Episodes

Live from New York City, Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the directors behind several projects contending for Emmy nominations: Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson on "Ladies and Gentlemen...50 Years of SNL Music" from Peacock; and "Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)" from Hulu Reginald Hudlin on "Number One on the Call Sheet" from Apple TV+ David Tedeschi on "Beatles ‘64" from Disney+ Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Kenya's Sam Soko is a prominent figure in the rising wave of African documentary. In this interview recorded at CPH:DOX, he explains there's a new crisis for African documentary. In this interview recorded at CPH:DOX, he explains there's a new crisis for African documentary.

"Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story" profiles the Irish novelist who broke taboos both in her writing and her personal life. Her early novels were denounced by the Catholic Church and banned by the Irish Censor Board. This stunning film puts her legacy into a new perspective. "Blue Road" premiered at TIFF and is now playing in theaters in Ireland and the UK, but hasn't yet found U.S. distribution. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Sinead O'Shea whose previous films include "Pra...

“Secret Mall Apartment” tells the story of a group of artists who found a hidden space a Rhode Island mega mall that they occupied for four years while evading security. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Jeremy Workman about how he convinced the artists to tell their story after they had turned down other documentary makers for over 15 years. He also discusses his day job editing movie trailers; and what he learned from his father, the filmmaker Chuck Workman. Subscribe to our Substac...

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Frederick Wiseman at age 95 about how he maintained his independence for over five decades.

Four interviews about films on the Oscars Shortlist for Documentary Feature: supervising editor David Teague and animator Renata Galindo on FRIDA; co-director Angela Patton on DAUGHTERS; producer Rafael Marmor on WILL & HARPER; director Shiori Ito on BLACK BOX DIARIES. Recorded live in New York City on January 5, 2025 at Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by Pure Nonfiction and The Ankler, and moderated by Thom Powers. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @purenonfic...

Three interviews about films on the Oscars Shortlist for Documentary Feature: Stephen Maing and Brett Story on UNION; Laurie Anderson and Gary Hustwit on ENO; Slava Leontyev, Paula Dupre' Pesman, and Joe Berlinger on PORCELAIN WAR. Recorded live in New York City on January 5, 2025 at Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by Pure Nonfiction and The Ankler, and moderated by Thom Powers. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"Queendom" profiles the non-binary Russian performance artist Jenna Marvin. We watch her challenge Russia's repressive laws against the LGBTQ+ community and protest the country's war on Ukraine, putting herself at great risk. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Agniia Galdanova and producer Igor Myakotin about what motivated them on this project despite the inherent dangers. "Queendom" is on the Oscars Shortlist for Documentary Feature and available on video on demand. Subscrib...

Egyptian filmmaker Ibrahim Nash'at embedded himself in Afghanistan and documented how the Taliban took control of over $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment.

Adam Kinzinger was the first Republican Congressman to call for the impeachment of Donald Trump after the Jan 6 insurrection. That caught the attention of the Hollywood comedy writer and director Steve Pink ("Hot Tub Time Machine"). Although Pink is liberal and Kinzinger is conservative they shared a sense of humor and an opposition to Trump. "The Last Republican" follows Kinzinger over a year as he served on the Congressional committee to investigate Jan 6. The film is opening at New York's Fil...

"The Bibi Files" looks at the corruption case against Benjamin Netanyahu, drawing upon a vast trove of leaked interrogation footage. Netanyahu went to court trying to block the film from being shown, but that motion failed. Producer Alex Gibney and director Alexis Bloom discuss the challenges they faced in getting the film made and seen. Watch the film on Jolt. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

William Kentridge is well-known in the world of museums and galleries. Now he brings together all of his artistic disciplines - drawing, animation, sculpture and performance - to create the 9-part film essay "Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot".

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the directors of four films in the inaugural London edition of Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by The Ankler.

Brian Eno and filmmaker Gary Hustwit discuss their film "Eno"; and director Benjamin Ree talks about "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin" with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers. Both interviews were recorded in front of a live audience at the inaugural London edition of Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by The Ankler. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"Ernest Cole: Lost and Found" explores the legacy of the photographer who covered apartheid in the 1960s from the perspective of a Black South African. Cole was driven into exile in the U.S. and Europe. He died in obscurity in 1990, but he left behind a secret archive of over 60,000 negatives shot in exile that were recently discovered. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Raoul Peck ("I Am Not Your Negro") about this new film. He also previews two more works coming next year on ...

Jazz musicians, CIA operatives, and African revolutionaries are among the many figures who populate "Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat" that win a Sundance jury award for Cinematic Innovation. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Johan Grimonprez in front of a live audience at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Our third episode recorded live in Los Angeles for Documentary Spotlight, co-presented by The Ankler, features: - "Frida" director Carla Gutierrez and composer Victor Hernandez Stumpfhauser (Amazon) - "I Am: Celine Dion" director Irene Taylor with rare disease specialist Dr. Paula Barreras (Amazon) - "Daughters" co-director Natalie Rae (Netflix) Interviewed by Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

We look at two new documentaries from directors who also work in comedy. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Steve Pink ("Hot Tub Time Machine") whose documentary debut "The Last Republican" profiles Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger who voted to impeach Donald Trump after the January 6th insurrection. The second interview is with Josh Greenbaum ("Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar") whose new film "Will & Harper" profiles Will Ferrell and Harper Steele as they take a cross country roa...

Our latest Documentary Spotlight event took place in October, co-presented by The Ankler in Los Angeles. We hear selections from conversations on "Sugarcane" , "Porcelain War" and "No Other Land".

Shiori Ito shocked Japan in 2017 when she publicly accused a prominent journalist of raping her. She has directed the film "Black Box Diaries" about her experiences trying to speak her truth, despite enormous backlash and death threats.

In "Nocturnes", set in the mountainous forest on the border of India and Bhutan, we follow the scientist Mansi who works at night projecting light onto a sheet where countless species of colorful moths gather.

"Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" profiles the actor who was paralyzed from a horse riding accident and found a new purpose in life. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the documentary directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui. They discuss how they made their way to this project after previously collaborating on films about fashion designer Alexander McQueen in "McQueen" and the paralympics in "Rising Phoenix." Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @pure...

"Daughters," now streaming on Netflix, follows a Daddy Daughter Dance held in a prison. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the film's director Angela Patton and Natalie Rae Robison, who collaborated on the feature documentary debut. They also discuss the contributions of cinematographer Michael "Cambio" Fernandez and executive producer Kerry Washington. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter Doc Voices. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Episode 200 is dedicated to the legacy of Jess Search, the visionary producer and co-founder of Doc Society. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Beadie Finzi of Doc Society and Judy Kibinge of Docubox in Kenya. They are two members of DISCO (Decentralised Independent Story and Culture Organizers), a network of documentary organizations around the world. They discuss the mission of DISCO and the Independence Project. Learn more at: Doc Society Docubox The DISCO Network Independence Proj...