Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

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”   Follow: @oxfordscientificfilms on Instagram and @oxfordsf on twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

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   Follow: @Hughes2Society on twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   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   Follow: @JamesAdolphus on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   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   Follow: @lanawilson on Instagram and twitter @brookeshields on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   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   Follow: @natgeodocs on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   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   Follow: @manaqvi on twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   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   Follow: @mstyslav.chernov on Instagram and @mstyslav9 on twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   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”   Follow: @LauraMcGann on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   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”   Follow: @filmmakerjulie on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.