responses to the pandemic. As she did in her previous film, the devastating “One Child Nation”, Nanfu relentlessly questions government authority and gives voice to those who insist on telling the truth, even at the risk of heavy personal cost.

Ken sat down with Nanfu to talk about this incredibly powerful film, which combines reporting, internet sleuthing and compelling personal narratives to re-examine the critical early period of the pandemic. What if we could roll back the clock and have a “re-do” on the first days and weeks of the pandemic? What if the Chinese government hadn’t silenced those who called attention to the first Covid cases? How did incorrect information from some in the U.S. government do us harm? As someone who grew up in China and now calls the U.S. home, Nanfu has an insightful perspective on both countries. Not only does she insist on asking the hard questions, but manages to show us the possibilities for a better world. “In the Same Breath” is now streaming on HBO Max.

Hidden Gem:  Black Sun

Focussing on the issue in San Francisco, LA, and Seattle, “Lead Me Home” manages to give a sense of the tremendous scope of homelessness on the West Coast of America, while still exploring the individual complexities of the lives of those who find themselves–often “step by step”--in this situation.  Directors Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk take an unflinching look at the challenges the unsheltered face, while allowing for the community, joy, and even love they discover as well.  When Coldplay’s “Midnight” kicks in half way through, you may be surprised, but you’ll soon see how Kos and Shenk demonstrate  what connects all of us who inhabit America’s great, yet troubled, cities.  Now streaming on Netflix.

Our previous shows with Pedro:

Rebel Hearts

Anatomy of a Scene from “Rebel Hearts”

Shortlisted for the Oscars, "Audible"–a short by Matt Ogens–explores the life of graduating high school football star Amaree McKenstry, a life not unlike that of any other teenager with teammates, family, friends, an on-and-off girlfriend, and the rigors of the gridiron.  But a life also marked by the unique culture that defines Maryland School for the Deaf.  Having–after years of winning–suffered a rare defeat, Amaree and his teammates must prepare for the big homecoming game while they face the challenges that will greet them when they leave what their coach calls “the bubble” of the school and face the hearing world.  “Audible” is now streaming on Netflix.

At the height of WWII, a group of young Jewish refugees is sent to a secret POW camp near Washington D.C. The refugees soon discover that the prisoners are none other than Hitler’s top scientists. In a bitter twist of fate, it is the refugees’ job to ensure that the German prisoners will aid their new country in the coming Cold War. Finally, after decades of being classified, this stranger-than-fiction story has now come to light in “Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazi’s”, a chilling new Netflix documentary by filmmakers Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan (“The Devil Next Door”, “The Oslo Diaries”). Joining Ken from her home in Tel Aviv, Mor describes how she and Daniel learned about this fascinating and deeply troubling story, illuminates their creative process, and contemplates the myriad moral dilemmas raised by the film. “Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazis” is one of 15 shorts named to the Oscar Shortlist and can be streamed on Netflix.

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson joins us to talk about his Oscar-shortlisted “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)”.  In the summer of 1969, a music festival took place in New York that attracted over 300,000 people. Featuring some of the most incredible artists of that — or any — era, it caught the cultural wave of the moment. No, it wasn’t Woodstock. And, until very recently, practically nobody knew it ever took place. Featuring stunning, previously unseen archival performance footage and incorporating an array of enthralling interviews, game-changing debut documentary “Summer of Soul” is a joyful celebration of the Harlem Cultural Festival and a long-delayed corrective to an egregious example of Black erasure. Winner of both the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best U.S. Documentary. “Summer of Love” is Oscar shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature. Currently available for streaming on Hulu.