Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

2024 Toronto International Film Festival Doc Lineup with Thom Powers

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 5 – 15, 2024, promises, once again, to be one of the world’s premier showcases for documentaries. TIFF’s renowned Documentary Programmer and DOC NYC co-founder Thom Powers (Pure Nonfiction, WNYC’s Documentary of the Week) joins Ken to break down the TIFF DOCS lineup and discuss what are sure to be some of the Fall awards season’s most talked about and acclaimed documentaries.
 
Featuring 21 feature documentaries from 24 countries, the TIFF DOCS section is more international in scope than ever, covering a wide range of topics, from highly topical political docs (“The Last Republican”, “From Ground Zero”) to deeply intimate personal stories (“Mistress Dispeller”, “A Sister’s Tale”) and awe-inspiring cinematic experiences (“Space Cowboy”, “The Last of the Sea Women”). The Fall doc season is here, and Toronto is ground zero.
 
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@thompowers1 on Instagram
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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

"Blink" with Daniel Roher & Edmund Stenson

Like many parents of young children who run around the house wreaking havoc, Montrealers Edith Lemay and Sébastian Pelletier have their hands full. But in their case, what concerns them most is that three of their four children suffer from a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa, which is gradually robbing Mia, Colin and Laurent of their eyesight. In their deeply moving new documentary, BLINK, filmmakers Edmund Stenson (“Finding Fukue”) and Daniel Roher (who won the Oscar® for “Navalny”) observe how this diagnosis has created a shockwave through the family, but also led to new adventures and personal growth.
 
Ed and Daniel join Ken on the pod to talk about how they came to know the Pelletiers and bear witness to the family’s yearlong journey around the world. Designed to help the children create strong visual memories that will last a lifetime, the trip is guided by an epic bucket list that also serves to drive the film’s narrative. As we witness the family traverse the globe, checking off items on the list, we find ourselves seeing the world through different sets of eyes. Scenes of delight and awe alternate with moments of uncertainty and fear. Ultimately, BLINK is a story of opening up and finding your place, including in your own family.
 
BLINK is being released by National Geographic Documentary Films in select theaters starting October 4th.
 
Follow:
@daniel_roher on Instagram and @DanielRoher on twitter/X
@edmund.stenson on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and twitter/X
 
Hidden Gems:
Edmund: “A Man Vanishes”
Daniel: “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

"Last of the Sea Women" with Sue Kim

“The Last of the Sea Women” sounds like it might be a B movie classic in the mold of “King Kong vs. Godzilla.” But while Sue Kim’s fascinating and sui generis feature directorial debut shares very little in common with that movie genre, it does spotlight a group of extraordinary women from South Korea who have been living like real-life superheroes for centuries.
 
Sue joins Ken on the pod to talk about the remarkable haenyeo divers, who for many generations have been free diving off the coast of Jeju Island and other places in South Korea to harvest seafood and live as successful independent entrepreneurs. In the process, the haenyeo, most of whom are in their 60s and 70s, have formed a powerful bond and created a culture that has become legendary. Now, due to climate change, pollution and other factors, the haenyeo’s way of life is under threat. As the haenyeo become active in the fight to preserve their culture and protect the environment, a new generation of haenyeo has emerged. But, with most haenyeo aging out of the profession, can this way of life survive? If this sounds like the plot of a superhero movie, then you wouldn’t be far off.
 
“The Last of the Sea Women” is currently streaming on Apple+
 
Follow:
@suebacca on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
 
Hidden Gem:
“Liquor Store Dreams”
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

"Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid" with Matt Tyrnauer

If you don’t want to get burned in American politics, “Lean into the fire.” So says James Carville, the world’s most famous presidential campaign manager, in award-winning filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer’s thoroughly engaging and refreshing new documentary, “Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid.” Carville’s sharp-edged political commentary has, for years, provided a constant stream of content for cable shows and podcasts. But it wasn’t until mid-2023, when Carville became one of the first mainstream voices in Democratic circles to call for Biden to quit the 2024 campaign, that he achieved a level of prominence that he hadn’t experienced since the early 90s, when he helped Bill Clinton become president.
 
