The Dangerous Art of the Documentary

Director Nenad Cicin-Sain’s latest film “Kiss the Future” covers the incredibly dire yet uplifting stories of underground art and music, which culminated in a live concert by the band U2, during the brutal four-year siege of Sarajevo. Nenad opens up about about his connection to Sarajevo and researching this story (2:30), creating a war film first and a concert film second (12:45), what made Matt Damon such a great producer (18:30), the path to filming interviews in a bombed out former Red Cross building (23:45), the transfer of trauma when making a film about genocide (33:00), and the perfect metaphor for the role of a director (45:00).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Actor, Producer, and Director Fisher Stevens is the creative force behind Netflix’s Emmy-nominated docuseries “Beckham”, which follows David Beckham's rise from humble working-class beginnings to football stardom, as well as all his personal turbulence along the way. Fisher shares with Tiller why he pivoted from acting to documentaries (2:00), the backstory behind his unlikely partnership with the Beckhams (7:30), building trust with David (12:00), figuring out the story structure in the edit (23:00), filming over 20 hours of interviews with David (30:00), and what it really means to be a director (37:30).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Director Jeff Zimbalist returns to the podcast to discuss his second feature film of the year, “Skywalkers: A Love Story”, a thrilling tale about a daring couple that performs acrobatics atop the world’s last super skyscraper. Jeff talks with Tiller about blending the genres of heist and romance (3:30), why this film had to be independently financed (11:00), interweaving the themes of love, risk and trust (17:00), directing Angela and Ivan’s camerawork on top of skyscrapers (27:00), how the presence of a film crew brought a deeper truth out of their relationship (32:00), the difference between “facts” and “ecstatic truth” in nonfiction filmmaking, (36:00), and the humbling truth about love that Jeff learned while making this film (46:00). Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Director Jeff Zimbalist’s latest film, HOW TO COME ALIVE WITH NORMAN MAILER, explores the rollercoaster life of America’s most controversial and bestselling author of the 20th Century, Norman Mailer. Prophet, hedonist, violent criminal, literary outlaw, and social provocateur, Mailer’s ideas about love, anger, fear, and courage cut to the core of human nature, are more relevant than ever today, and point to a prescription for waking ourselves up, shaking free of society’s expectations, and coming alive as a people. Jeff shares with Tiller his familiarity with Norman Mailer prior to embarking on the film (2:50), why he ended the film with Norman “getting right with God” (10:00), what Norman means to be “an intellectual rascal” (17:00), how Jeff brought Mailer to life as the first-person perspective of the film (23:00), pitching the film as commercially viable (32:00), the importance of producers who still take a leap of faith in today’s fraught documentary market (38:00), and how artists can access the depths of their minds (41:00).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Academy and Emmy Award winning director Alex Gibney, head of the prolific doc studio Jigsaw Productions, has a new film about an old legend, Paul Simon. “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon”, is a look back on Paul Simon's extraordinary six-decade career as well as an intimate glimpse into his creative process as he is in the studio creating his newest album, Seven Psalms. In his discussion with Tiller, Alex reflects on capturing both the practical and mystical method of Paul’s creative process (2:20), starting to put the film together with Paul (8:30), weaving the distant past with the present day (15:30), uncovering the intimacy between Paul and Wynton Marsalis through their disagreements (21:30), and how creating music is unexpectedly evocative of the documentary process itself (28:00).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s newest film, “The Grab”, is an earth-shattering revelation. Over six years in the making, it follows the incredible work of an investigative journalist who uncovers the money, influence and alarming rationale behind covert efforts to control the most vital resource on the planet. In her discussion with Tiller, Gabriela reflects on her journey of starting to go down this treacherous rabbit hole (1:00), making a complicated global plot feel like a digestible, present tense thriller (8:00), her collaborative methods (15:30), what happened to the film when they received 20,000 secret emails (22:30), how to end an existentially terrifying investigative film like this with genuine hope (29:00), and selling the film’s commercial appeal despite possibly making enemies with world power governments (36:00).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Director Avi Belkin’s masterful 2019 film “Mike Wallace is Here” offers an unflinching look at the legendary reporter, who interrogated the 20th century’s biggest figures in his over fifty years on air. Unearthing decades of never-before-seen footage from the 60 Minutes vault, the film explores what drove and plagued Wallace, whose storied career, marked by aggressive reporting style and showmanship, was entwined with the evolution of journalism itself. In his discussion with Tiller, Avi reflects on his foundational approach to nonfiction filmmaking (4:40), the tension between conventional storytelling and evolving the medium (11:00), the origin of “Mike Wallace is Here” (16:00), painting an faithful portrait of a dead man from a bygone era (21:00), moving between genres within one film (30:00), addressing the scene of Mike losing his son (37:30), and Mike’s incredible interview with Barbara Streisand (45:00).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Renowned cinema verité filmmaker Chris Hegedus, along with her late husband and co-director D.A. Pennebaker, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1993 for “The War Room”, a fleet-footed and entertaining documentary following the brainstorming and bull sessions of Bill Clinton’s crack team of campaign consultants, especially James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who became media stars in their own right. In her discussion with Tiller, Chris reflects on first getting connected with Pennebaker (3:00), recognizing dramatic verité stories to tell (11:30), meeting the larger-than-life star of “The War Room” James Carville (16:40), shooting only 40 hours on 16mm film (21:10), her and D.A.’s editing process (31:00), and ultimately when to put the paintbrush down (39:00).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Director Bao Nguyen’s new documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop” chronicles the dreamlike recording session for “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity single sung by a motley crew of America’s biggest pop stars. In his conversation with Tiller, Bao reveals why he questioned if he was the right person to tell this story (3:00), his journey to find the long sought-after archival footage (8:40), the practice in ‘80s nostalgia (15:00), why he insisted on filming interviews at the same studio in Hollywood where they recorded the song (19:10), finding surprising characters in the unlikeliest places (26:00), and how they replicated the same filming look of the original music video, from using cheap TV doc crew lights to hunting down the same cameras used in 1985 (36:30).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Artist-turned-filmmaker (and old friend of Tiller’s) Jill Magid joins the show to discuss her brilliant 2018 film “The Proposal”, which tracks her journey to recover the works of famed Mexican architect Luis Barragán from a Swiss bunker. Jill discusses with Tiller her artistic voyage from sculptor to filmmaker (3:40), her fascination with incorporating herself as a subject in her art (8:15), the project’s organic evolution from art proposal to feature film (15:00), learning the medium of filmmaking and she went along (20:20), editing the film in a freezing make-shift bunker (31:20), and her carefully crafted performance of “self” (35:00).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

