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Episodes
Tuesday May 30, 2023
Tuesday May 30, 2023
In her feature documentary directorial debut, Sierra Urich follows women of three generations as they search for the meaning of “home”. Torn between the past in Iran and the present in New England, the women navigate their family’s complicated legacy through art: Video, painting, and song. And they maintain and build the relationships between them through freighted words, both direct as well as translated.
Native Vermonters Sierra and Mike sat down to discuss this emotionally powerful film, one packed with stories from the past but playing with narrative form in its own telling. They spoke of place: Everything from domestic kitchens to the missing Google Street View of Iran. And of how Sierra and her editor used hard cuts and other cinematic techniques to emphasize the connection between and the distance from the world she found herself in and the land she wished to visit. And yes, they did speak of her father, Gary–quiet, but ever-present.
Joonam is currently playing the festival circuit.
Hidden Gems:
I Didn’t See You There
Radiograph of a Family
Follow:
@joonamfilm on Instagram
@topdocs pod on twitter & Instagram
The Presenting Sponsor of Top Docs is Netflix.
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Miami Beach in the early ‘60s was a magnet for dreamers, the idle rich, and the young-and-restless. It was also an irresistible draw for a young, handsome California surfer named Jack “Murf the Surf” Murphy who quickly took Miami Beach by storm… and then just took it. Joining a high-flying crew of brash jewel thieves, Murphy and his accomplices made off with thousands in stolen gems. The crooks later pulled off a daring heist of the Star of India and other priceless jewels from the American Museum of Natural History, which made Murphy a national celebrity (and a convicted criminal). But when Murphy was later tied to a double murder of two young women, the media’s portrayal of Murf as a fun-loving bad boy no longer seemed to fit the real picture.
Bringing his own lens to the story, highly-acclaimed filmmaker R.J. Cutler (“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”) crafts a thoroughly engrossing – and extremely thoughtful – four-part series about Murf the Surf that avoids many of the common tropes of the true crime genre. Returning to Top Docs for his second visit, R.J. explores the cautionary approach he took to the media savvy Murphy, why he thought it was important to re-center the narrative to honor Murphy’s victims and his strong belief in letting the audience come to their own conclusions about Murphy’s prison conversion to born-again Christianity.
“Murf the Surf” is available for streaming on MGM+.
Follow:
@rjcutler928 on Instagram and @rjcutler on twitter
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
Hidden Gem:
Crisis
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
The quest for a lifelong mentor can be as tough a mountain to climb as, you know, a really big mountain. If you are Oscar®-winning filmmaker and world-class climber Jimmy Chin, not only do mountains and mentors play a huge role in your life, but, in the case of Jimmy and his Oscar-winning creative/life partner Chai Vasarhelyi, they are also at the center of their fascinating and deeply personal new documentary “Wild Life”.
Jimmy and Chai make a return visit to Top Docs (“The Rescue”) to share stories about the making of “Wild Life”, which focuses on a tight knit group of trailblazing mountain climbers and entrepreneurs, including the indomitable Kris Tompkins. When Kris’ husband, the larger-than-life Doug Tompkins (co-founder of North Face and Espirit) dies suddenly in a kayaking accident, Kris (former CEO of Patagonia) overcomes her grief to carry the torch of the couples’ unprecedented efforts to turn the largest private land donation in history into the creation of massive national parks in Chile and Argentina. Join us for this heartfelt conversation in which Chai and Jimmy describe what it took for Kris to make these conservation dreams a reality, as well as the filmmakers’ own formidable challenges in doing justice to their friends’ extraordinary lives.
“Wild Life” is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Follow:
@jimmychin and @chaivasarhelyi on Instagram and @jimkchin on twitter
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
Monday Jun 19, 2023
Monday Jun 19, 2023
Nothing could be more sterile – or more frightening – than a cold, spare interrogation room. Victims and suspects alike are brought into these spaces where they are questioned by police and videotaped for later use as evidence. But what happens when the victim, even without realizing it, becomes the suspect – and the suspect becomes the lead witness? This is the disturbing truth uncovered in Nancy Schwartzman’s (“Roll Red Roll”) probing new documentary “Victim/Suspect”.
Nancy and producer/main subject Rae de Leon, the investigative reporter who broke the story for “Reveal”, join Ken to discuss the tragic circumstances and byzantine reporter’s journey at the heart of this Orwellian nightmare. What incentives drive some police officers to doubt the stories of sexual assault victims and instead use the interrogation process to gather “evidence” against them for filing a false police report? How did a documentary filmmaker and an investigative reporter join forces and navigate the best way to work together? And in what ways are the stories of the women featured in the film and Rae’s reporting being used to change police department practices across the country? The interrogation room will be better off for it.
“Victim/Suspect” is currently streaming on Netflix.
Follow:
@fancynancynyc on Instagram and twitter
@raeoflion on Instagram and twitter
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Judy Blume is alive and well. While no longer writing books, at 85 she still bikes around the lively streets of Key West, stopping in to tend the book shop she bought a few years ago. And she serves as the vivacious, charismatic center of “Judy Blume Forever”.
Directors Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok sat down with Mike Merrill to discuss how their film centers Blume both within a coterie of authors she influenced as well as within the shifting cultural landscape of the key years that she was writing–the 1970s–that are still resonating in our world today.
