This one is scientific! We're thrilled to take a walk on Austin's wildside with one of the hardest working Executive Producers in the doc game today. Meet Jess Harrop, executive director of Sandbox Films—the science-meets-cinema studio behind FATHOM, FIRE OF LOVE, ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT, and a jaw-dropping slate of genre-bending docs. Jess takes a break from her SXSW responsibilities to share her journey from a biology degree and a theater background (and zero film school) to a gig associate producing NOVA and eventually launching and running one of the most exciting studios in documentary. We dig into Sandbox's origin story as a subsidiary of the Simons Foundation, the philosophy of making science films that feel like romances and thrillers and comedies, and even what it's like to give notes to Werner Herzog.

When our walk strays from the relative safety of the hike & bike trail, into a decidedly more "stabby" unexplored corner of downtown, Ben gets a little jumpy but Jess goes with the flow, an unflappable NY'er in action. We have lots of questions about her experience working with so many great directors, including the aforementioned Herzog… and she shares the Bavarian rogue's all-time great filmmaking note—"You've got to get the cowboys on the horses"—in other words: just get the story going. Jess details how Sara Dosa's FIRE OF LOVE was born from an archival gold mine and a COVID pivot. And we dig into this year's ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT (in theaters now) and the Sundance 2026 award-winner, THE LAKE. Plus insight into: the world of mushrooms via DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST; Jess's newest hobby (bejeweling costumes); her dream of talking to animals (not unlike the plot of Sandbox's FATHOM); and a brief mention of time spent working with Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Discussion Links:

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (2007) | HUMAN NATURE (2020) | FIREBALL: VISITORS FROM DARKER WORLDS (2020) | FATHOM (2021) | ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE (2021) | FIRE OF LOVE (2022) | ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT (2025) | THE LAKE (2026) | DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST (2026) | TIME AND WATER (2026) | PHENOMENA (2026)

Timestamps:

00:00 Poolside escape and trail introductions 01:30 Meet Jess Harrop and the Sandbox Films slate 03:00 Dan Deacon, Drinking Out of Cups, and the Sandbox scoring pipeline 05:30 From biology degree to science TV producer 07:30 Nova, Discovery Channel, and Bill Nye Saves the World 08:30 Learning filmmaking on the job—and the science-to-film pipeline 10:00 Camp Sandbox: where scientists and filmmakers become the same people 11:30 Walking like New Yorkers and the South by Southwest bait-and-switch 15:00 From show-running Netflix to building a studio at the Simons Foundation 17:30 Comedy docs and the Trojan Horse for science communication 19:30 ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT: the film everyone needs to see immediately 21:00 Genre docs as a philosophy—comedy, romance, eco-horror 22:00 Werner Herzog on the advisory board and giving notes to a legend 25:00 Sandbox origins: FATHOM, ALL LIGHT EVERYWHERE, and early development 29:00 The stabby Amtrak detour and "get the cowboys on the horses" 33:00 THE LAKE: Great Salt Lake collapse, praying for rain, and the governor at Sundance 40:00 Tardigrades, the library rooftop, and things Keith loves 41:30 DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST: indigenous mycologists and sci-fi docs 42:30 Cyber trucks, Waymos, and the autonomous future arrives in Austin 46:00 Time and Water: Sara Dosa's glacier elegy and the FIRE OF LOVE reunion 48:00 How FIRE OF LOVE was born from COVID, an archive, and one bold vision 52:30 The Wes Anderson–Jacques Cousteau connection 53:00 Lightning round: gateway drug doc, dream collaborators, and what's on Jess's mind 56:00 Advice for emerging filmmakers: find what makes you unique 58:00 PHENOMENA: the IMAX-ready, no-VFX science spectacle 1:00:00 Costume design side hustles and talking to animals 1:02:00 Dog Walks: the spinoff nobody asked for 1:04:00 Outro and Rambler Sparkling Water

Holly Herrick is all about the film-life—as the Head of Film for Austin Film Society and Doc Days festival founder / programmer, she's at the center of Austin's film community, but this SXSW finds Holly wearing a new hat: first-time documentary producer.

FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE, directed by Patrick Bresnan, chronicles the 2023 "hostile takeover"—their words—of New College of Florida by Ron DeSantis and his Christo-fascist cronies. Holly's a New College alum. She saw the press getting the story wrong and did what any reasonable person in her position would do: panicked. But a call to Margaret Brown gave her some confidence, and together with fellow alum Harry Hanbury, decided to make a movie.

No big deal… hahaha… just squeeze-in a first feature with a full-time job running a non-profit and two-screen cinema, overseeing awards shows and grants, & two invite-only artists' labs (scripted & doc), all while raising two small kids. Holly Herrick is living proof: with enough caffeine, anything's possible….

We love this walk, because we never get enough time with Holly (busy busy lady), but today she's all ours as we stroll through the flowering native plants of Mueller Lake Park taking inspiration from this powerhouse of gettin' shit done—psychosis, be damned.

Plus: Dave Hickey on art and laziness, Jean Luc Godard on women, and Holly on: knowing your why.

FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE (2026) | A WOMAN IS A WOMAN (1961) | BREATHLESS (1960) | WINNEBAGO MAN (2009) | TOWER (2016) | JOIN OR DIE (2023)

00:00 Caffeine-induced psychosis as a lifestyle philosophy 00:49 Introducing Holly Herrick and Austin Film Society 03:30 AFS origin story—Linklater, the old airport, and Mueller 08:30 AFS Cinema as Austin's repertory art house 11:30 Doc Lab and Doc Days—what they are and how they work 17:30 "Community"—the most used word on Doc Walks 21:30 Austin Public—public access TV as democratic infrastructure 26:00 Programming as art, not science—Holly's philosophy for Doc Days 33:00 How Holly got into film: New College, Sarasota, and the accidental programmer 38:30 Dave Hickey, Air Guitar, and why art can't afford to be lazy 41:00 JOIN OR DIE, Bowling Alone, and democracy through community 45:00 FIRST THEY CAME FROM MY COLLEGE—origin of the project 49:00 The hostile takeover of New College of Florida 55:00 Patrick Preston as director and the Food Forest gardening club 1:01:00 Hopes for the film—what Holly wants audiences to understand 1:04:00 Festival run: True/False, SXSW, and beyond 1:08:00 Lightning round—Godard, knowing your why, and Wendell Berry

If you ever wanted to get into the head of a premier festival programmer, this is your chance! Meet SXSW VP of Film & TV, Claudette Godfrey, a self-described Chaos Coordinator and all-around boss. Keith's flyin' solo while Ben's off shooting commercials (allegedly) and you won't want to miss the chance to walk & doc with Claudette today, on the 40th anniversary SXSW kickoff. An ADHD/OCD whirlwind of ideas and observations, Claudette is a trip—and she's ready to talk all things SXSW and highlight this year's best of the fest…

But first we'll check-in on Claudette's origin story: native Austinite, UT film student, SX intern in the Matt Dentler days, shorts programmer-extraordinaire under Janet Pierson, and now ascendant head of all things film & television at Austin's far-reaching culture fest. She's got intel to share—everything that's different now that the fest is 7 days instead of 10. She breaks down what actually gets a short film into a festival (pro tip: make an animated or a doc short—there's just a 0.4% acceptance rate for narrative), why docs are getting "more samey by the day," and why the overnight success myth is a comfortable lie filmmakers have been telling themselves since the early days of Quentin Tarantino. All that in preparation for the main event as Claudette rapid-fires through the 2026 doc slate with obvious glee: Sea Monkeys, classified Bigfoot footage, penis injections, NDA whistleblowers, the world's first extinct glacier, and a film about Kentucky weed farmers. Keith confesses he's in development on seven projects and none of them are close to done, so it'll be a few years before he's submitting to the fest. But Claudette supports his idea of making a short…

Plus: thoughts on Ben's role as Claudette's film prof; shout out to Trey Edward Schults' KRISHA and Jeremy Workman's SECRET MALL APARTMENT; Johnny Cash & Beck & Janis Joplin all at Keith's first SX (class of '94); and cameos from future DocWalks guest Sarah Kuck and Pickles the dog!

