Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

While we gear up for Season 4, we are sharing some of our favorite shows from the past few years. Next up is "Summer of Soul", and our interview with director Amir "Questlove" Thompson. Since we first aired this show in January of 2022, the film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson joins us to talk about his Oscar-shortlisted “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)”. In the summer of 1969, a music festival took place in New York that attracted over 300,000 people. Featuring some of the most incredible artists of that — or any — era, it caught the cultural wave of the moment. No, it wasn’t Woodstock. And, until very recently, practically nobody knew it ever took place. Featuring stunning, previously unseen archival performance footage and incorporating an array of enthralling interviews, game-changing debut documentary “Summer of Soul” is a joyful celebration of the Harlem Cultural Festival and a long-delayed corrective to an egregious example of Black erasure. Winner of both the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best U.S. Documentary. “Summer of Love” is Oscar shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature. Fresh off the set of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he serves as Musical Director, Questlove joined Mike and Ken for a spellbinding conversation, showcasing his unique skills as a storyteller. How is it that even a musical aficionado of Questlove’s renown was skeptical that such a concert ever happened? What was his initial reaction to seeing this long-forgotten footage? How did he crack the code of doing justice to the towering musical performances happening on stage and conveying the broader social and political movements happening off it? What inspired him to start the film with Stevie Wonder on drums? And, what about David Ruffin’s sartorial choices? Tune in to this episode of Top Docs for answers to these questions and a whole lot more. Questlove in conversation is its own sublime music set. Headphones not included.

While we gear up for Season 4, we thought we'd replay some of our favorite shows from the past few years. Today, we’re presenting again our interview from September of 2022 with Daniel Roher regarding his film, Navalny, which depicts the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Since then, the film won the Academy Award for best Documentary. Despite the attention brought by the film, in February of this year, Alexei Navalny died in the prison in which Vladimir Putin had confined him. He survived a government-orchestrated poison attack. He pranked the Russian security agency. He endured (and continues to endure) solitary confinement in a remote gulag. Oh, and he also made some pretty cool TikTok videos. His name is Alexei Navalny, and, as Russia’s leading opposition figure, he will use whatever means possible to try to end the authoritarian regime of President Vladimir Putin. He’s also the subject of Daniel Roher’s (“Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band”) timely and relentlessly gripping documentary political thriller “Navalny”. In the midst of Putin’s unprovoked and disastrous war on Ukraine, Daniel joined Mike and Ken for an engaging conversation about Navalny’s perilous journey, from surviving an assassination attempt to his recovery in Germany and subsequent return to Russia and imprisonment. What led Daniel, in October 2020, from “a place of desperation” to the “Hail Mary pass” of his filmmaking career? How did he navigate the complexity of making a film about a man, who, as a master deployer of media tools himself, was at first skeptical of the documentary and then participated in a battle of wits about creative control over its direction? Finally, how did Daniel ensure that the film retained the sense of hope that Navalny, against all odds, continues to deploy against the dark forces conspiring against him and the Russian people? With its layered narratives, “Navalny” has as much in common with a classic Russian novel as it does with a James Bond thriller. We hope you will enjoy peeling back the layers with us and Daniel at least as much as those TikTok videos. “Navalny” is available on HBO and HBO Max. Follow on Twitter: @DanielRoher @Navalny @topdocspod

To finish out Season 3, we're revisiting some telling moments from three of our most popular shows of the season: The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

“Check Your Ego at the Door”. Those words were scrawled on a piece of paper and taped to the door of A&M Studios on the night of January 28, 1985. The story behind that command is the subject of director Bao Nguyen’s (“Be Water”) thoroughly captivating new Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop” about the once-in-a-lifetime event that drew dozens of the world’s biggest pop stars together on one night to record what would become the ‘80s phenomenon “We Are the World”. Bao joins Ken on the pod to describe everything that went into the making of “We Are the World” and how he went about telling the story using a highly creative and seamless blend of archival footage, interviews and recreations. What prompted singer Harry Belafonte’s dream to galvanize the pop community to raise funds to combat the Ethiopian famine and led to this one magical, high stakes evening? How did the legendary producer Quincy Jones (who posted the note) manage to bring out the best in everyone and keep the trains running on time? And how did Bao approach his portrayal of the complicated and flawed superstar Michael Jackson, who co-wrote the song with Lionel Ritchie? It turns out that “The Greatest Night in Pop” makes for a great night in documentary viewing, too. ““The Greatest Night in Pop” is available now on Netflix. Hidden Gem: The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On Follow: @thegreatestnightinpop on Instagram and @baomnguyen on twitter/X @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