Judy Blume forever is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Hidden Gems:
Missing Allen
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Follow:
@davinapardo on twitter
@judyblume on twitter and @judyblume4real on instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
Meet The McNamara’s, the first family of big wave surfing. Garrett McNamara is one of the world’s premier big wave surfers; wife Nicole is a top big wave spotter; Nicole’s brother CJ rides the big waves, too. Now, son Barrel is (perhaps) on the path following in dad’s footsteps. If season 1 of HBO’s enthralling docuseries “!00 Foot Wave” was all about the pursuit of that illusive triple digit milestone, season 2 digs deeper into the rich and complex personalities who make up the elite big wave surfing community.
Joining Ken to discuss season 2 is Executive Producer Joe Lewis (“Fleabag”, “Transparent”) – making his second appearance on Top Docs – and Nicole McNamara, one of the series’ featured participants. How did Joe and director Chris Smith (“Tiger King”, “American Movie”) go about choosing new people to feature in season 2? What was it like for Nicole to confront major health issues during a very difficult pregnancy while husband Garrett seemed more focused on the big waves than on her? And how did cinematographer Karl Sandrock become an adjunct member of this unique family?
“100 Foot Wave, Season 2” is currently streaming on Max.
After you enjoy our conversation, be sure to check out the HBO Original 100 Foot Wave Podcast, which features Nicole as host interviewing many of the series’ standout characters (Top Doc’s own Mike and Ken served as Consulting Producers).
Follow:
@JoeLewis on Instagram and twitter
@mcnamara_s on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
Thursday Jun 22, 2023
Thursday Jun 22, 2023
6 young adults on a boat ride home after a clambake. It sounds everyday, even idyllic, but when the inebriated young scion of a local legal dynasty crashes the boat into a bridge, one of the young people loses her life. And “The Murder Murders: A Southern Scandal” traces how the ramifications ultimately lead to a double murder, as well as revealed a longstanding pattern of widespread theft and previous suspicious deaths.
Director Julia Willoughby Nason and Executive Producer Michael Gasparro (both of Fyre Fraud) joined Mike to talk about how their 3 part series on Netflix draws upon the conventions of “true crime” while also exploring a series of interlocking, intergenerational friendships as well as the broader social hierarchy of a rural county. How did they navigate the intricate web of rumor to find out the truth about the once seemingly all-powerful Murdaugh family?
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
Hidden Gems:
Silver Blake Life
Smartless: On the Road
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@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Filmmaker Ryan White (“Good Night Oppy”, “The Keepers”) had no desire to make a documentary about ‘90s superstar Pamela Anderson. Not when the idea was first brought to him, anyway. But then, Pamela’s son urged him to at least meet his mother on Zoom. And that was all it took. Ryan quickly realized that the media image of Pamela as a two-dimensional blonde bombshell and attention-driven celebrity was not at all an accurate picture of the complex, intelligent, and funny person he would get to know while filming what became Ryan’s highly engaging new documentary “Pamela, a love story”.
Making a return visit to Top Docs, Ryan describes how vastly different his experience was making “Pamela” from his last film “Good Night Oppy”. What was it like for Ryan to have Pamela turn over her entire personal archive of diaries and videotapes and empower him to decide how to use them? How did Pamela’s spontaneous nature create the kind of atmosphere on set where anything could happen? And how did Ryan navigate the difficult waters of the Pamela and Tommy Lee sex tapes, which he knew had to be addressed, but which would likely bring up painful memories for Pamela? “Pamela” is a totally refreshing portrait that explores the many sides of love. Thank goodness for that Zoom call.
“Pamela, a love story” is currently streaming on Netflix.
Hidden Gems:
“Between the Rains”
“Q”
Follow:
@white815 on Instagram and @ryanwhiteIV on twitter
@pamelaanderson on Instagram and twitter
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
When Academy Award®-nominated, Emmy®-winning filmmaker Julie Cohen (“RBG”, “My Name is Pauli Murray”) came across the NBC News archival footage of sexologist John Money and his patient David Reimer, she knew that this story had legs. But what she couldn’t have anticipated is that this dark chapter in the history of gender identity would lead her toward what ultimately became her groundbreaking new documentary “Every Body” – a major new film about Intersex people.
Making her third visit to Top Docs (but her first without frequent filmmaking partner Betsy West), Julie joins Ken to discuss her celebration of people who identify as the “I” in LGBTQIA+. Who was John Money and why was his work on gender identity so consequential — and harmful? How did she connect with the three film’s main participants, River Gallo, Alicia Roth Weigel and Sean Saifa Wall, and why did she choose to center the film around their stories? And in what ways are these three activists now leading the fight against unnecessary surgeries? With its focus on Intersex people and their long overdue fight for justice, “Every Body” is a film that “everybody” can and should embrace.
Released by Focus Features, “Every Body” is now in theaters everywhere.
Hidden Gem:
“Hidden Letters”
Follow:
@filmmakerjulie on Instagram and twitter
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
Friday Jul 14, 2023
Friday Jul 14, 2023
Laura McGann’s “The Deepest Breath” is a film about two young people fated to meet despite their differences. Alessia is driven from a young age to compete: Holding her breath for minutes at a time in both the pool and the sea. Stephen travels the world, torn between his desire to see new people and places and his longing for home, and a more conventional life.
But it’s also about the wisdom of age, as we see their fathers–Enzo and Peter–dealing with the tragic outcome of their children’s intertwining. One eternally grateful, the other grieving, but coming to realize that his child’s life was one well-spent.
Join Mike as he discusses with Laura her visually and dramatically compelling film, one that almost literally immerses you in the beautiful, thrilling, but sometimes dangerous world of freediving.
The “Deepest Breath” will be screening in select theaters July 14th, and streaming on Netflix beginning on July 19th.
Hidden Gem:
“Wildcat”
Follow:
@LauraMcGann on Instagram and twitter
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.