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

Listen to latest episode

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film Cover Art

Recent Episodes

185: Paul Cronin on Columbia 1968

Posted May 7, 2024 • 00:57:05

Paul Cronin has spent years creating a massive oral history about the Columbia University student uprising in 1968. The work titled "A Time to Stir"...

184: Clair Titley on "The Contestant"

Posted May 2, 2024 • 00:33:11

"The Contestant" takes us back to the early days of reality TV in Japan. An aspiring comedian named nicknamed Nasubi ("eggplant") auditions for the...

183: Just Vision’s Julia Bacha and Suhad Babaa on 20 Years of Covering Israel-Palestine

Posted April 18, 2024 • 00:49:03

The non-profit Just Vision has a long history of covering Israel-Palestine in documentary films such as "Encounter Point," and "Budrus." Currently all...

182: Sreemoyee Singh — from India to Iran

Posted April 11, 2024 • 00:41:41

Growing up in Kolkata, Sreemoyee Singh fell in love with Iranian cinema and poetry. She pursued that passion by moving to Iran, learning Persian and...

181: Mila Turajlić on Non-Aligned

Posted April 4, 2024 • 00:49:51

Mila Turajlić has spent over 20 years exploring the legacy of Yugoslavia. Now she has two new films that draw upon the extraordinary archive of cameraman...