Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film


Latest Episodes

147: Stanley Nelson on "Attica" and a Retrospective
January 28, 2022

Stanley Nelson's latest film "Attica" was picked for the Oscar Documentary Short List. It's playing on Showtime and available free for a limited time on YouTube.

146: Alex Pritz on “The Territory” at Sundance
January 27, 2022

Filmmaker Alex Pritz collaborates with members of the Uru-eu-wau-wau indigenous community to document what's happening in the Amazon in The Territory.

145: Joe Hunting on “We Met in Virtual Reality” at Sundance
January 25, 2022

We Met in Virtual Reality, premiering in the Sundance World Documentary Competition, profiles several users on the platform VRChat during the pandemic.

144: Ramin Bahrani on “2nd Chance” at Sundance
January 22, 2022

Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani is best known for his fiction films . Now he directs his first feature documentary "2nd Chance," a profile of the man who invented a lightweight bullet proof vest.

143: Isabel Castro on “Mija” at Sundance
January 21, 2022

Mija, premiering in the Sundance NEXT section, profiles Doris Muoz, a young talent manager in the music business as she works with Latinx superstar Cuco and the newcomer Jacks Haupt.

142: Sara Dosa on “Fire of Love” at Sundance
January 19, 2022

"Fire of Love" tells the story of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft who spent over two decades filming and studying volcanoes before they died getting too close to one.

141: Richard Rowley on “American Insurrection”
January 06, 2022

The PBS Frontline documentary American Insurrection investigates the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

140: Ry Russo-Young on her “Nuclear Family”
December 08, 2021

In the three-part series Nuclear Family, filmmaker Ry Russo-Young explores her own family history.

139: Sonya Childress & Jesse Wente on Making Change
September 02, 2021

Sonya Childress and Jesse Wente are among the most eloquent voices calling for change in the North American documentary industry.

138: Nanfu Wang on “In the Same Breath”
August 26, 2021

In the Same Breath is a strikingly original analysis of the early days of the pandemic as it unfolded in China and the United States.