This episode was sponsored by our good friends at Rambler Sparkling Water. A tasty limestone mineral blend with the perfect level of tight, crispy bubbles. Made in America and proudly supporting American Rivers. Ramble on.

PULP FICTION (1994) | TOMMY BOY (1995) | E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) | KRISHA (2015) | JANIS JOPLIN SLEPT HERE (1994) | EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022) | NAVALNY (2022) | DEAR MR. BRODY (2022) | SECRET MALL APARTMENT (2024) | MY BROTHER'S KILLER (2026) | AMAZING LIVE SEA MONKEYS (2026) | CAPTURING BIGFOOT (2026) | DRIFT (2026) | MANHOOD (2026) | MY NDA (2026) | SUMMER OF '94 (2026) | TIME AND WATER (2026) | SUMMER 2000 (2026) | THE LIFE WE LEAVE (2026) | THE DADS (2026) | THE LAST CRITIC (2026) | CORNBREAD MAFIA (2026)

00:00 Introduction and circle of confusion 00:49 Meet Claudette Godfrey, VP of Film and TV at SXSW 02:42 Ben was Claudette's TA in college 04:13 Why Claudette went producing track instead of directing 06:00 Pulp Fiction, Tarantino, and the dream of being discovered 08:00 Festival producer vs. film producer 09:30 SXSW 40th anniversary and what's different this year 12:00 Seven days instead of ten, new badge structure 13:30 Claudette's first SXSW memory: Janice Joplin and Emo's, 1994 16:30 How SXSW has grown since the shed-in-a-backyard days 19:30 Keith's mushroom Easter egg and the intern connection 22:00 Shorts programming: what actually gets in 28:00 Animated shorts, acceptance rates, and premiere strategy 30:00 What makes a great short film 33:00 Watch the films at the festivals you want to attend 35:00 Trey Edward Shults and the moment Claudette was bowled over 37:00 Features: docs are getting more samey 40:00 The myth of the overnight success (the Daniels) 43:00 The 2026 SXSW doc slate begins 44:00 SECRET MALL APARTMENT and patience in documentary filmmaking 45:00 MY BROTHER'S KILLER, AMAZING LIVE SEA MONKEYS, CAPTURING BIGFOOT 47:00 CORNBREAD MAFIA, DRIFT, MANHOOD, MY NDA 48:00 SUMMER OF '94 and the AI DOC 50:00 TIME AND WATER, Sarah Dosa, and the survival of humanity 53:00 SUMMER 2000, THE LIFE WE LEAVE, THE DADS, THE LAST CRITIC 55:00 50% first-time filmmakers, the submission process myths 57:00 Film festival fit: not every great film belongs at every fest 58:00 Lightning round: gateway drug films 59:00 Francis, Pickles, and Keith's seven projects in development 01:02:00 Outro and teaser for Holly Herrick episode

We're takin' it to the streets, sure—but this week we're also takin' it to the list: the Nonfiction Hotlist, with producer Anna Rau. Anna's got the scoop on this new endeavor to connect nonfic producers with money and distribution, and she's here to share just what the Nonfiction Hotlist is and where it's going. It started when former ESPN producer Adam Neuhaus made a viral LinkedIn post that inspired a community initiative championing unreleased nonfiction storytelling. And it's growing quickly. Anna explains their brand new Yahoo partnership that's creating a real home for short films that deserve more than a life relegated to the purgatory of the filmmaker's hard drive.

Anna has a lot going on right now! She's been producing commercials and doc-series for years, with her husband Corbett and their company The Range, but she realized there was a language on the finance side of this industry that she still needed to learn. So she enrolled in an MBA program to decode the business, and to find some creative ways to grow… and that growth has yielded big ideas in the form of westward expansion. Anna reveals that she is turning a grad-school assignment into an active business plan by putting an offer in on the legendary Palace Theater in Marfa, TX—the single-screen showroom where GIANT premiered, in the town where Anna and Corbett got married, and where they've got big plans to build a cinema-slash-production-hub from the ground up. Producer, MBA grad, entrepreneur, and Media Mogul—now that's a hot list.

