Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

"The Contestant" takes us back to the early days of reality TV in Japan. An aspiring comedian named nicknamed Nasubi ("eggplant") auditions for the hit show Denpa Shonen, known for real people performing crazy stunts. The show’s producer Toshio Tsuchiya brings Nasubi to a room and tells him to get undressed. The room contains a rack of magazines and little else. Toshio informs Nasubi that he needs to fill out magazine sweepstakes coupons to win his food and clothing. He can’t leave the room until he’s reached one million yen of prizes. It sounds crazy, but Nasubi lived by the terms of this concept for over a year, not realizing that his life was being turned into a weekly TV program with millions of viewers. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews first time filmmaker Clair Titley about how she pulled off the film with the help of her producer Megumi Inman and the production company Misfits. "The Contestant" is now streaming on Hulu. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

The non-profit Just Vision has a long history of covering Israel-Palestine in documentary films such as "Encounter Point," and "Budrus." Currently all their films are available for free at justvision.org. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers speaks with the group's creative director Julia Bacha and executive director Suhad Babaa about their latest film "Boycott" and how their work changed with the recent escalation of violence. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Growing up in Kolkata, Sreemoyee Singh fell in love with Iranian cinema and poetry. She pursued that passion by moving to Iran, learning Persian and capturing her journey in her debut documentary "And, Towards Happy Alleys." The title comes from a poem by Forough Farrokhzad who was a major inspiration for Sreemoyee. During her trip, she meets with filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Shirvani, actress Aida Mohammadkhani ("The White Balloon"), and human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. The film has been on a festival run including Berlin, CPH:DOX and Sheffield. On April 18, Pure Nonfiction will host a screening with Sreemoyee at New York’s IFC Center, co-presented by Bitchitra Collective and Scroll.in. Click here for tickets. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Mila Turajlić has spent over 20 years exploring the legacy of Yugoslavia. Now she has two new films that draw upon the extraordinary archive of cameraman Stevan Labudovic who traveled the world in the 1950s and 60s capturing the anti-colonial fight for independence across Africa and Asia. The films are "Non-Aligned" and "Ciné-Guerillas" both subtitled "Scenes from the Labudovic Reels." On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"The Mother of All Lies" won the Cannes Film Festival directing prize for Un Certain Regard and was Morocco's official submission for the Oscars. First time filmmaker Asmae El Moudir discusses how she overcame obstacles in the eight year experience of making the film. Host Thom Powers interviewed Asmae in front of a live audience at the CPH:DOX festival. Watch the film's trailer. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon" covers the highs and lows of the musician's career as he goes into the studio to create his most recent album "Seven Psalms" that was released in 2023 to critical acclaim. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed filmmaker Alex Gibney live at the CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen. Alex describes how he approached sensitive topics including the break up of Simon & Garfunkel, the importance of free association in filmmaking, and hard won lessons learned in his career. Hear our previous interviews with Alex Gibney on episodes 16, 86 and 101. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

In his book "The Persuaders," Anand Giridharadas profiles activists and organizers who seek to change people's minds in a time of divisiveness. Host Thom Powers interviews Anand about how he found optimism in the work of persuaders such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Loretta Ross. They also discuss what replaces the concept of objectivity in journalism, the relationship of social media to constructive dialogue, and more. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Carla Gutierrez is a renowned documentary editor, known for films such as "RBG" and "Julia." Now she makes her directorial debut with "Frida" about the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Carla about her bold choices to tell the story mainly through Frida's own words and bring movement to the paintings through animation. "Frida" is streaming on Amazon Prime, starting March 15, 2024. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Alissa Wilkinson stands out amongst film critics for writing extensively about documentaries. She was based at Vox.com for many years, but a few months ago she moved to The New York Times where she launched a column called Documentary Download. This was welcome news to Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers who years ago wrote the wishful post Wanted: Documentary Critics. Thom and Alissa discuss the state of film criticism and what's unique about reviewing nonfiction. For more on Alissa, see Alissawilkinson.com. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Filmmaker S. Leo Chiang reflects on the relations between Taiwan and China in the Oscar nominated short "Island in Between" streaming from The New York Times Op-Docs. Leo travels to the Kinmen Islands that belong to Taiwan, but lie near the coast of China on the front lines of geopolitics. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Leo about the film and his career working between the United States, Taiwan and China. Leo discusses his 2019 documentary Our Time Machine, the PBS series Asian Americans, the creation of the Asian American Documentary Network, A-Doc, and his collaborations with Jean Tsien who was interviewed on episode 130.

Fifteen films have been chosen for the Oscars documentary short list, the round that comes before nominations. Pure Nonfiction partnered with The Ankler to spotlight seven of the Oscar contenders at a live event in Los Angeles on January 4, 2024. On this episode, host Thom Powers interviews Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson, Tommy Oliver (Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project), Davis Guggenheim, Michael Harte (Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie), Moses Bwayo and Barbie Kyagulani (Bobi Wine: The People's President). Photo: Thom Powers with "Going to Mars" directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson.

