Published by Deadline Hollywood
Hosted by Oscar-winning filmmaker John Ridley and Deadline’s Documentary Editor, Matt Carey, Doc Talk features weekly interviews with filmmakers, storytellers, and industry leaders about creating critical content with the power to move the genre forward – and possibly change the world.
Listen on Apple PodcastsOscar-nominated filmmaker Sara Dosa joins the show to discuss her new documentary, Time and Water, an exploration of the dramatic shift in Iceland’s landscape, where melting glaciers threaten to wash away not only the ice but family and cultural history. Dosa enters the terrain through the work of Icelandic poet and science fiction writer Andri Snær Magnason, who wrote an obituary for the first glacier in his country that was declared moribund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We speak with filmmaker Gordon Quinn, cofounder of Kartemquin Films, on the 60th anniversary of the institution known for producing Hoops Dreams, Minding the Gap and countless other vital documentaries. We are also joined by Prof. Patricia Aufderheide, author of Kartemquin Films: Documentaries on the Frontlines of Democracy. Together, we explore the origins of Kartemquin, its role in a democratic society, and the evolution of nonfiction filmmaking in the last six decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Filmmaker Sasha Waters discusses her new documentary Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, about the prize-winning poet who became a lecture circuit sensation late in life. Waters reveals how she got Stephen Colbert, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, as well as Hairspray director John Waters (no relation to Sasha) to take part in the film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As we move deeper into the second half of the year, cohosts John Ridley and Matt Carey examine the documentaries that have emerged as early contenders for Oscar recognition. American Doctor, Closure, Nuisance Bear, Everybody to Kenmure Street, To Hold a Mountain — they're in the running. So are two dozen more, many of them having premiered at Sundance. We dig into what's gaining traction as Oscar season inches closer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nudity, comedy, cutting edge music, precocious kids, wannabe stars: public access in New York in the 1970s and '80s had everything -- a freewheeling outgrowth of cable TV that allowed freedom of expression to flourish. Director David Shadrack Smith dials back to that time in his documentary Public Access, which premiered in competition in Sundance. He joins the show to discuss one of the most fascinating nonfiction films of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Leaders of two thriving documentary film festivals join us: Sky Sitney and Jamie Shor of DC/DOX in the nation's capital, and Karol Piekarczyk, artistic director of Millennium Docs Against Gravity in Poland. They explore their successes and challenges and why festivals are enjoying a resurgence in the age of streaming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A documentary observing the work of the Martha Graham Dance Company is contending for Emmy recognition, even as the company founded by the legelndary choreographer celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding. We're joined by filmmakers Cyndee Readdean and Peter Schnall to discuss all things Graham, and the dancers and choreographers of today who are carrying on her legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tennis champ Rafael Nadal joins the show to discuss 'Rafa,' his 4-part Netflix documentary series that reveals the physical pain and psychological pressure he endured to become one of the sport's greatest of all time. Oscar-nominated director Zach Heinzerling shares insights on the intimate portrayal of Rafa and his family in his Emmy-contending series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
With the 25th Tribeca Festival about to kick off in New York City, we're joined by festival director Cara Cusumano for a preview of Tribeca's nonfiction lineup. Among the films slated to premiere are the latest from Oscar winner Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, docs about musician Sara Bareilles, late NY Gov. Mario Cuomo, and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, a film by California's First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and Playing POTUS, the Josh Greenbaum film about comedians who have done wickedly funny impersonations of U.S. presidents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Director Felipe Bustos Sierra joins the show to discuss his award-winning documentary Everybody to Kenmure Street, a riveting account of a spontaneous protest that sprang up in Glasgow, Scotland after UK authorities attempted to stage an immigration raid. Emma Thompson serves as executive producer of the film and appears in the documentary in the guise of "Van Man," a mysterious figure who latched onto the axle of an immigration van preventing it from carting off two men seized by Home Office agents. The Kenmure Street incident became an epic standoff with repercussions from the UK to the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oscar-nominated actor Bruce Dern and director Mike Mendez join us to discuss Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern, their documentary premiering Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival. Dern is not only one of Hollywood's greatest actors, but one of its greatest raconteurs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Filmmaker Alexandria Stapleton discusses her Emmy-contending Netflix series, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, a forensic examination of the sexual misconduct allegations against the rapper, actor, and mogul that landed Combs in federal prison. It's produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Producer-director Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds join the show to share stories of making John Candy: I Like Me, their cinematic exploration of the beloved Canadian actor and SCTV sketch performer. Candy's two children plus many of his friends and famous collaborators — Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and many others — appear in this Prime Video film, a strong Emmy contender. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery would reshape the documentary landscape, putting HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films, HBO Max, Paramount+, MTV Documentary Films and more under one roof. As major stars and filmmakers write an open letter protesting the merger, we speak with documentary veterans Marjan Safinia and Lois Vossen about the impact of the planned alliance on the nonfiction film community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We report from the 18th Milwaukee Film Festival, speaking two makers of two documentaries in the festival lineup: All of the Above, and Newport and the Great Folk Dream. All of the Above focuses on a world religions class taught in a Chicago public high school, while Newport examines the iconic music festival renowned for performances by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Now entering its third year, the American Cinematheque's This Is Not a Fiction festival in Los Angeles has emerged as a major event for documentary lovers. We speak with AC film programmer Cindy Flores about this year's festival, running April 16-24. It will feature some of the greatest names in documentary, including Barbara Kopple, Gianfranco Rosi, Ross McElwee, Caveh Zahedi, and Liz Garbus among many others. The festival also features a robust lineup of mockumentaries, like Best in Show, Popstar: Never Stop Stopping, and Jackass Number Two. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Doc Talk reports from CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. Artistic Director Niklas Engstrøm shares his highlights from the 2026 edition of the world-class festival and tells us how CPH:DOX keeps politicians at "arms length" to avoid outside interference in the program. And we visit with directors Hansen Lin and Siyi Chen who pitched their documentary Queens Ballroom at the CPH:FORUM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Filmmaker Julia Loktev joins us to discuss her award-winning documentary My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow, which chronicles the last independent television news source in Russia. The journalists in the film, mostly young women, found themselves treated as enemies of the state for daring to stray outside the bounds of Kremlin-approved reportage, victims of a crackdown on press freedom that only got worse after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oscar winner Juliette Binoche speaks about her directorial debut, the documentary In-I In Motion that explores the creative process behind a unique dance and theater project she co-created with dancer-choreographer Akram Khan. The film screened at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece, where we also spoke with Head of Program Yorgos Krassakopoulos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hosts John Ridley and Matt Carey discuss why Mr. Nobody Against Putin prevailed as Best Documentary Feature in an upset at the Oscars. And we talk with makers of two films that just premiered at the True/False documentary festival in Columbia, MO: Josef Gatti, director of Phenomena, and director Naveen Chaubal and producer Bryn Silverman of Pinball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices