Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

Continuing our coverage of Academy Award-nominated shorts, Mike speaks with Kris Bowers (previously nominated for “A Concerto is a Conversation”)  and Ben Proudfoot (an Academy-Award winner for “The Queen of Basketball”) , directors of “The Last Repair Shop”.     The film sketches the stories–both representative of the Los Angeles workforce, as well as fascinating in their own right–of 4 repair workers who fix the instruments of students from the LAUSD.  Lyrical in presentation, and symphonic in structure, the film can be seen not only as a paean to the redemptive powers of music, but a call for reconciliation in a time of deep polarization.   You can watch “The Last Repair Shop” on Disney+.   The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.   Follow: @krisbowersmusic on Instagram and twitter  @bgproudfoot on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   Hidden Gems:   The Act of Killing The Sentence of Michael Thompson

The island of Kinmen is a small island with a potentially big problem. Situated just off the coast of China, but part of Taiwan, Kinmen would likely be the first line of defense should the Chinese government decide to invade Taiwan. Emmy-nominated director S. Leo Chiang, who was born in Taiwan, worked in China and also lived for years in the U.S., explores the complex relationship between place, identity and politics in his insightful and masterfully crafted documentary short “Island in Between”.   Joining Ken on the pod, Leo and producer Jean Tsien delve into the backstory of Kinmen — a flashpoint between Taiwan, China and the U.S. going back to the Chinese Civil War —and its present day role as a tourist spot, military base and home to thousands of people who live betwixt and between. Leo and Jean also illuminate how their personal backstories of growing up in Taiwan informed the making of the film and what makes their creative partnership so special.   “Island in Between” has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. It can be streamed on The New York Times Op-Docs site.   The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.   Follow: @SLeoChiang on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

The fact that Arlo Washington, featured as the main protagonist in John Hoffman and Christine Turner’s inspiring documentary “The Barber of Little Rock”, is, indeed, a barber is almost beside the point. From owning one and then multiple barber shops, to founding the Washington Barber College and starting People Trust Credit Union, the first minority-owned financial institution in Arkansas, Arlo is a force of nature. He’s always thinking of new ways to address issues of equity in the Black community and create generational wealth.    Joining Ken on the podcast, John Hoffman describes not only Arlo’s big picture ideas but also his deep compassion for those in need and his unique ability to truly listen to others. Once Arlo mastered the arcane details of Community Development Financial Institutions, he was off-and-running, creating the only bank in a Black neighborhood that previously had none. A single bank won’t reverse decades of discrimination, but one barber has made a remarkable head start.   “The Barber of Little Rock” has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. It can be streamed on newyorker.com.   Hidden Gem: “Audible”   The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.   Follow: @story_syndicate on Instagram and @storysyndicate_ on twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

A children’s book about Rosa Parks. A graphic adaptation of “The Diary of Anne Frank”. A Pulitzer Prize-winning book by a Nobel Laureate. These are but a few of the books that have been restricted, challenged, and banned in dozens of states across the U.S. In the new documentary “The ABCs of Book Banning” (directed by Sheila Nevins, produced and co-directed by Trish Adlesic, and co-directed by Nazenet Habtezghi), the filmmakers go to the source: a fourth grade class in Jacksonville, FL to hear what the students themselves have to say about this latest wave of book banning in America.   Producer and co-director Trish Adlesic joins Ken to discuss what’s at stake in school and public libraries and why it is so critical that we listen to young people about what is being denied to them when books are taken off the shelves.   “The ABCs of Book Banning” has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. It can be streamed on Paramount +.   Hidden Gems: Trish Adlesic: “Camp Courage”, “American Symphony” Sheila Nevins: “Last Song from Kabul”, “American Symphony”   The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.   Follow: @thesheilanevins on Instagram and twitter and @trishadlesic on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Toward the end of this year’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary “Porcelain War”, one of the directors and main subjects of the film, Slava Leontyev, says, “Ukraine is like porcelain. Easy to break but impossible to destroy.” Slava, along with his wife, Anya, create beautifully crafted “porcelain beasts” that used to be their main professional focus. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Slava has served with the Ukrainian Special Forces and Anya dodges landmines in the fields near their home.   Joining Ken for a live, in-person interview at Sundance 2024, directors Slava Leontyev and Brendan Bellomo describe the unlikely circumstances that brought them together and the unique creative process that resulted in this remarkable film. Amidst the constant battle against the Russian invaders, Slava, Anya, and their friend Andrey Stevanov (the film’s DP) see a world around them that is broken, but, through the courage of their resistance, cannot be destroyed.   Thanks to Amos Cochran of Edit/Score for hosting our 2024 Sundance interviews.  Edit/Score is a new music library with an innovative approach to finding music for your film.   Listen to the library and learn more at editscoremusic.com    The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.   Follow: @brendanbellomo and @anyaslavaporcelain on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Siouxsie and the Banshees. Ice-T.  Nine Inch Nails.  All were on the slated for the first Lollapalooza lineup in 1991.  But as Michael John Warren, director of the new 3-part Paramount+ series “Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza,” tells us in our live interview at Sundance, his account of the history of the festival–first intended as a goodbye tour for Jane’s Addiction–is more than a trip down memory lane for Gen X.     The festival, he explains, pulled together a number of threads from the LA Alternative scene and beyond:  Not just tattoos and piercings, but politics as well.  As Michael describes it, the results of his nostalgia trip revealed that the themes over 30 years ago still are “heartbreakingly” relevant today:  LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, and censorship amongst others.   The result is a series that like much of Michael’s work is both incredibly fun as well as attuned to the issues that still matter today.   Thanks to Amos Cochran of Edit/Score for hosting our 2024 Sundance interviews.  Edit/Score is a new music library with an innovative approach to finding music for your film. Listen to the library and learn more at editscoremusic.com    The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.   Follow: @MJWfilms on twitter and @mjwfilms on Instagram @topdocspod on twitter and Instagram

