Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

"The Greatest Night in Pop" with Bao Nguyen

“Check Your Ego at the Door”. Those words were scrawled on a piece of paper and taped to the door of A&M Studios on the night of January 28, 1985. The story behind that command is the subject of director Bao Nguyen’s (“Be Water”) thoroughly captivating new Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop” about the once-in-a-lifetime event that drew dozens of the world’s biggest pop stars together on one night to record what would become the ‘80s phenomenon “We Are the World”.
 
Bao joins Ken on the pod to describe everything that went into the making of “We Are the World” and how he went about telling the story using a highly creative and seamless blend of archival footage, interviews and recreations. What prompted singer Harry Belafonte’s dream to galvanize the pop community to raise funds to combat the Ethiopian famine and led to this one magical, high stakes evening? How did the legendary producer Quincy Jones (who posted the note) manage to bring out the best in everyone and keep the trains running on time? And how did Bao approach his portrayal of the complicated and flawed superstar Michael Jackson, who co-wrote the song with Lionel Ritchie?
 
It turns out that “The Greatest Night in Pop” makes for a great night in documentary viewing, too. ““The Greatest Night in Pop” is available now on Netflix. 
 
Hidden Gem:  The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On
 
Follow:
@thegreatestnightinpop on Instagram and @baomnguyen on twitter/X
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Our Most Popular Pods, Season 3

To finish out Season 3, we're revisiting some telling moments from three of our most popular shows of the season:
Laura McGann, "The Deepest Breath"
Anna Hints, "Smoke Sauna Sisterhood"
Fisher Stevens, "Beckham"
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Classic: "Navalny" with Daniel Roher (from September 2022)

While we gear up for Season 4, we thought we'd replay some of our favorite shows from the past few years.  Today, we’re presenting again our interview from September of 2022 with Daniel Roher regarding his film, Navalny, which depicts the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.  Since then, the film won the Academy Award for best Documentary.  Despite the attention brought by the film, in February of this year, Alexei Navalny died in the prison in which Vladimir Putin had confined him.  
 
He survived a government-orchestrated poison attack. He pranked the Russian security agency. He endured (and continues to endure) solitary confinement in a remote gulag. Oh, and he also made some pretty cool TikTok videos. His name is Alexei Navalny, and, as Russia’s leading opposition figure, he will use whatever means possible to try to end the authoritarian regime of President Vladimir Putin. He’s also the subject of Daniel Roher’s (“Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band”) timely and relentlessly gripping documentary political thriller “Navalny”.
In the midst of Putin’s unprovoked and disastrous war on Ukraine, Daniel joined Mike and Ken for an engaging conversation about Navalny’s perilous journey, from surviving an assassination attempt to his recovery in Germany and subsequent return to Russia and imprisonment. What led Daniel, in October 2020, from “a place of desperation” to the “Hail Mary pass” of his filmmaking career? How did he navigate the complexity of making a film about a man, who, as a master deployer of media tools himself, was at first skeptical of the documentary and then participated in a battle of wits about creative control over its direction? Finally, how did Daniel ensure that the film retained the sense of hope that Navalny, against all odds, continues to deploy against the dark forces conspiring against him and the Russian people? With its layered narratives, “Navalny” has as much in common with a classic Russian novel as it does with a James Bond thriller. We hope you will enjoy peeling back the layers with us and Daniel at least as much as those TikTok videos.
“Navalny” is available on HBO and HBO Max.
 
Follow on Twitter:
@DanielRoher
@Navalny
@topdocspod

Classic: "Summer of Soul" with Amir "Questlove" Thompson (from January 2022)

While we gear up for Season 4, we are sharing some of our favorite shows from the past few years.  Next up is "Summer of Soul", and our interview with director Amir "Questlove" Thompson.  Since we first aired this show in January of 2022, the film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
 
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson joins us to talk about his Oscar-shortlisted “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)”.  In the summer of 1969, a music festival took place in New York that attracted over 300,000 people. Featuring some of the most incredible artists of that — or any — era, it caught the cultural wave of the moment. No, it wasn’t Woodstock. And, until very recently, practically nobody knew it ever took place. Featuring stunning, previously unseen archival performance footage and incorporating an array of enthralling interviews, game-changing debut documentary “Summer of Soul” is a joyful celebration of the Harlem Cultural Festival and a long-delayed corrective to an egregious example of Black erasure. Winner of both the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best U.S. Documentary. “Summer of Love” is Oscar shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature. 
 
Fresh off the set of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he serves as Musical Director, Questlove joined Mike and Ken for a spellbinding conversation, showcasing his unique skills as a storyteller. How is it that even a musical aficionado of Questlove’s renown was skeptical that such a concert ever happened? What was his initial reaction to seeing this long-forgotten footage? How did he crack the code of doing justice to the towering musical performances happening on stage and conveying the broader social and political movements happening off it? What inspired him to start the film with Stevie Wonder on drums? And, what about David Ruffin’s sartorial choices? Tune in to this episode of Top Docs for answers to these questions and a whole lot more. Questlove in conversation is its own sublime music set. Headphones not included.

Classic: "Dick Johnson is Dead" with Kirsten ("KJ") Johnson (from October 2021)

While we gear up for Season 4 of "Top Doc", we're sharing some of our favorite episodes of the past few years.  Today, we re-present a pod from October of 2021.
 
