Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

The Sundance Film Festival remains a hot spot for launching documentary films. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers got an early look at several films premiering at the festival. In Part One of the podcast, he previews prominent trends from the U.S. Documentary Competition represented by the films “Trophy”, “The Force” and “Strong Island”; and notable themes in the World Documentary Competition with films such as “Tokyo Idols”, “The Worker’s Cup” and “In Loco Parentis”. In Part Two, Powers interviews the sales agent Josh Braun who runs Submarine Entertainment with his twin brother Dan. In his role as producer’s rep, Josh has played an instrumental role in negotiating the distribution deals of past Sundance hits such as “Man on Wire”, “Searching for Sugar Man”, and “20 Feet from Stardom” that all went on to win Oscars. He shares the stories behind those deals. Josh took a circuitous route to his job. He talks about his early career playing music with his brother Dan in New York bands such as Circus Mort, the Del Byzanteens (with lead singer Jim Jarmusch), and Deep Six. He also discusses how he recorded a demo with Madonna in the early 1980s and what led him to into the documentary world. At this year’s Sundance, Submarine brings a full slate of documentaries including “Whose Streets”, “Chasing Coral”, “Nobody Speaks”, and “Dina”. Josh also offers his insights into the current documentary marketplace. 2017 Sundance films discussed in Part 1: In Loco Parentis Machines Strong Island The Force The Worker’s Cup Tokyo Idols Trophy On Twitter: @sundancefest @thompowers @purenonfiction Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF Podcast Network

What mystery lies behind the windowless building in Manhattan at 33 Thomas Street? In the short documentary “Project X,” Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”) teams with journalist Henrik Moltke to explore the building’s secrets. The film employs the voices of actors Rami Malek and Michelle Williams reading from NSA documents in the Snowden archives. Now streaming for free on Field of Vision, “Project X” complements an article in The Intercept written by Moltke and Ryan Gallagher called “Titanpointe: The NSA’s Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight.” Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the filmmakers about their collaboration and Poitras’ work with Snowden. Watch: Project X Read: “Titanpointe: The NSA’s Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight” On Twitter: @fieldofvision @moltke @purenonfiction @thompowers This interview was conducted on November 28, 2016 at SVA’s MFA Social Documentary department. Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

Bryan Stevenson, Raoul Peck & Ezra Edelman took part in a panel titled “American Histories,” moderated by Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers. It took place at the DOC NYC festival just three days after Donald Trump was elected President. The discussion covers three films – “I Am Not Your Negro,” directed by Peck; “OJ: Made in America,” directed by Edelman; and “13th” in which Stevenson (author of the book “Just Mercy”) is interviewed by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. This conversation was a major highlight of DOC NYC, so we wanted to share it now, even though our podcast is mostly on break until Season Three begins in January. For more on these films, listen to the previous Pure Nonfiction interviews with Ezra Edelman (ep 10); Raoul Peck (ep 21); and Ava DuVernay (ep 26) that cover different areas than this panel. On Twitter: @13thfilm @eji_org @IAmNotYourNegro @ezraedelman @OJMadeInAmerica Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

Sheila Nevins is a lover and a fighter. When she joined HBO in its early years, the label “documentary” evoked something educational. She turned it into something entertaining with her passion and tenacity. In this wide ranging interview with host Thom Powers, Nevins discusses her early days working with the Maysles brothers, her forays into “Real Sex,” her acquisition of “Citizenfour,” and HBO’s upcoming documentary “Marathon: The Patriot Days Bombing.” Always outspoken, Nevins doesn’t hold back: “I’m too old to give a shit.” (Nevins photo by Brigitte Lacombe). This concludes Season Two of Pure Nonfiction. Watch for Season Three coming in January 2017. Twitter: @thesheilanevins @HBOdocs @thompowers @purenonfiction Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

Volcanoes are the focus of Werner Herzog’s new film “Into the Inferno,” now playing on Netflix. He teams with volcanologist Dr. Clive Oppenheimer (author of “Eruptions that Shook the World”) to visit volcanoes in the South Pacific, Indonesia, Iceland, North Korea and beyond. They first met at the top of Antarctica’s volcano Mt Erebus during the making of Herzog’s Oscar-nominated documentary “Encounters at the End of the World.” In this conversation with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers, Herzog talks about his new work and his earlier short film about a volcano “La Soufriere” (1977). The interview also touches upon “The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner” (1974) about a ski jumper; and Les Blank’s “The Burden of Dreams” (1982) about the making of Herzog’s fiction film “Fitzcarraldo.” Herzog also discusses his 20-year collaboration with editor Joe Bini. On Twitter: @purenonfiction @thompowers Useful Links: Werner Herzog website Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed Watch Joe Bini on Editing with Herzog at TIFF Doc Conference 2016 Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