Fifteen films have been chosen for the Oscars documentary short list, the round that comes before nominations. Pure Nonfiction partnered with The Ankler to spotlight seven of the Oscar contenders at a live event in Los Angeles on January 4, 2024. On this episode, host Thom Powers interviews Luke Lorentzen (A Still Small Voice), Nisha Pahuja (To Kill a Tiger), Lauren Domino (American Symphony), and Maite Alberdi (The Eternal Memory). Photo: The Ankler publisher Janice Min and podcast host Thom Powers.

In "The Disappearance of Shere Hite," Oscar-nominated director Nicole Newnham ("Crip Camp") profiles the sex researcher who soared to success in the 1970s, but then faded into obscurity. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to Newnham about navigating Hite's complex personality, how the film team uncovered the author's private writings and brought them to life with the collaboration of Dakota Johnson. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Filmmaker Julie Cohen ("RBG") profiles three intersex activists in her new film "Every Body," now streaming on Peacock. One of those activists is Alicia Roth Weigel who recently published her memoir "Inverse Cowgirl". Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews them about dispelling misinformation and celebrating intersex lives.

In his new film "Silver Dollar Road," Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck ("I Am Not Your Negro") focuses on the Reels family in North Carolina, who fought for decades to protect their waterfront property passed down from generation to generation. The film chronicles how the Reels withstood fraudulent land claims, violence, and having two family members sent to jail for eight years because they refused to vacate their home. Peck builds upon the work of reporter Lizzie Presser who wrote about the Reels in an article jointly published by ProPublica and The New Yorker; and videographer Mayeta Clark who covered the Reels alongside Presser. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to Peck about how the filmmaker formed his own bond with the Reels family, how he personally relates to this story about land, and how he grew inspired early in his career to make documentary films from watching Barbara Kopple's "Harlan County USA". Hear our previous interviews with Peck on episodes 21 and 31. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Associated Press videographer Mstyslav Chernov won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Russia's war against Ukraine. When the war escalated in February 2022, Mstyslav covered the front lines for his documentary "20 Days in Mariupol". The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will begin streaming on PBS Frontline on November 21st. It's been selected for the DOC NYC Short List that's known as a predictor of Oscar contenders. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Mstyslav in front of a live audience at the School of Visual Arts in the MFA program for Social Documentary. Mstyslav talks about his journey as a war journalist and his exploration of different storytelling forms that include his writing a novel called "The Dreamtime" published in the U.S. by Cherry Orchard Books. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"While We Watched" profiles the Indian TV journalist Ravish Kumar during a period when he's under extreme pressure including death threats for trying to do his job. The film is a cautionary tale over threats to journalism around the world. Director Vinay Shukla is among a new wave of Indian documentary filmmakers that have gained international recognition. Earlier this year on episode 154, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Shaunak Sen ("All That Breathes") said he marks the rise of this new movement with Vinay's first film "An Insignificant Man" in 2016 (co-directed with Khushboo Ranka) about an insurgent politician. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Vinay about his journey from "An Insignificant Man" to "While We Watched". The new film is currently available for streaming in the U.S. from PBS's POV series. On Instagram: @whilewewatched @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"Casa Susanna," playing on PBS Passport, tells the secret history of a Catskills resort in the late 1950s and early 1960s that was a safe haven for transgender expression. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Sébastien Lifshitz on how he won the trust of the film’s participants to share their stories after six decades. Further reading: photo historian Isabelle Bonnet on Casa Susanna.

Maite Alberdi has become Chile’s most prominent documentary maker. Her films include "Tea Time," about a monthly salon of women; "The Grown-Ups", about adults with Downs Syndrome; and "The Mole Agent" that’s a comic detective story inside a nursing home. Her new work is "The Eternal Memory." She follows the journalist Augusto Gongora and his wife Paulina Urrutia as they cope with Augusto’s experience with Alzheimer’s syndrome. The film won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival where it was bought by MTV Documentary Films for distribution. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Maite in March at the CPH:DOX festival. Hear their previous interview about "The Mole Agent" on episode 119. On Instagram: @maitealberdi @thompowers1 @purenonfiction

No shade to Barbie, but our favorite summer film is "Kokomo City" that won audience prizes in Sundance and Berlin for its raw and raucous profile of four black transgender sex workers. First time filmmaker D. Smith had a successful career as a Grammy-nominated music producer. But when she came out as transgender, she was effectively blacklisted from that industry. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Smith in her hometown at the Miami Film Festival about the desperation and inspiration behind this film. On Instagram: @truedsmith @thompowers1 @purenonfiction