Plus: a ufo-shaped gazebo on the shores of Lady Bird Lake; we eye a colorful ceramic cow; talk abundance over scarcity; and walk away feeling like the future of nonfiction is in very good hands.

***Also deadline for the Yahoo initiative is this Friday if folks want to get something in under the wire, there's an info Q+A happening tomorrow on instagram live over @nonfictionhotlist

Discussion Links: GIANT (1956) | JAWS (1975) | CALIFORNIA'S GOLD (1991–2012) | ARTBOUND (2012–Present) | ALL WE NEED IS ANOTHER CHANCE (2017) | TENDING NATURE (2018–2021) | EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022) | THE YOGURT SHOP MURDERS (2025) | GOOD MOMENT (in post-production)

00:00 Welcome to Doc Walks: Banter About Banter 02:42 Introducing Anna Rau: Old Friends, New Walks 03:00 The Marfa Wedding Suit Disaster 05:00 Anna's Career: The Range, PBS, and Beyond 06:30 Enter the Nonfiction Hotlist 08:30 What Is the Hotlist? Origin Story and Mission 10:00 The Blacklist Comparison: Nonfiction's Turn 12:00 Human-Centered Curation and Painting the Back of the Fence 15:00 Anna's MBA Journey: Understanding the Money Side 17:48 The Business of Docs: Tangibles, Intangibles, and Impact 20:30 The Yahoo Shorts Partnership: Finding a Home for Short Films 22:00 Why Shorts Are Harder Than Features 25:00 Ben's Short Film Life and the Distribution Dead End 27:00 Submission Details: Who Should Apply 29:00 The Gazebo Detour: Women Voters and Homeless Photographers 31:00 How the Curation Actually Works 33:30 Anna and Corbett's Body of Work 36:00 The Huel Howser Tangent We Needed 40:00 Crisis as Opportunity: Abundance Over Scarcity 41:00 The Palace Theater in Marfa: A Big Announcement 44:00 Pivots, Blind Leaps, and Never Having a Real Job 48:00 Community Over Competition 50:30 MBA Takeaways and the Finance of Filmmaking 54:30 Gateway Drug Film: GIANT 56:00 Advice for Young Filmmakers: Curiosity and Joy 58:30 Closing Thoughts and South by Southwest Preview

Park City, 2026 — we showed up without films, without press credentials, but still… ready to make our DocWalk dreams a reality. Welcome to the last of 4 episodes at Sundance: a walk down Main Street, where we hobnob with the best of the fest, greet the people, and do everything we can to stay warm in sub-freezing temps without a single movie ticket in sight.

This year at Sundance everyone was looking back (at the legacy of Robert Redford and what the fest has been) while still looking forward (to where we'll be in a year… Boulder, Colorado). We catch-up on the festival BizBuzz™: it's all M&A! Mergers and acquisitions (netflix/paramount/warners, oh my) and whether the indie spirit is actually back (Ben says it is). As men of the people, we focus on the men (& women) on the street. And they have a lot to say. Entertainment lawyer Ben Moskowitz breaks down what not to do when you're pitching, first-time producer Will Butler shares the innovations of JOYBUBBLES—the first film at Sundance to screen with open audio description for blind audiences, and Tribeca programmer Jarod Neece offers insight into the numbers game that you've gotta overcome when applying to a premier fest. We meet David Fortune, who turned a million-dollar grant into his debut feature COLOR BOOK, Jamaican producer/lawyer Rob Maylor who's about to make Delroy Lindo a first-time director, and filmmaker Dana Reilly fresh off her OUR BODY ELECTRIC premiere. Austin-based producers Russell Groves and Jessica Wolfson make brief cameos and former-Austinite Heather Courtney joins us to talk about the film she's producing with Christina Ibarra, and the one she's directing (thx to a Chicken & Egg research grant).

Plus: surprise run-ins with editor Josh Ethier, publicist David Magdael and doc-superstar Ondi Timoner; Aaaand an owl that's been in 150 movies; a meteorologist and horses; and insight into a Park City real estate deal that proves that karma is real, but the best deals are behind us. Thanks to the Austin Film Society and The Long Time for sponsoring our trip! This one is a super-sized DocWalks with 50% more runtime, and a whole lot of fun!

