DiscoverPure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film228: Contessa Gayles on "Songs From the Hole"
228: Contessa Gayles on "Songs From the Hole"

228: Contessa Gayles on "Songs From the Hole"

Update: 2025-08-28
Share

Description

"Songs From the Hole," now playing on Netflix, won the SXSW Audience Award and the Blackstar Jury Prize for its artful approach to telling a story about solitary confinement. "It's eye-opening in a way you may have forgotten your eyes could still be opened," wrote critic Daniel Fienberg in The Hollywood Reporter. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Contessa Gayles about her career path from working inside CNN to going independent. Her other films include "The Feminist on Cellblock Y" and "The Debutantes."

Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.

On Instagram: @purenonfiction@thompowers1

Comments 
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

228: Contessa Gayles on "Songs From the Hole"

228: Contessa Gayles on "Songs From the Hole"

Pure Nonfiction