Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Hear the world's top storytellers talk all things documentary film. Host Thom Powers is as well-connected as it gets in this world as a documentary curator for TIFF and other renowned festivals. He wrote the book “Mondo Documentary” that is “required read

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Recent Episodes

190: Chris Wilcha — from "This American Life" to "Flipside"

Posted June 6, 2024 • 00:44:09

"Flipside" is a personal essay film in which director Chris Wilcha grapples with middle age by trying to document the New Jersey record store where...

189: India's Trail-Blazing Director Anand Patwardhan

Posted May 30, 2024 • 00:39:30

Indian documentary film has been gaining world renown with Peabody Awards, Oscar nominations and other recognition. A key trailblazer for this movement...

188: Margreth Olin on "Songs of Earth"

Posted May 23, 2024 • 00:42:53

"Songs of Earth" is both a love story and a cinematic exploration of nature. Filmmaker Margreth Olin profiles her parents while immersing us in Norway's...

187: Rob Reiner on Albert Brooks and Spinal Tap

Posted May 16, 2024 • 00:32:26

Rob Reiner started his directing career with the spoof documentary "This is Spinal Tap" and is now editing a sequel. He has a new documentary now playing...

186: Yousef Srouji on Palestinian Home Movies

Posted May 9, 2024 • 00:42:12

During the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, Yousef Srouji was a boy living with his family in the West Bank town of Beit Jala. His mother Suha used...