Award-winning documentary filmmakers Brett Story and Stephen Maing, along with Chris Smalls, president of Amazon Labor Union, join Ken to discuss their film 'Union'. The documentary follows the grassroots labor movement to unionize Amazon's largest fulfillment center in NYC. The guests talk about the challenges faced by the union, their effective efforts to galvanize Amazon workers, and the creative collaboration between the two acclaimed filmmakers. They also discuss the choice of observational documentary style, the balancing of external input within the union, and the gap between media headlines and real experiences.

Kicking off our on-the-ground coverage of Sundance 2024, Julian Brave Noisecat and Emily Kassie join Mike to discuss their new film, “Sugarcane”.     In this film, they explore the legacy of the St. Joseph Mission, one of many segregated residential schools promulgated by the Canadian government and run by the Catholic Church.  The stories they tell are deeply personal (Julian’s grandmother attended the school, and his father was born there) as well illustrative of a wider history of abuse within the schools.  As they explain, they deploy and reshape various filmic conventions–the Western, archival, the travel doc–in innovative ways to do justice to the lives and stories of their subject.  The result is a many-layered testament to survival and renewal despite deep, still-ongoing pain.   Thanks to Amos Cochran of Edit/Score for hosting our 2024 Sundance interviews.  Edit/Score is a new music library with an innovative approach to finding music for your film. Listen to the library and learn more at editscoremusic.com  The Presenting Sponsor of Top Docs is Netflix.   Follow: @emilykassie on Instagram & twitter @jnosiecat on Instagram & twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Mixing the traditional documentary form with elements of Brechtian theatre, director Kaouther Ben Hania’s (“The Man Who Sold His Skin, “Beauty and the Dogs”) Cannes-winning “Four Daughters” creates a highly intense and emotional experience — for both the audience and the principal characters.   Joining Ken on the pod, Kaouther discusses the challenges and breakthroughs of her hybrid approach. In the film, actors play various roles and intermingle with the “real” sisters and mother in a Tunisian family ripped apart by family strife and Islamic extremism. How did the four sisters respond to their mother’s controlling grip and violent outbursts? What happened during a particularly intense scene to cause the lone male actor in the film to ask the director to shut off the cameras? How does this troupe navigate a familial and cultural landscape in which women are marginalized but also forge an unbreakable bond of sisterhood?   “Four Daughters” is shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film and Best International Feature Film. The film is released by Kino Lorber.   Follow: @kaoutherbenhania on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

In his vivid, pulsating new documentary, Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams (“Music by Prudence”; “Life, Animated”) puts his own creative stamp on Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s best-selling book “Stamped from the Beginning” about the history of racist ideas in America.   Joining Ken on the pod, Roger describes how the racial reckoning of 2020 inspired him to make a film version of “Stamped”. What were the keys to unlocking the film’s vibrant visual aesthetic and dynamic editing style? How did seeing a list of potential scholars to interview for the film become a lightbulb moment for Roger? And in what ways did humor, amidst such an intense and serious topic, play a vital role in telling this story.     “Stamped from the Beginning” is shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.   Follow: @rogerrosswilliams on Instagram and @RogerRossWill on twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter   The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.