Doc Talk: A Deadline and Nō Studios Podcast

Filmmaker Pegah Ahangarani discusses her Oscar-contending documentary Rehearsals for a Revolution, winner of the L'Oeil d'or prize at Cannes. Her film explores the modern history of Iran, from the Islamic Revolution of 1979 until today, through the bitter experience of family members and mentors whose hopes for freedom have been crushed by the country's theocratic regime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken Jacobson, head of the institute that puts on the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, joins us to discuss the 35th edition of the event in central Arkansas, the oldest nonfiction film festival in North America. We talk about the HSDFF lineup highlighted by 'NAZA' and more Oscar contenders, the state of awards season, and the festival's Forum, which was held as documentary filmmakers in public media dealt with the shuttering of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nuisance Bear, set in Churchill, Manitoba where polar bears regularly cross paths with locals and eco-tourists, has emerged as one of the most lauded films of the year. We speak with directors Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman about how they upended nature film tropes, telling the story from the bears' POV. They also share how they got engaged at Sundance and married on the spot, shortly before winning the festival's Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deadline partners with the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Arkansas to bring you HSDFF's inaugural round table, featuring four of the top documentaries in Academy Awards contention this year: American Doctor, represented by director Poh Si Teng; Closure, represented by director Michał Marczak; To Hold a Mountain, represented by co-director Biljana Tutorov, and Once Upon a Time in Harlem, represented by producer Liani Greaves. The conversation ranges from the biggest challenges the filmmakers faced to get their projects made, to what they like best — and least — about the race for Oscar recognition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once Upon a Time in Harlem, a documentary more than 50 years in the making, has emerged as a strong contender for Oscar recognition. Director David Greaves and producer Liani Greaves join us to discuss their film about an extraordinary 1972 reunion of surviving figures from the Harlem Renaissance. The reunion and the documentary project was conceived by filmmaker William Greaves, David's father and Liani's grandfather. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices