Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film


Latest Episodes

210: Brian Eno & Ibelin
December 04, 2024

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.

209: Raoul Peck on Ernest Cole, George Orwell & Haiti
November 27, 2024

"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. Thom Powers interviews director Raoul Peck.

208: Johan Grimonprez on "Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat"
November 21, 2024

Jazz musicians, CIA operatives, and African revolutionaries are among the many figures who populate "Soundtrack to a Coup dEtat" that win a Sundance jury award for Cinematic Innovation.

207: Frida, Celine and Daughters
November 14, 2024

Our third episode recorded live in Los Angeles for Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by The Ankler, features "Frida", "I Am: Celine Dion" and "Daughters".

206: Docs with Laughs
November 08, 2024

We look at two new documentaries from directors who also work in comedy.

205: Live from Los Angeles
October 31, 2024

Our latest Documentary Spotlight event tookplace in October, co-presented by The Ankler in Los Angeles.We hear selections from conversations on "Sugarcane" , "Porcelain War" and "No Other Land".

204: Shiori Ito on "Black Box Diaries"
October 24, 2024

Shiori Ito shocked Japan in 2017 when she publicly accused a prominent journalist of raping her. She has directed the film "Black Box Diaries" about her experiences tryingto speak her truth, despite

203: Elevating documentary craft in "Nocturnes"
October 17, 2024

In "Nocturnes", 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 moth

202: On filming "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story"
October 10, 2024

"Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" profiles the actor who was paralyzed from a horse riding accident and found a new purpose in life.

201: Angela Patton & Natalie Rae Robison on "Daughters"
October 03, 2024

"Daughters," now streaming on Netflix, follows a Daddy Daughter Dance held in a prison. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the film's director Angela Patton and Natalie Rae Robison.