Joining Ken on the pod, Matt talks about what led him to James as the subject of his latest film even before the stuff hit the fan with Carville and Biden — and what it was like to be filming when the Biden-Trump debate changed everything. As with all master filmmakers, Matt’s approach goes beyond the present tense moment. He deftly navigates Carville’s poignant backstory and inner life, his upbringing and the public/private moments of his marriage to former Republican campaign consultant Mary Matalin. It turns out that leaning into the fire is sound advice for documentary filmmakers, too.
 
“Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid” is playing in select theaters.
 
Follow:
@tyrnauer on Instagram and @mtyrnauer on X
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
 
Hidden Gem:
“Paul T. Goldman”
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

"Martha" with RJ Cutler

In his highly engaging new Netflix documentary “Martha,” Emmy award-winning filmmaker RJ Cutler (“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”, “Big Vape”) calls Martha Stewart the original influencer. Throughout the 80s and 90s, on her TV show and with her Kmart retail line and publishing empire, Martha defined good taste as it related to virtually every aspect of the American home. Her magazine and brand were called “Martha Stewart Living” for a reason.
 
RJ joins Mike and Ken on the pod to provide further insight into this groundbreaking entrepreneur and cultural icon, whose advice on all things related to the American home gave her legions of fans something to aspire to, but who couldn't always fix everything in her own life. From her difficult upbringing, through the highpoint of her career, and then with her downfall and eventual, triumphant comeback, “Martha” offers a fascinating and comprehensive portrait that leaves no decorative stone unturned.
 
“Martha” is currently streaming on Netflix.
 
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@rjcutler928 on Instagram and @rjcutler on X
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
 
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

"Skywalkers" with Jeff Zimbalist

Probably the last place you want to have a lover’s quarrel is during an illegal climb up one of the world’s tallest buildings — especially when your goal is to perform a death-defying acrobatic duet on the tiny platform at the top of the building’s spire. But in Jeff Zimbalist’s (“The Two Escobars,” “ReMastered”) harrowing, breathtaking documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” that’s exactly where things are headed after Vanya Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, two uniquely gifted “rooftoppers/skywalkers,” reach the upper floors of the world’s second tallest building and can’t seem to agree on what to do next.
 
Joining Ken on the pod, Jeff describes how these two remarkable “artists of the sky” combine forces to perform some of the most extraordinary feats you’ve ever seen, from heights that will make your head spin. But while the footage of these achievements may make your palms sweaty (as they did mine), it is the growing intimate relationship between Vanya and Angela that proves every bit as complicated as the plotting required to pull off one of their amazing stunts. With his sharpened focus on this fascinating true romance, Jeff pulls off a pretty impressive stunt of his own: how to tell a story that is thoroughly relatable to those of us who will never do more than climb a 10-foot ladder or take an elevator ride to the top of some really tall building. It turns out that love may be the scariest climb of all.
 
“Skywalkers: A Love Story” is streaming on Netflix.
 
Follow:
@jeffzimbalist on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
 
Hidden Gem:
“The Hour of the Furnaces”

"Leonardo da Vinci" with Ken Burns & Dave McMahon

In their first foray outside the context of American history and culture, Ken Burns (“The Brooklyn Bridge”, “The Civil War”, Jazz) and Dave McMahon (“The Central Park Five”, “Jackie Robinson”, “The War”) take on Leonardo da Vinci.  As they tell Mike, casting themselves deep into the past, Burns and McMahon explore the world that Leonardo found himself–first the Tuscan countryside, then Florence at the height of its commercial and cultural powers–and in an era that turned back both to the classic authors, as well as outward towards the natural world.  To adequately represent Leonardo’s art, as well as the “prophetic” sketches of his notebook, Burns and McMahon embraced new forms of showing and telling themselves.  The result is a documentary that may well make you see the world if not through Leonardo’s own eyes, then yet once again, anew.
 
“Leonardo da Vinci” will first air on PBS November 18 & 19.
 