Ken and Mike welcome Kirsten (KJ) Johnson, who recently won Best Director for her groundbreaking film, "Dick Johnson is Dead." This film is like no other film you’ll find in your Netflix queue. KJ’s boundary-pushing documentary uses the art of cinema to keep the ravages of time and the onset of dementia from taking her beloved father Dick away from her. The solution? Keep killing her father over-and-over again on camera, all with Dick’s active participation and encouragement. 
Once you survive the film, you’ll definitely want to join Mike and Ken for this refreshingly candid conversation with KJ who constantly questions everything (including our questions!) and proves herself to be every bit as provocative, playful and engaging as the film itself. Covering everything from Seventh-day Adventism and the best way to stage your father’s funeral while he’s still alive to Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera and, of course, chocolate cake, this week’s podcast is one you’ll be dying to listen to. And look out for that falling air conditioner! 
You can follow us on twitter @topdocspod
Other films directed by Kirsten Johnson:
Cameraperson
Deadline
 
People who worked on the film:
Judy Karp
Michael Hilow
Nels Bangerter
Peter Horner
Nadia Hallgren
John Foster
Simon Mendes
Marilyn Ness
 
Hidden Gem:  Marjoe
 
Also mentioned in the pod:
Ousmane Sembène 
Djibril Diop Mambéty
Wellington Bowler
Young Frankenstein
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Charles Addams
Lacan on social death 
Derrida (the documentary)
Quantum Entanglement
The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

"Albert Brooks: Defending My Life" with Rob Reiner

Already famous as an actor, Rob Reiner made his directorial debut in 1984 with the landmark mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap”, which kicked off a new subgenre and inspired countless references to turning the knob “up to 11.” But, it has taken 40 years for the legendary creative hyphenate (director of “Stand by Me”, “When Harry Met Sally”, “A Few Good Men” and many more) to direct his first “real” documentary, “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life”, a loving embrace of his lifelong friend, the comedic genius Albert Brooks.
Joining Ken on the pod, Rob shares insights into what makes Albert tick, why it took his friend so long to agree to the film, and how he was inspired by “My Dinner with Andre” to sit down over cheesecake with his former Beverly Hills classmate. With his first documentary, Rob proves to be equally adept as an interviewer as he is chronicler of Albert’s career through a selection of Albert’s’ brilliant stand-up appearances, clips from his movies, and testimonials from a who’s who of comedy heavyweights. The result is a thoroughly charming and, ultimately, inspiring portrait of friendship itself. What took you so long, Rob?
 
“Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” is available now on Max.
 
Follow:
@robreiner on twitter/X
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. 

"Power" with Yance Ford

Yance Ford’s voice is key to his new documentary on Netflix, so here’s how he describes “Power”:  “Driven to contain threats to social order, American policing has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now it can be described by one word: ‘Power’”.
 
Yance’s narrative is deeply rooted in a historical analysis of the roots of American policing–Indian removal, slave patrol, the anti-Labor municipal police of the 18th and 19th centuries; in his analysis, all driven by the protection of property.  But his focus ultimately resolves on the deeply personal effects that policing has on individuals and communities. 
 
“Power” can now be streamed on Netflix. 
 
Follow:
@yford on twitter/X
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
 

"American Nightmare" with Felicity Morris & Bernadette Higgins

In 2015, a young California couple, Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins, was awakened by a home invasion, drugged, and blindfolded; Denise was kidnapped. But that isn’t the only disturbing horror at the heart of the harrowing Netflix docuseries “American Nightmare”. Sensitively and imaginatively directed by Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins (“The Tinder Swindler”), this true crime drama focuses as much on the local police department’s disturbing disregard for the couple, and for the facts of the case, as it does on the original crimes.
 
Joining Ken on the pod, Felicity and Bernadette describe how their approach to “The Tinder Swindler” and “American Nightmare” avoids the tropes and traps of the standard true crime formula, resulting in documentaries that feature the victims as the primary storytellers. From their choice of lighting and interview staging, to how the series is structured, every element of the production supports the directors’ vision and gives power back to Aaron and Denise — one more step in the couple’s journey to awaken from their American nightmare.
 
“American Nightmare” is streaming on Netflix. 
 
Follow:
@felicityhmorris on Instagram and  @fliss_morris on twitter/X 
@bernadetteberniehiggins on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X
 
Hidden Gem:
“Pamela, a love story”
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. 

"Our Planet II" with Huw Cordey

Sir David Attenborough’s still got it. As he proves in Netflix’s extraordinary nature series “Our Planet II”, the 98-year-old legendary British biologist, natural historian, narrator, and writer remains one of the documentary world’s great talents.
 
Joining Mike and Ken on the pod, “Our Planet II" Series Producer Huw Cordey discusses the ins-and-outs of collaborating with narrator Sir David and the tremendous challenges of this mind-blowing nature series. Picking up where Our Planet left off, the sequel explores how and why a vast array of species embark on their annual migratory journeys. Along the way, Huw describes how all the key creative elements, from the extraordinary cinematography to the finely-honed scripts, come together to make stars of these remarkable creatures, great and small. They are the real legends of this story.
 
“Our Planet II” is streaming on Netflix. 
 
Follow:
@huwcordey on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X
 
Hidden Gem:
“Big Oil v the World”

"Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York" with Anthony Caronna & Howard Gertler

 
In the early 1990s, a serial killer stalked his victims not by slipping into houses under cover of darkness or by abducting victims from isolated highway rest stops, but rather by haunting crowded, lively gay bars in Manhattan–he even interacted with others in these bars, sometimes the very friends of his victims.  
 
What makes “Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York” so compelling is the way director Anthony Caronna and executive producer Howard Gertler bring to bear a chronicling of gay life in the city at that time–with both its joys and its terrors during an era of widespread crime against queer New Yorkers–to explain how the killer managed to get away with his crimes for so long.  And on the way they pay both great respect to the full, complicated lives of those who were lost, as well as those they left behind.
 
You can watch “Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York” on Max.
 
Follow:
@hgertler on Instagram and 
@auntyanthony on Instagram and @AnthonyCaronna on twitter/X
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X
 
Hidden Gems:
Licensed to Kill
Split Screen