DISCUSSION LINKS:

JOYBUBBLES (2026) | COLOR BOOK (2024) | OUR BODY ELECTRIC (2026) | BUDDY (2026) | AMERICAN DOCTOR (2026) | THE OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD (2026) | THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE (2026) | ALL THE WALLS CAME DOWN (2025) | BREAKING THROUGH ROCKS (2025) | COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT (2025) | HOT WATER (2026) | LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006) | SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE (1989) | SLACKER (1990) | CLERKS (1994) | SEIZED (2026) | NUTS (2016) | TOO MANY COOKS (2014) | CARTS OF DARKNESS (2008) | MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (2005) | WINNEBAGO MAN (2009) | TOWER (2016) | CHOP & STEELE (2022) | DEAR MR. BRODY (2021)

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Ben is cold — arrival in Park City 03:58 Main Street dispatch — the last Sundance in Park City 07:00 First-timers and the indie spirit question 08:00 Jordan Tracy — ABC4 live weather with horses 11:50 Russell Groves and Jessica Wolfson 17:50 Ben Moskowitz on how new filmmakers find a lawyer 21:00 Good ideas, bad ideas — don't promise access you don't have 25:15 Will Butler and JOYBUBBLES — open audio description at Sundance 29:00 Jarod Neece — Tribeca at 25 and the 14,000-film funnel 37:10 Kino Lorber re-releasing Tower — breaking news 41:00 Bill and Robin — Park City locals since the sixties 44:30 Night falls — BizBuzz™ on Main Street 48:00 Dana Reilly — OUR BODY ELECTRIC premieres at Dances With Films 52:30 TOWER superfan and the sorority screening 55:00 David Fortune — COLOR BOOK and the AT&T Untold Stories million 58:30 Dapper dressed rule of thumb 1:01:30 Rob Maylor — producing Delroy Lindo's directorial debut 1:05:00 Josh Ethier — editing BUDDY from TOO MANY COOKS director Casper Kelly 1:09:30 Eagle and Spencer — skiing, Fugazi, and CARTS OF DARKNESS 1:14:00 Day three — Heather Courtney and Chicken & Egg research grant 1:19:00 David Magdael — publicist, Oscar campaigns, and changing the world through cinema and Ondi(!) Timoner 1:22:30 Heather's final thoughts — call your representatives 1:29:30 Driving away from Sundance — reflections on community and the grind 1:36:00 Sponsor messages and next episode preview — Anna Rau and the Nonfiction Hot List

It's time for some JOYBUBBLES! That's what first-time doc director Rachael J. Morrison believes—and she's brought her feature doc to Sundance to share the power of JOYBUBBLES with the world. Rachael's film introduces the world to Joe Engressia, a blind kid who discovered he could whistle a magic tone and hack the analog telephone system—becoming a pioneer in the world of "phone phreaking." Joe's story twists and turns as freaking leads to joy… and he inspires generations of outsiders to find their own unique paths through this life.

Rachael comes from years of experience as an archival producer, so it's no surprise that her first directing effort relies heavily on the use of "emotional archival," playing at the intersection of audio and visual communication techniques. We'll learn how she stumbled onto Joe's story and how four cassette tapes of him narrating his own life completely transformed the film. Those tapes are right up Ben's alley, and he shares his experience making a cassette-inspired short doc about telephone pranksters, and Keith confesses to benefitting from a college friend who knew how to hack payphones for free long distance back in the 1990s. Anyone who spent time on twentieth-century party lines, or making 3-way calls with friends will be transported into those landline days when the telephone was a great connector. Rachael spent ten years meeting phone phreaks and making this film, and she shares her affinity for jamband bootleg trading, mixtape culture, and the beauty of sitting by the radio with your finger on the record button. Plus: kids sledding in Park City, shout-out to an Errol Morris deep cut, finding inspiration via the obituary page, and appreciation for Joybubbles' words of ultimate wisdom: if you love something enough, it loves you back.