Follow:
@kenlburns on Instagram & @KenBurns on X
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
 
Hidden Gems:
“Night Mail”
“How to Survive a Pandemic”
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

"The Remarkable Life of Ibelin" with Benjamin Ree

To his “real” family, Mats Steen was a loving brother and son, rather shy and reserved; to his World of Warcraft family, Mats — known by his avatar Ibelin Redmoore — was bold, outgoing, and something of a ladies’ man. Both families were devastated by Mats’ tragic passing from Duchenne muscular dystrophy when he was only in his mid-20s. In his deeply moving, brilliantly constructed new Netflix documentary “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,” director Benjamin Ree (“The Painter and the Thief”, “Magnus”) illuminates all aspects of Mats’ life in a profound way that neither of his families could possibly have imagined.
 
Benjamin joins Ken on the pod to discuss his own remarkable creative journey as he set out to give full measure to Mats’ story — both in real life and inside the World of Warcraft universe. How did Benjamin animate the 42,000 pages of texts from the game to recreate Ibelin’s adventures and relationships within the World of Warcraft community that he was a part of? In what ways was telling this film comparable to writing a symphony, with its innovative, repetitive structure building over time? And, finally, what has been the startling and legacy of Mat’s life on those who knew him and on the thousands of gamers who never met him? There’s no avatar for that kind of impact.
 
“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” is streaming on Netflix.
 
Follow:
@benjaminree_ on Instagram and @Benjamin_Ree on X
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
 
Hidden Gems:
“Brothers”
“The Overnighters”
“The Arbor”
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

"Night is Not Eternal" with Nanfu Wang

Today we speak with Nanfu Wang, about her new documentary, “Night is Not Eternal,” a portrait of the Cuban struggle for democracy, with a focus on Cuban human rights activist Rosa Maria Payá.
 
Nanfu was previously on the pod discussing her last documentary “In the Same Breath”, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2022.  In that film, Nanfu found the focus of her previous work, which had been situated firmly on her native China slipping a bit, and found herself examining the way the  America that she had immigrated to dealt with the COVID crisis as well as the Chinese response.  
 
In a similar manner, “Night is not Eternal”, as you’ll hear, was meant at first to be a portrait of Cuban Activist Rosa Maria Payá, as well as of Rosa’s father, Oswaldo, in a sense a legendary advocate of democracy for Cuba, and one who was killed by the security services of the nation he had refused to leave. But the portrait of Rosa and the focus on Cuba spawned an almost mirror-like depiction of Nanfu herself, and her own wishes for an end to authoritarianism in her home county.  And, over the years that she shot and edited the film, she found that she was beginning to recognize some early warnings of authoritarianism in her adopted country, one that, especially upon becoming the mother of a Chinese-American child, she had grown to love.
 
You can watch "Night is Not Eternal' on HBO and Max.
 
Follow:
@nanfu on Instagram and @wangnanfu on X
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

"Black Box Diaries" with Shiori Ito

The message from some of the most powerful forces in Japanese society was clear: “Don’t talk about it.” But, over the course of a yearslong journey depicted in her powerful new documentary “Black Box Diaries,” Japanese journalist Shiori Ito does all she can to expose the facts and tell her story of how she was raped in 2015 by a prominent journalist. After the Tokyo Metropolitan Police decided not to pursue the investigation, Shiori made her accusations public at a press conference and never looked back.
 
Joining Ken on the pod, Shiori describes the many cultural, political and legal obstacles that stood in her way as she refused to do what even her own family was advising, which was to remain silent. Relying on her skills as a journalist, Shiori interviews multiple witnesses and confronts the powers that be. She files a civil lawsuit. She writes a best-selling book. The result is the stirrings of a Japanese #MeToo movement, a quest for justice, and the reclaiming of her chosen profession. “Black Box Diaries” is the harrowing, disturbing, and, ultimately, inspiring story of what happens when one woman decides to talk — and to fight back.
 
Follow:
@shiori_ito.films and @blackboxdiariesdoc on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
 
“Black Box Diaries” is being released by MTV Documentary Films.
 
Hidden Gem:
“Intercepted”
 
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.