Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

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.   Follow: @ceciliapeck on Instagram and twitter/X @inballessner on Instagram and @inbal_lessner on twitter/X   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.   Follow: @RealRonHoward on Instagram and twitter/X @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X   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”   Follow: @andrew.jarecki on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X   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”   Follow: @AdamBhalaLough on twitter/X @samlipmanstern on Instagram and twitter/X @patrickjpespas on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X   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.   Follow: @lucywalkerfilm on Instagram and twitter/X @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X   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?   Follow: @ibrahimnsht and @shane.boris on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X   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.    Follow: @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.