So much for campfire singalongs and Capture the Flag. Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss once again plunge into the world of summer camp for young politicians-in-training with “Girls State”, a riveting and exhilarating follow up to their Emmy Award-winning 2020 documentary “Boys State.” The comparisons may be inevitable, but “Girls State” forges its own path with memorable characters, a compelling narrative arc and richly layered themes. Joining Ken on the pod, Amanda and Jesse discuss how they took a fresh approach to “Girls State” embracing the idea of creative risk taking. What led them to choose Missouri as the location for the film, and how did the fact that the Missouri Boys State program was taking place simultaneously on the same college campus as Girls State present both a challenge and an opportunity? Were they surprised to find that Missouri’s red state politics weren’t necessarily reflected in the political leanings of the majority of young women participating in the program? And how did the leaked Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs, which happened during the production of “Girls State,” become an important backdrop for the drama happening inside the camp, as well as in society at large? “Girls State” launches on Apple+ April 5th. Follow: @djessemoss on twitter/X @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Many of the issues that plagued the young people of America decades ago–binge drinking, drunken driving, teenage pregnancy, smoking, to name a few–have greatly declined in significance. But in their place we have witnessed a seemingly ever-deepening mental health crisis amongst our youth, one partly rooted, as our guests tell us, in a rise of anxiety. The directors of “Anxious Nation,” Laura Morton and Vanessa Roth, join Mike to explain how their own family experiences drove them to engage with this essential topic. In their film they explore the deep roots of anxiety–not only on the personal level of family dynamics, but reaching far into our evolutionary past. And they explain as well many of the current accelerants of the endemic anxiety experienced by our children. Finally, they broach ways to alleviate the suffering for the kids and for their parents: While none are a magic bullet, families can find methods and tools to help manage anxiety, and ultimately can seek solace in activities that can provide a deeper meaning and a resulting perspective on their daily struggles. The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Follow: @vanessarothdoc on twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

How much do you really know about Reality Winner, the veteran and NSA contractor who shared a document regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election with “The Intercept”, and then subsequently served several years in Federal prison as a consequence? Sonia Kennebeck’s (Enemies of the State, National Bird) “Reality Winner” melds a host of timelines–before the arrest & after; during the FBI interrogation in her home; from the viewpoint of family as well as others who have bucked the national security state–to tell a broader story than the one you may have heard. What was the actual reason Reality shared the document? What really constitutes National Defense Information? How common is it for the US Government to imprison people for sharing a single document? How much is “The Intercept" to blame for revealing her as their source? Should we celebrate Trump’s conviction under the WWI-era Espionage Act? Your views on these questions and much more may be complicated by Kennebeck’s deep dive into Reality’s story: Her putative crime, her treatment by the government, as well as her personal ambitions, past and current. Hidden Gem: Q The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Follow: @soniakennebeck on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Joining us for the third year in a row, Variety’s Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis breaks down this year’s Oscar races for Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short and offers his predictions for who will be victorious at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10th. With the feature doc category taking on a very international flavor this year, what does Clayton think of how the process unfolded from the shortlist to the nominations? How might Netflix’s late acquisition of “To Kill a Tiger” affect the outcome? In what is considered a very tight race, what might tip the balance? With his encyclopedic knowledge of the Oscars (you’ll even catch a reference to “How Green Was My Valley” in the pod) and his finger-on-the-pulse of the overall Awards season, Clayton takes us through each of the nominees and gives you his unique insights into the process. Also, be sure to catch our “Top Docs” interviews with all of the Oscar-nominated directors in the documentary feature and shorts categories. Clayton Davis is Variety’s Senior Awards Editor. He is also one of the hosts of the "Variety Awards Circuit Podcast" and the video web series, "The Take." He's been an awards, film and television analyst and critic for more than 15 years and has co-hosted the Oscars Pre-Show on ABC. Clayton is also co-founder and president of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association and is a board member of the Critics Choice Association. The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Follow: @ByClaytonDavis on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter Oscar Nominees: Features: 20 Days in Mariupol Bobi Wine: The People’s President Eternal Memory Four Daughters To Kill a Tiger Shorts: The ABCs of Book Banning The Barber of Little Rock The Last Repair Shop Island In Between Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma) Other recent documentaries discussed: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie American Symphony Beyond Utopia Apolonia, Apolonia Dick Johnson is Dead Every Body Little Richard: I am Everything Flea