Winner of the Berlin Film Festival’s top jury prize in 2016, “Fire at Sea” takes place on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Located near the African coast, Lampedusa is a prime destination for refugees traveling by boat. Filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi spent months filming with residents of the island and on board an Italian Navy ship rescuing migrants at sea. Praising the film in The New York Times, critic A.O. Scott wrote that “it compels you to infer a big picture from a series of extended, intimate scenes.” In 2013, Rosi’s previous film “Sacro GRA,” set in Rome, became the first documentary to ever win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Despite his European laurels, Rosi’s earlier films were scarcely seen in North America. They include “Boatman” (1993), filmed in Benares, India; “Below Sea Level” (2008), about drifters in the American desert; and “El Sicario – Room 164” (2010) about a hitman in Juarez, Mexico. In this interview with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers, Rosi talks about the making of “Fire at Sea” as well as his student days at New York University, his early projects and his friendship with the writer Charles Bowden. On Twitter: @thompowers @purenonfiction Fire at Sea

After “Super Size Me,” director Morgan Spurlock teamed with producer Jeremy Chilnick to form the production company Warrior Poets. Their latest film is “Rats,” based on the book by Robert Sullivan, conceived as a nonfiction horror movie. The film uses New York exterminator Ed Sheehan as a fountain of knowledge about vermin as it examines human encounters with rats around the world. The film had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival and debuts on Discovery Channel on October 22. In this interview with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers, Spurlock tells his origin story, recounting how “Super Size Me” was made while his company was in debt. Jumping to the present, he and Chilnick describe their ambition with “Rats” to merge the horror genre with documentary; and they discuss the contributions of cinematographer Luca Del Puppo and editor/composer Pierre Takal. The conversation also brings up another new film supported by Warrior Poets. “Eagle Huntress,” directed by Otto Bell, profiles Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl in western Mongolia, who competes in the male-dominated sport of eagle hunting. While “Rats” plays as horror, “Eagle Huntress” plays as a nonfiction fairy tale. Lastly, Powers discusses the case of documentarian Deia Schlosberg who was recently arrested in North Dakota for covering oil pipeline protests. She spent two nights in jail and was charged with three counts of conspiracy that carry a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison. Schlosberg was a producer on “How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change” directed by Josh Fox (“Gasland”). Fox has been updating Schlosberg’s case on his Facebook page. On Twitter: @MorganSpurlock @jchilnick @thompowers @purenonfiction @deiafilm @joshfoxfilm “Rats” on Discovery Channel Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

Selma director Ava DuVernay has a new documentary on Netflix called 13th. The title comes from the Constitution’s 13th amendment that abolished slavery with the loophole clause “except as a punishment for a crime.” The film explores American history to follow the path from the 13th amendment to our current criminal justice system and its impact on African Americans. DuVernay interviews a wide range of charismatic speakers including authors Michelle Alexander (The New Jim Crow), Bryan Stevenson (Just Mercy) and Van Jones (Rebuild the Dream). In this conversation with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers, DuVernay discusses how she took inspiration from other documentaries including Sam Pollard’s Slavery By Another Name and Dawn Porter’s Gideon’s Army (discussed on PN episode 2). Powers asks DuVernay about her education in politics and filmmaking, starting with her first documentary This is the Life. She talks about people who were instrumental to making 13th including her longtime editor Spencer Averick and Netflix executive Lisa Nishimura. On Twitter: @AVAETC @13thfilm @thompowers @purenonfiction Ava DuVernay website Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network. Mark your calendar for the DOC NYC festival, America’s largest documentary festival, on Nov 10-17.

Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn, the directors of “Amanda Knox,” discuss their five-year effort to bring the story to Netflix. Knox was a Seattle college student studying for a year abroad in Perugia, Italy. In 2007, her British roommate Meredith Kercher was found murdered in their apartment. Local prosecutor Giuliano Mignini accused Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito of committing the murder. The case was portrayed by tabloids as a lurid sex crime. For years, it dragged through Italian courts where Knox and Sollecito were convicted, acquitted, then re-convicted and finally acquitted for good. Blackhurst and McGinn first reached out to Knox in 2011 when her case was still in court. On Pure Nonfiction, they talk to host Thom Powers about shepherding the project as an independent production before Netflix came on board. Eventually they got to interview all the key characters along with reporter Nick Pisa who broke several headlines on the case, including information that later proved false. For years, the case has divided onlookers interpreting Knox’s behavior. McGinn describes her case as exemplifying the “Kuleshov effect” where the same image looks different depending on how it’s juxtaposed with other images. This episode was recorded at the School of Visual Arts MFA Social Documentary program On Twitter: @rodblackhurst @brimcgi @thompowers @purenonfiction Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

