The Dangerous Art of the Documentary

Orlando von Einsiedel (Cycle of Love)

Friend of the show and Oscar winning director Orlando von Einsiedel returns to the podcast to discuss his latest masterpiece, “Cycle of Love”, an inspiring, epic true-lif

Maite Alberdi (A Child of My Own)

Director Maite Alberdi latest genre-bending film “A Child of My Own” blends narrative and nonfiction filmmaking to tell the wild true story of a woman who pretended to be

Sara Dosa & Andri Magnason (Time and Water)

Director Sara Dosa’s latest film “Time and Water” follows Icelandic writer and poet Andri Magnason as he reflects on melting glaciers and his family's history. It premier

Joshua Seftel (All The Empty Rooms)

Director Joshua Seftel’s Oscar-winning short documentary “All The Empty Rooms” follows veteran CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they emba

Isabel Castro (Selena y Los Dinos)

Director Isabel Castro’s latest Netflix documentary “Selena y Los Dinos”, featuring never-before-seen footage and intimate interviews, celebrates the life and legacy of i

Felipe Bustos Sierra (Everybody to Kenmure Street)

Director’s Felipe Bustos Sierra’s latest film, “Everybody to Kenmure Street”, which chronicles the resistance to an immigration raid in Glasgow in 2021, is a brilliant an

Lindsay Utz & Michelle Walshe (Prime Minister)

Co-directors Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe’s documentary “Prime Minister”, which premiered at Sundance to critical acclaim, chronicles Jacinda Ardern’s unexpected journ

Filip Hammar (The Last Journey)

In the charming, heartfelt documentary “The Last Journey”, Swedish TV personality Filip Hammar embarks on a cross-country road trip with his ailing father with the goal o

David Terry Fine (Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam | Netflix)

David Terry Fine’s Netflix documentary “Dirty Pop” tells the story of Lou Pearlman, the architect of the modern boy band era and the extraordinary web of lies, deceit, ex

Gianfranco Rosi (Pompei: Below the Clouds)

Italian master Gianfranco Rosi makes some of the most ravishing big-screen nonfiction films you will find. His latest, “Pompei: Below the Clouds”, a black-and-white maste

Julia Loktev (My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow)

Soviet-born filmmaker Julia Loktev came to Moscow in 2021 to make a film about independent journalists being declared “foreign agents” by Putin’s regime. Her film “My Und

David Borenstein (Mr. Nobody Against Putin)

Director David Borenstein’s latest documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” is nominated for Best Documentary Feature in the 2026 Academy Awards. It follows a Russian teach

Isaac Gale (Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted)

Director Isaac Gale’s film “Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted” follows cult musician Swamp Dogg, alongside housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty, as they turn their home i

Tony Zierra (Filmworker)

Director Tony Zierra’s 2017 film “Filmworker” tells the story of Leon Vitali, who surrendered his promising acting career to become Stanley Kubrick’s devoted acolyte. In

Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman (The Alabama Solution | HBO Max)

Directors Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman take viewers deep inside one of the nation’s deadliest prison systems in their latest film “The Alabama Solution”, where in

Geeta Gandbhir (The Perfect Neighbor | Netflix)

Director Geeta Gandbhir’s new film "The Perfect Neighbor" is largely made up of police bodycam footage, tracking the events of a seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in F

Chai Vasarhelyi & Lynsey Addario (Love+War | National Geographic)

Pulitzer Prize-winning Lynsey Addario has risked her life to capture the stark realities of war — from the Middle East and Afghanistan to Ukraine. From National Geographi

Gabe Polsky (The Man Who Saves the World? | In Theaters)

Director Gabe Polsky’s new documentary “The Man Who Saves the World?” tells the story of Patrick McCollum, a spiritual leader living in Moraga, California. The twist is t

Rebecca Miller (Mr. Scorsese | Apple TV+)

Director Rebecca Miller’s latest five-hour docuseries profiles America’s greatest living director, Martin Scorsese. She talks to Tiller about how she framed her pitch to

Abel Ferrara (Turn in the Wound)

Legendary director Abel Ferrara’s latest film, “Turn in the Wound”, explores human conflict and the search for peace and balance through the music and words of Patti Smit