Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film


Latest Episodes

190: Chris Wilcha — from "This American Life" to "Flipside"
June 06, 2024

"Flipside" is a personal essay film in which director Chris Wilcha grapples with middle age by trying to document the New Jersey record store where he worked as a teenager.

189: India's Trail-Blazing Director Anand Patwardhan
May 30, 2024

A key trailblazer for Indian documentary Anand Patwardhan has grappled with India's most hot button political issues in films such as "Reason" and "Father, Son and the Holy War." Now in his 70s, he's

188: Margreth Olin on "Songs of Earth"
May 23, 2024

Filmmaker Margreth Olin profiles her parents in "Songs of Earth" while immersing us in Norway's landscape of glaciers, fjords and waterfalls.

187: Rob Reiner on Albert Brooks and Spinal Tap
May 16, 2024

Rob Reiner started his directing career with the spoof documentary "This is Spinal Tap" and is now editing a sequel. He has a new documentary now playing on Max, "Albert Brooks: Defending My Life" tha

186: Yousef Srouji on Palestinian Home Movies
May 09, 2024

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Yousef from his home in Ramallah.

185: Paul Cronin on Columbia 1968
May 07, 2024

Paul Cronin has spent years creating a massive oral history about the Columbia University student uprising in 1968. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Paul this month, a few days after Colum

184: Clair Titley on "The Contestant"
May 02, 2024

"The Contestant" takes us back to the early days of reality TV in Japan. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews first time filmmaker Clair Titley about how she pulled off the film.

183: Just Vision’s Julia Bacha and Suhad Babaa on 20 Years of Covering Israel-Palestine
April 18, 2024

Thom Powers speaks with Just Vision'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 violen

182: Sreemoyee Singh — from India to Iran
April 11, 2024

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

181: Mila Turajlić on Non-Aligned
April 04, 2024

Mila Turajli 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 .