Laura Poitras and Michael Moore are only two of many filmmakers who have turned to the skills of cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. Now Johnson has directed her own film “Cameraperson.” It’s a kind of memoir of her past 25 years shooting documentaries. “It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before,” wrote A.O. Scott in his New York Times review. “Cameraperson” has been named to the DOC NYC Short List of the year’s most impressive documentaries. In this conversation with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers, Johnson speaks candidly about her experiences working with Poitras, Moore and other directors and the moral quandaries stirred up by her work. On Twitter: @Cameraperson16 @purenonfiction @thompowers Cameraperson Pure Nonfiction DOC NYC This interview was recorded on May 5, 2016 at the Montclair Film Festival’s Audible Lounge. Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

Jonathan Demme is receiving a retrospective this fall at the Stranger Than Fiction screening series at New York’s IFC Center. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers leads this conversation with Demme about his concert films with Talking Heads, Neil Young and Justin Timberlake. Demme shares behind the scenes details of “Stop Making Sense,” “Neil Young: Heart of Gold,” and a little bit on his newest film “Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids” that’s coming to Netflix. This interview was recorded before a live audience at TIFF Doc Conference. Earlier this year, Powers interviewed Demme about his portrait films including “The Agronomist,” “Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains,” and “I’m Carolyn Parker” on Pure Nonfiction episode 6. On Twitter: @thompowers @purenonfiction Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network. Stop Making Sense Neil Young: Heart of Gold Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids

“Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee” explores the murky history of the anti-virus software pioneer who moved to the jungle of Belize and lived out a modern Heart of Darkness. After his neighbor Greg Faull was found murdered in 2012, Belize police sought McAfee for questioning. He fled the country and returned to prominence this year when he sought the nomination to be President of the United States under the Libertarian Party. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nanette Burstein (“On the Ropes,” “The Kid Stays in the Picture”) talks with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers at the Toronto International Film Festival where “Gringo” had its world premiere. The film will debut on Showtime on September 24. On Twitter: @purenonfiction @thompowers “Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee” Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

“I Am Not Your Negro,” directed by Raoul Peck and based on the writings of James Baldwin, made the list of Rolling Stone’s “25 Movies We Can’t Wait to See” at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). This past week, the audience reception at the world premiere met those expectations. The film was acquired for distribution by Magnolia Pictures with plans to qualify for Oscar consideration. Thom Powers interviewed Peck during TIFF Doc Conference on September 13th. This episode presents an edited version of their conversation. Peck discusses how he gained access to Baldwin’s manuscript “Remember This House” that looks at three civil rights leaders – Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. The film connects their legacy to our times. On Twitter: @purenonfiction @thompowers I Am Not Your Negro

“Girl Unbound” and “Karl Marx City” are among the documentaries directed by women making their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Pure Nonfiction host and TIFF documentary programmer Thom Powers talks to both directors. In “Girl Unbound,” filmmaker Erin Heidenreich makes her feature-length debut profiling the Pakistani squash player Maria Toorpakai Wazir who has received death threats from the Taliban for being a prominent female athlete. In “Karl Marx City,” veteran director Petra Epperlein explores her family’s history in East Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, her father received letters accusing him of collaboration with the notorious Stasi secret police. Petra and collaborator Michael Tucker dig into the Stasi archives to solve the family mystery. On Twitter: @purenonfiction @thompowers @girlunboundfilm @KarlMarxCity Girl Unbound Karl Marx City Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.

“The Skyjacker’s Tale” and “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” are two new docs on crime and justice making their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Pure Nonfiction host and TIFF documentary programmer Thom Powers talks to both directors. In “The Skyjacker’s Tale,” filmmaker Jamie Kastner profiles Ishmael Muslim Ali (aka Ishmael Labeet) who was among a group of men convicted for the Fountain Valley Massacre killing of eight people on the island of St. Croix in 1972. Ali professed his innocence and twelve years later, during a prison transfer, he managed to hijack a plane to Cuba where he still lives. In “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” filmmaker Steve James (known for “Hoop Dreams” and “Life Itself”) investigates the aggressive prosecution of a bank in New York’s Chinatown. The Abacus bank was founded by the Chinese immigrant Thomas Sung. After the 2008 financial scandals, Abacus was the only bank to be prosecuted by Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr. On Twitter: @purenonfiction @thompowers @SkyjackersTale @AbacusMovie The Skyjacker’s Tale Abacus: Small Enough to Jail Pure Nonfiction is distributed by the TIFF podcast network.