We’ve saved the last of our live, in-person interviews at Sundance 2024 for the winners of the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition Audience Award and overall Festival Favorite, the incredibly moving, tear-jerking, and, hopefully, policy-shifting documentary “Daughters”. Directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae join Ken to discuss their world premiere screening and the life-changing organization “Girls For a Change” that Angela founded. Over the course of the film, we meet Lashawn (5), Diamond (10), Unita (11), Sherita (15), and their families. Missing from their home lives are their fathers who are all incarcerated in a Washington, DC prison and who long to have some physical contact with their daughters, which is prohibited by prison policy. As the film unfolds, we learn about the “Date with Dad” program, a father-daughter dance which represents the only opportunity for these fathers and daughters to experience a so-called “touch visit”. When the “date” finally arrives, the hugs are tight, the emotions raw and the tears flow — both on-screen and off. “Daughters” will be released later this year on Netflix. 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: @sistah_angela, @natalieraerobison, and @daughtersdocumentary on IG @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

When Ranjit and his family turn to the Indian legal system to seek justice for his daughter who had been raped by three local young men, they face not only daunting odds from the system but deep resistance from their village. Nisha Pahuja’s Academy Award-nominated film “To Kill a Tiger” traces the profound tension Ranjit experiences: on the one side is the promise of recent national legislation that empowers children who have been sexually assaulted; on the other are the restrictions of the customs and traditions of a village which would like to “make peace” and marry Ranjit’s daughter off to one of her assailants. But throughout it all, Ranjit finds support to carry on in the courage of his daughter, who wants to tell her story in court, who insists on justice. “To Kill a Tiger” will stream on Netflix at a date to be announced. The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Follow: @nishapahuja on twitter and nishappics on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

Continuing our coverage of Academy Award-nominated shorts, Mike speaks with Sean Wang about his loving tribute to his grandmothers. As he describes the film: “Nǎi Nai is my grandma. Wài Pó is my grandma. Together they are a grandma super team that dances, stretches, and farts their sorrows away.” Despite its seeming insularity, and its general mood of fun and mischief, the film opens up to become as well a profound meditation on mortality. You can watch “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma)” on Disney+. The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Follow: @seanswang on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter Hidden Gem: The Scared is Scared

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

In the second of our live, in-person interviews at Sundance 2024, award-winning directors Brett Story (“The Prison Landscape in Twelve Landscapes”) and Stephen Maing (“Crime + Punishment”), along with Amazon Labor Union (ALU) president Chris Smalls, the film’s main protagonist, join Ken to discuss the world premiere of “Union”. In this riveting, verité documentary, we meet Chris and other current and former employees inside a tent (ALU’s makeshift HQ), as they form an independent, grassroots labor movement to unionize Amazon’s largest fulfillment center in New York City. What begins as a longshot fight against one of the world’s largest companies, eventually becomes the most watched labor election in decades. Brett, Stephen and Chris discuss the immense challenges faced by the union, its highly effective efforts to galvanize Amazon workers, and the creative spark set off by this union of two acclaimed filmmakers. 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: @unionthefilm on Instagram and twitter @topdocspod on Instagram and twitter

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.