206: Docs with Laughs

William Kentridge is well-known in the world of museums and galleries. Now he brings together all of his artistic disciplines - drawing, animation, sculpture and performance - to create the 9-part film essay "Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot" streaming on Mubi. If you're a stranger to his work, see 10 Works to Know by William Kentridge from the Royal Academy of Art. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Kentridge about creativity, therapy, optimism and his collaboration with the esteemed editor Walter Murch.Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the directors of four films in the inaugural London edition of Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by The Ankler.Follow the links below to see the film trailers:Director Daniela Volker on The Commandant's ShadowDirector Hasan Oswald on MedihaDirector Vanessa Hope on Invisible NationDirector Jeff Zimbalist and producer Tamir Ardon on Skywalkers: A Love StorySubscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Brian Eno and filmmaker Gary Hustwit discuss their film "Eno"; and director Benjamin Ree talks about "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin" with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers. Both interviews were recorded in front of a live audience at the inaugural London edition of Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by The Ankler.Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"Ernest Cole: Lost and Found" explores the legacy of the photographer who covered apartheid in the 1960s from the perspective of a Black South African. Cole was driven into exile in the U.S. and Europe. He died in obscurity in 1990, but he left behind a secret archive of over 60,000 negatives shot in exile that were recently discovered. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Raoul Peck ("I Am Not Your Negro") about this new film. He also previews two more works coming next year on George Orwell and Haiti.Listen to past interview with Raoul on episodes 170 (on "Silver Dollar Road") and 21 (on James Baldwin).Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Jazz musicians, CIA operatives, and African revolutionaries are among the many figures who populate "Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat" that win a Sundance jury award for Cinematic Innovation. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Johan Grimonprez in front of a live audience at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen.Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Our third episode recorded live in Los Angeles for Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by The Ankler, features:- "Frida" director Carla Gutierrez and composer Victor Hernandez Stumpfhauser (Amazon)- "I Am: Celine Dion" director Irene Taylor with rare disease specialist Dr. Paula Barreras (Amazon)- "Daughters" co-director Natalie Rae (Netflix)Interviewed by Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers.Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

We look at two new documentaries from directors who also work in comedy. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Steve Pink ("Hot Tub Time Machine") whose documentary debut "The Last Republican" profiles Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger who voted to impeach Donald Trump after the January 6th insurrection. The second interview is with Josh Greenbaum ("Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar") whose new film "Will & Harper" profiles Will Ferrell and Harper Steele as they take a cross country road trip after Harper has come out as a transgender woman. "Will & Harper" is now streaming on Netflix. Both interviews were recorded in October at the Documentary Spotlight event in Los Angeles, co-presented with The Ankler.Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Our latest Documentary Spotlight event took place in October, co-presented by The Ankler in Los Angeles. On this episode, we hear selections from the following conversations hosted by Thom Powers:- "Sugarcane" directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie explore how indigenous communities in Canada investigate the legacy of abuse in Catholic residential schools. The film won the Sundance Documentary Directing Prize.- "Porcelain War" co-director Brendan Bellomo describes profiling three Ukrainian artists against the backdrop of Russia's war on their country. The film won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Documentary.- "No Other Land" directors Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham discuss their collaboration between Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers to document the destruction of a village in the West Bank. The two co-directors spoke by Zoom from the village of Masafer Yatta. "No Other Land" won the Jury and Audience Awards in Berlinale's Panorama section.This is the first of three episodes covering the Los Angeles Documentary Spotlight.Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Shiori Ito shocked Japan in 2017 when she publicly accused a prominent journalist with close ties to the Prime Minister of raping her. Both the police and her family tried to dissuade her from pursuing the case. She felt like there was a "black box" of cover up. She broke the silence and stigma, first by writing a memoir and now directing the film "Black Box Diaries" about her experiences trying to speak her truth, despite enormous backlash and death threats. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by MTV Documentary Films for distribution. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Shiori in March during the CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen.

"Nocturnes" won a Sundance special jury prize for cinematic craft. In the film, set in the mountainous forest on the border of India and Bhutan, we follow the scientist Mansi who works at night projecting light onto a sheet where countless species of colorful moths gather. The film offers an escape into nature away from the industrialized world. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the two directors Anupama Srinivasan and Anirban Dutta about their unique approach. They also describe the hazards of filming under constant rain with leeches falling from the trees. "Nocturnes" is currently being released in theaters across the U.S. by Grasshopper Films.Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices.On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1