Discussion Links:

JOYBUBBLES (2026) | GATES OF HEAVEN (1978) | WINNEBAGO MAN (2009) | READING RAINBOW (2024)

Timestamps:

00:00 Arrival in Park City — crisp is the word of the day 00:49 Meet Rachael J. Morrison (and immediately regret going uphill) 02:00 The JOYBUBBLES pitch — on a steep incline 04:00 Born blind, born to hack: Joe Engressia's story 05:00 Keith's college payphone hack and red boxes vs. blue boxes 07:00 Finding the story through a New York Times obituary 09:00 Emotional archival vs. see-and-say archival 13:00 Four cassette tapes in a closet change everything 15:00 Joe as proto-podcaster: answering machine radio in the '80s 17:00 What is a phone phreak? 19:00 Keith's son gets a landline for Christmas 22:00 Sundance premiere jitters and what audiences might grab onto 23:00 Phone phreaks meet Phish bootleg tape traders 25:00 Mixtape culture and the lost art of analog intention 28:00 Angry Kickstarter backers who turned out to be the biggest fans 30:00 "If you love it enough, it'll love you back" 32:00 The director-editor relationship: finding your band 37:00 From Bard art school to MoMA library to archival producing 40:00 Fair use and why indie docs depend on it 42:00 Lightning Round: GATES OF HEAVEN, Matt Wolf, and what's next 46:00 Where to find JOYBUBBLES

When we find Julie Goldman and Chris Clements of Motto Pictures in a Sundance hotel lobby, they're doing what they do—sharing hugs and encouragement with the Oscar-nominated team from THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR. They're the kind of producers who root hard for everybody in the field while juggling 8-10 projects of their own.

Julie and Chris know everyone—and they champion longtime friends and newcomers to docmaking alike. When we asked Julie to walk with us last year at SXSW, she was a quick and easy "YES," but it took til Sundance for us all to be in the same place at the same time. And here we are. Keith knows the Motto Pictures folks from the 2016-2017 awards campaign when they were shepherding both LIFE, ANIMATED and WEINER. Ben's lucky enough to be in business with Motto on his upcoming DR. DANTE project. So we've all spent time together, and this time we're bringing you along for a winding view into Chris & Julie's work philosophies and partnership—they're married business partners who each offer different aspects to the films they produce.

We're away from the hubbub of Main Street and onto the nature trail spotting birds, murals, tunnels, and trees, all while digging into the Motto approach: how they financed their first feature on maxed-out credit cards at Brooklyn College, why they Zoom into shoots they can't attend, and how they handle story development and adaptation, including seeing a doc become a scripted comedy in partnership with Mike Schur and Ted Danson. Hear how Julie went from memorizing international phone prefixes at First Run Features to spotting potential in filmmakers before they see it themselves; and Chris drops a theory on why AI will never replace human storytelling—"it doesn't understand doubt." Join us as we stumble into a public art garden where we can't resist trying our hand at live-scoring the walk with some sculptural instruments. And we land on a question that these walks keep coming back to: where does documentary go from here?

Plus: love for Errol Morris and Barbara Kopple, Owen Suskind's flawless post-screening routine, the beauty of sad bells echoing through a Park City tunnel, and the tuxedo pigeon is back (still a magpie).

Discussion Links: BUCK (2011) | LIFE, ANIMATED (2016) | WEINER (2016) | CHICKEN PEOPLE (2016) | THE MOLE AGENT (2020) | MAN ON THE INSIDE (2024) | THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (2025) | GATES OF HEAVEN (1978) | HARLAN COUNTY, USA (1976) | ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL (2016) | WALTZ WITH BASHIR (2008) | CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (2003) | AN AMERICAN FAMILY (1973)

