Oscar-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck discusses his new film Orwell: 2+2=5, about 1984 author George Orwell. We caught up with him at the Camden International Film Festival, one of the most important events on the calendar for the documentary community. At Camden, we also visited with the leaders of the Points North Insitute which puts on the festival: Executive Director Elise McCave and Artistic Director Sean Flynn. They share their perspective on the state of documentary film.

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Director Mike Figgis made the most of his opportunity to follow Francis Ford Coppola as the octogenarian filmmaker poured heart and soul, not to mention tens of millions of dollars, into making his 2024 narrative feature, Megalopolis. Figgis tells us what he observed behind the scenes as Coppola attempted to bring his cinematic vision to life, beset by creative issues that led to firings and resignations, and conflict with one of his principal actors, Shia LaBeouf. 

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Doc Talk ventures into the disturbing territory of The Yogurt Shop Murders with director and executive producer Margaret Brown, her first foray into the true crime genre. The HBO series examines the shocking execution-style slaying of four teenage girls in 1991 in an Austin, Texas frozen yogurt store, a shocking crime that remains unsolved. Brown tells us about the impact of the documentary on friends and family of the young victims, and how making it deeply affected the filmmaker and her crew.

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German director Andres Veiel joins us to discuss his expected Oscar-contending documentary Riefenstahl, about Leni Riefenstahl who was known as Hitler's favorite filmmaker. After World War II  Riefenstahl tried to play down her role in furthering Nazi ideology through her 1930s films including Triumph of the Will and Olympia, claiming she was just an artist who had taken on assignments from Hitler and his minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbles. But Veiel digs into Riefenstahl's archive, including drafts of her memoir, audio tapes and other sources to reveal she was very much in sync with what Hitler stood for.

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Ahead of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival kickoff on Thursday, we get a preview of the documentary lineup from doc programmer Thom Powers. He tells us about the Paula Deen film by Bill Corben, Michèle Stephenson's True North, two-time Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot's feature documentary and much more. He also shares insights on his new book, Mondo Documentary, a collection of his TIFF program pieces from his 20 years with the festival.

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As Emmy voting nears its conclusion, we talk with creators — and a key participant — of two of the top contenders. Will & Harper director Josh Greenbaum joins the show along with Harper Steele — the Harper of Will & Harper — whose story of going on a road trip with her pal Will Ferrell after announcing her transition is told in the Netflix film that's nominated for five Emmys. We also speak with Nyle DiMarco and Oscar winner Davis Guggenheim, co-directors of Deaf President Now!, their Apple TV+ documentary about a historic student uprising at Gallaudet University, the famed private university serving the Deaf and hearing impaired. DiMarco speaks to us through his ASL interpreter Grey Van Pelt.

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We speak with Matt Wolf, director of Pee-Wee as Himself, his documentary about the late actor Paul Reubens, and Katie Walsh, director and executive producer of Simone Biles Rising. Pee-wee is nominated for five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, while Simone Biles Rising goes for the gold in the category of Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.

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Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg's new documentary It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley examines the life and career of the titular singer-songwriter-guitarist, who died tragically at the age of 30. Berg discusses her long effort to gain permission from Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, to make the film and how she combined distinctive visual elements as well as Buckley's own voice to paint a portrait of a sensitive and supremely talented musician.

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Description: Actor-writer-filmmaker Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine joins us to discuss Memories of Love Returned, a documentary 20 years in the making. His film explores the work of an extraordinary photographer, Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo, who created a lasting portrait of people in rural Uganda, an oeuvre unlike any other. In the episode, hosts John Ridley and Matt Carey also parse the Emmy nominations, spotlighting top contenders and most notable omissions.

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Award-winning filmmaker Reid Davenport's new investigative documentary Life After "exposes the web of moral dilemmas and profit motives surrounding assisted dying," suggesting that right-to-die laws are being used to encourage disabled people to end their lives. The director and his producer, Colleen Cassingham, join Doc Talk for a fascinating conversation around one of the most talked about films of the year.

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