Fog of Truth: A Podcast About Documentary Film

Welcome back! We kick off Season 9 with two documentaries about famous film people, starting with a group review of the biopic NATALIE WOOD: WHAT REMAINS BEHIND and then cutting to an interview with French director Gregory Monro about KUBRICK BY KUBRICK, which would have premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, had it happened. Joining us as guest cohost is critic Danielle Solzman, of Solzy at the Movies. Get ready for a profound journey into the cinematic firmament!

In this bonus episode, Bart and Chris review the new nine-part Netflix documentary series THE INNOCENCE FILES and then interview Sarah Dowland, director of the final episode.

In this bonus episode, Bart and Chris chat with Oxford Film Festival’s Melanie Addington, Ann Arbor Film Festival’s Leslie Raymond and Film Festival Alliance’s Lela Meadow-Conner We discuss the current state of film festivals in the age of COVID-19, and how the move to online screenings is mostly a net positive, at least for now, and how the future might see greater inclusion of online elements, even as we (hopefully) return to something resembling normalcy.

Elizabeth Coffman joins Bart and Chris to review Andrew Goldberg’s powerful examination of the resurgent scourge of antisemitism across the globe, the just released VIRAL: ANTISEMITISM IN FOUR MUTATIONS. Bart then interviews Allen and Cynthia Mondell, directors of the 2008 documentary THE MONSTER AMONG US, which profiled antisemitism in Europe 10 years ago. Plus ça change …

Joining Bart and Chris as guest host for a robust discussion of the three-part 2018 BBC documentary series THEY'VE GOTTA HAVE US, just recently released on Netflix, is film critic Roxana Hadadi. Then, Bart interviews director Jacqueline Olive about her film ALWAYS IN SEASON, which explores America’s tortured legacy of lynching (we previously reviewed the documentary on episode 705).

In today’s episode, guest host Leslie Combemale joins us as we review the new Taylor Swift biopic MISS AMERICANA, which just premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and is now available on Netflix. In addition, Chris interviews director Martha Shane about her documentary NARROWSBURG, a tragicomic tale of grifters bedazzling a small town with promises of Hollywood glory.

Well, the 2020 Academy Awards may have come and gone, but that’s no reason to stop watching the nominated films, even the ones that did not win. In this week’s episode, returning guest host Patricia Aufderheide joins Bart and Chris to discuss all 5 of the Oscar-nominated short documentaries, after which Chris interviews co-directors Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts (along with al-Kateab’s husband, Hamza) about their collaboration on the (also Oscar-nominated) documentary feature FOR SAMA.

In this episode, guest host Mirella Martinelli – a Brazilian filmmaker living in Florida – joins us to review Petra Costa’s Oscar-nominated THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY, which tells the disturbing tale of Brazil’s takeover by right-wing forces. After that, Bart and Chris interview prolific documentarian Alex Gibney on his latest movie, CITIZEN K, about formerly imprisoned, and now exiled, Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

In this episode, we invite back our old friend and cohost Summre Garber to talk about the documentary slate at the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival, where she is co-captain of the documentary-features program. We learn what she is up to now and hear about her favorites at this year’s fest. In addition, Bart and Chris interview the directors of two of those movies, FILM ABOUT A FATHER WHO (Lynne Sachs) and JASPER MALL (Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb). Enjoy!

In this bonus episode, cohosts Bart Weiss and Chris Reed talk with Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom), discussing his career and thoughts on the art of filmmaking. We also consider 2 different approaches to the same topic, comparing Neville’s WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? to Marielle Heller’s A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, each of which take the late, great Fred Rogers as their subject. Listen in for a vibrant conversation on documentaries and more!

In this bonus episode, cohosts Bart and Chris revisit their favorite documentaries of 2019, and then invite, each in turn, all the podcast’s Season 7 guest hosts to chat about their favorites. Those guests, in order of appearance, are: Sedika Mojadidi, Betsy McLane, Anuradha Rana, Jennifer Proctor, Sonali Gulati and Patricia Aufderheide. Given how many films Chris and Bart always watch, they each listed ten films, while each guest host only listed five. Enjoy, and see you in 2020!

We invite Patricia Aufderheide, of American University, back on the show. We discuss the role of journalism in today’s world (and how we got here), as we review the new documentary MIKE WALLCE IS HERE and interview director Yung Chang of THIS IS NOT A MOVIE, about the journalist Robert Fisk.

This week, we welcome Sonali Gulati, filmmaker and faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University, for a review of Jacqueline Olive’s look back at America’s history of lynching, ALWAYS IN SEASON. Then, Bart interviews Elizabeth Coffman, co-director of FLANNERY, a documentary about the late, great southern writer Flannery O’Connor.

This week, we welcome guest host Jennifer Proctor, filmmaker and Associate Professor of Journalism and Screen Studies at University of Michigan-Dearborn, for a robust discussion of the new documentary #FEMALEPLEASURE and its examination of female agency in the modern world, followed by an interview with Pia Hellenthal and Giorgia Malatrasi of Searching Eva, a highly stylized portrait of feminist intellectual and sex worker Eva Collé.

Joining us this week is documentarian and DePaul University professor Anuradha Rana, as we discuss Alexandre O. Philippe’s MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN and interview director Alyssa Bolsey and cinematographer Camilo Lara of BEYOND THE BOLEX. Both films deal, albeit in very different ways, with behind-the-scenes looks at the art of filmmaking. From blood-curdling chest-bursting scenes to the perfect windup, rotating-lens-turret camera, we’ve got you covered.