In his new film “Sly”, filmmaker Thom Zimny offers an intimate perspective of the great Sylvester Stallone by delving into his Hollywood successes, personal pitfalls, underdog story and its parallels with the characters he brought to life. In his conversation with Tiller, Thom discusses finding the rhythm of the film (5:45), the dream space of editing an archival-based film (9:10), letting the themes speak to him organically (15:00), the dramatic imagery of Sly moving homes (23:52), writing with visual grammar (29:38), and interviewing Sly for 7 hours (38:30). Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

This one is from the vault. If you haven't seen Mad Hot Ballroom from director Marilyn Agrelo, stop now and go check it out. It's a classic and a masterpiece. Centered around a ballroom dancing competition for fifth grade dance teams in New York City elementary schools, Agrelo captures a genuine and life-affirming transformation as a group of children evolve from reticent novices to confident contestants versed in the Latin styles of foxtrot, merengue and rumba. Agrelo shares with Tiller the challenges of capturing the spirit of New York City (4:25), casting the right teachers and kid dancers (14:10), the mechanics of verité filming and simultaneous editing (21:22), the art of directing kids (28:50), being validated by local criminals (32:45), and the film's shocking critical reception (42:00). Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

"The Space Race", a new film by directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, profiles the pioneering Black pilots, scientists, and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight’s quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station. In today’s discussion, Lisa and Diego share their paths to documentaries (1:40), their co-directing process (5:30), the injection of “Afro-Futurism” (12:00), the impact of George Floyd’s death on the International Space Station (21:48), and the experience of screening the film with the astronauts themselves (35:30). Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Season 3 kicks off with one of the great nonfiction filmmakers working today, Brett Morgen - the director, writer and editor of the film "Moonage Daydream", which explores David Bowie's creative, spiritual, and musical journey. In his discussion with Tiller, Brett shares how a speech impediment led him to make documentaries (2:45), determining the visual style for each film (6:25), the making of his 2002 film "The Kid Stays in the Picture" (9:10), the origin of "Moonage Daydream" (18:45), the two-year process of personally screening David Bowie's entire video archive (29:00), how Homer's "Illiad" inspired the structure of the film (37:50), when he knows a project is finished (45:30), and Sean Penn's single note that saved the film (49:20).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions

Director, photographer, interviewer, and yes, amateur skateboarder Sam Jones reflects on the winding journey of directing “Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off”, a definitive, no-holds-barred look at the life and iconic career of skateboarding’s greatest to ever do it. Tiller and Sam discuss why Tiller is envious of Sam’s career (2:45), the backstory behind Sam’s debut documentary from 2002 about the band Wilco (9:50), how Tony Hawk truly lives as hard as he can (21:00), Sam’s decision to make the film independently even though every streamer passed on it (28:30), continuing to find inspiration on the long lonely road of documentary filmmaking (36:00), and how this is ultimately film about people, not for people (44:00).  Produced by: Jacob Miller Executive Producer: Tiller Russell Music by: James Carroll, Graham Tracey & Zydepunk Distributed by: Jake Brennan & Brady Sadler, Double Elvis Productions