Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Alex Gibney’s “No Stone Unturned” uses leaked police documents to investigate an unsolved mass murder in Northern Ireland. Now the police are pushing back. On August 31, police raided the Belfast homes and office of producer Trevor Birney and journalist Barry Mccaffrey and arrested them over the leaked documents. Gibney has been notified that he’s […] The post 86: Alex Gibney & Trevor Birney, Wanted in Belfast appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

During the 2016 US election, Russia Today offered a steady stream of English-language reports that disseminated to American audiences via YouTube and Facebook. Filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin digs into those reports and other Russian media coverage to offer an immersive look at propaganda in “Our New President.” The film was originally crafted as a short for […] The post 85: Maxim Pozdorovkin on Trump, Putin & Pussy Riot appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Gore Vidal played a key role behind the scenes in helping Scotty Bowers tell his secret history of Hollywood. Starting in the 1940s, Scotty operated an infamous gas station in Hollywood where he would arrange sexual trysts for celebrities who needed to keep their gay, lesbian or bisexual lives hidden. With Vidal’s help, Scotty published […] The post 84: Matt Tyrnauer on “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Jim Courier and Kathleen Horvath are only a few of the champions who came out of Nick Bollettieri’s tennis academy. Bollettieri ran a controversial program taking kids at a young age to live away from their parents, but he turned out more champions than any other coach. The new Showtime documentary […] The post 83: Jason Kohn on “Love Means Zero” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Whitney Houston had an angelic voice, but fought demons in her personal life. The new documentary “Whitney” explores her talents and tribulations. Filmmaker Kevin MacDonald previously directed the documentaries “Marley,” “Touching the Void,” and the Oscar-winning “One Day in September,” as well as the fiction film “The Last King of Scotland.” Pure Nonfiction host Thom […] The post 82: Kevin MacDonald on Whitney Houston appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Separated at birth, the triplets Bobby, Eddy and David discovered each other by accident at age 19 in 1980. They became media sensations. Madonna cast them in a movie and they opened a Manhattan restaurant called triplets. Their lives took many twists and turns that are documented in the film “Three Identical Strangers.” Pure Nonfiction […] The post 81: Tim Wardle on “Three Identical Strangers” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Relax, “Eating Animals” isn’t proselytizing for vegetarianism. But author Jonathan Safran Foer and filmmaker Christopher Quinn are asking you to think more seriously about factory farming. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Foer and Quinn touching upon how factory farmed meat affects our health, the environment and the economy. Foer also remembers his discussion with […] The post 80: Jonathan Safran Foer & Christopher Quinn on “Eating Animals” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Comedian Garry Shandling is remembered for creating two ground-breaking TV shows: “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” and “The Larry Sanders Show.” He was also a key mentor to Hollywood writer and director Judd Apatow (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”; “Knocked Up”). After Shandling’s death in 2016, Apatow gained access to his mentor’s diaries. He draws upon them for […] The post 79: Judd Apatow on Garry Shandling appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus (“What Happened Miss Simone?”) follows The New York Times team of reporters and editors covering the first year of the Trump administration in the four-part Showtime series The Fourth Estate. Garbus talks to Pure Nonfiction  host Thom Powers about the making of the series. She was previously interviewed on episode 5. […] The post 78: Liz Garbus on The New York Times in “The Fourth Estate” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Buena Vista Social Club, Pina Bausch and Sebastiao Selgado are among Wim Wenders past documentary subjects. Now he profiles the head of the Catholic Church in “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word,” released in theaters by Focus Features. Wenders talks to Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers about the making of the film. He also […] The post 77: Wim Wenders on Pope Francis appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is profiled in the new documentary “RBG.” Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the directing duo of Betsy West and Julie Cohen on Ginsburg’s career fighting for women’s rights. They discuss their personal experiences of enduring sexism in the worlds of broadcast news and public radio. On Twitter: @betsywest […] The post 76: Filming Ruth Bader Ginsburg appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

“Bobby Kennedy for President” is a four-part Netflix series that traces the politician’s career with an emphasis on issues of racial justice. The final episode reexamines his 1968 assassination and the trial of Sirhan Sirhan that left unanswered questions. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews filmmaker Dawn Porter on the making of the series. She […] The post 75: Dawn Porter on “Bobby Kennedy for President” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Joe Berlinger has been making documentaries for over 25 years. He started out at Maysles Films where he met Bruce Sinofsky. In 1992, they made “Brother’s Keeper”, a story of a murder trial in upstate New York, that revitalized observational documentary. They went on to make the “Paradise Lost” trilogy and “Metallica: Some Kind of […] The post 74: Joe Berlinger from “Brother’s Keeper” to “Intent to Destroy” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Grace Jones has been commanding attention for decades as a singer, actress and icon. Now filmmaker Sophie Fiennes crafts a documentary as unconventional as its subject in “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami.” The film immerses us into Grace’s life on the road – from her childhood home in Jamaica to the recording studio of “Hurricane” […] The post 73: Sophie Fiennes on Grace Jones appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Could China be responsible for the next Wall Street crash? Filmmaker Jed Rothstein explores that question in “The China Hustle.” After the 2008 market crash, American investors started paying close attention to the growth in Chinese companies. The film follows the founder of a small investment firm named Dan David who got bullish on Chinese […] The post 72: Jed Rothstein on “The China Hustle” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

In “Vegas Baby,” filmmaker Amanda Micheli follows several wannabe parents who enter a contest for free IVF treatment at a Las Vegas fertility clinic – ranging from a Midwestern couple to a Lady Gaga impersonator. Micheli’s previous films include “Double Dare” about female stunt women and the Oscar-nominated short “La Corona” about a Colombian women’s […] The post 71: Amanda Micheli on “Vegas Baby” & IVF Treatment appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Netflix’s new true crime series “Wild Wild Country” explores the 1980s case of the so-called sex guru Bhagwan Rajneesh whose followers established a city near the small town of Antelope, Oregon and raised fears among locals. The clash of cultures escalated to both sides arming themselves. Rajneesh’s personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela was at the […] The post 70: Mark Duplass, Chapman & Maclain Way on “Wild Wild Country” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

The documentary “Hondros” tells the story of war photographer Chris Hondros who was killed alongside Tim Hetherington in Libya in 2011. Hondros is known for iconic photos that were published all over the world: a jubilant warrior in Liberia; an Iraqi girl after a checkpoint shooting in Tal Afar; and an Arab Spring clash in Tahrir […] The post PN 69: Remembering Chris Hondros appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Netflix’s new 8-part series “Flint Town”  follows the city’s police department as they cope with a depressed economy, high crime and a water crisis over the course of 2016. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the three directors of “Flint Town” – Zackary Canepari, Drea Cooper and Jessica Dimmock – in front of a live audience […] The post PN 68: Policing in “Flint Town” appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.

Fifteen years ago as America prepared to make war on Iraq, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim embedded herself at the U.S. military’s CENTCOM media headquarters in Doha, Qatar. She and cinematographer Hani Salama focused on how the rising network Al Jazeera covered the war differently from American news. Two key characters are Al Jazeera journalist Hassan Ibrahim […] The post PN 67: “Control Room” Revisited with Josh Rushing appeared first on Pure Nonfiction.