Timestamps: 00:00 Sundance lobby: hugging THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR crew goodbye 02:42 Meet Julie Goldman & Chris Clements of Motto Pictures 04:13 Motto origin story and the greatest hits 07:07 The tuxedo pigeon returns (still a magpie, Keith) 08:04 Married and making movies: how they navigate both 09:12 Eight to ten projects at once—parallel action as philosophy 11:17 Creative producing: Zoom-ing into shoots, feeding notes live 15:28 Julie's sales brain meets Chris's creative obsession 17:35 The credit card feature: Brooklyn College's worst financial advice 19:01 Why producing called louder than directing 21:02 Owen Suskind wants a cheeseburger and three movies 22:08 Motto's unofficial motto: dragging filmmakers kicking and screaming 25:02 The light at the end of the tunnel for doc filmmaking 29:15 Documentary is defense—and championships are won reacting 31:19 The pivot moment every good doc goes through 36:08 "AI doesn't understand doubt" 39:03 The sculpture garden jam session 40:27 What Motto looks for: a new way to see the world 46:03 YouTube, platforms, and where distribution is headed 50:12 The Motto farm system: interns to A24 51:14 Advice for first-time feature filmmakers 55:04 Gateway docs: GATES OF HEAVEN and HARLAN COUNTY, USA 57:08 What they can't stop thinking about 59:32 The short: FOR SOME KIND OF REFUGE 01:01:12 Sponsors: Austin Film Society & The Long Time

We are excited to catch Sam Green—despite freezing our asses off on Main Street—hours after the world premiere of THE OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD. What starts as a conversation about chasing Guinness World Records quickly becomes something bigger: how curiosity transforms into meaning.

Sam walks us through ten years of filming, cancer scares, fatherhood, and the realization that 116-year-olds don't give a fuck about pearls of wisdom—like Keith, they just want snacks and naps. Sam is an inspiration, driven by endless curiosity and the urge to overcome his own inner shy-kid, he shares the impetus to innovate docmaking with 'live cinema' and we witness his obsession with manhole covers (yes, really). Sam pulls back the curtains on his years-long cutting process with OLDEST PERSON editor Aaron Wickenden—they cut for 1-month a year for ten years! This walk is full of positivity, creativity, and a lot of laughs.

Plus: a stop & chat with Oscar-winning producer, Dan Cogan, why SALESMAN changed everything, and insight into Sam's new alter ego as a Venice futbol fanatic: Samuel Verde.

It's the end of an era at Sundance, but Sam reminds us why we fell in love with this art form in the first place.

Discussion links: THE OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD (2026) | THE RAINBOW MAN/JOHN 3:16 (1997) | THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND (2002) | 32 SOUNDS (2022) | SALESMAN (1969) | SANS SOLEIL (1983)

Timestamps: 00:00 Main Street at Sundance—14 Degrees 01:05 Meeting Sam During Covid Austin 02:42 The Oldest Person in the World—The Film That Changed 04:13 When Centenarians Just Want Snacks 07:41 The Manhole Cover Obsession 11:17 From Rainbow Man to Sundance 1997 15:28 The Weather Underground & Paul Thomas Anderson 19:56 Editing Over Ten Years with Aaron 25:32 The Live Documentary Revolution 29:13 Performing Arts Saved My Career 34:24 Advice: Keep It Small, Keep It Fun 41:39 Barbara Kopple on Watching Your Own Films 45:01 Gateway Drug: Salesman & Sans Soleil 48:25 Samuel the Venice Soccer Fan 49:26 The End of an Era at Sundance

Ben squeezes into the VHS vault that is the Found Footage Festival (FFF) headquarters in NY with Joe Pickett—half of the FFF comedy duo who quit his job to follow a dirty country singer for four years, turned stolen instructional videos into a 20-year comedy empire, and once declared a half-naked woman painting ceramic clowns "the greatest moment in VHS history." Joe walks us through his filmmaking suicide pact with Nick Prueher, explains why Larry Pierce's "I Like to (BEEP)" changed everything, and reveals the dark truth about JINGLE BABIES. From sleeping on floors for a full year to getting sued in federal court for morning show pranks, Joe's path from documentary filmmaker to comedy archeologist proves you need to be willing to sleep on couches in order to finish what you start. We're surrounded by 14,638 tapes (no doubles), a giant Bart Simpson mask, and a signed GROWING PAINS poster that survived the New York subway. Plus: his new doc is so illegal you have to sign an NDA just to watch it.

Discussion links: VHS PARTY LIVE! (2026) | DIRTY COUNTRY (2007) | CHOP & STEELE (2022) | AMERICAN MOVIE (1999

) | SHERMAN'S MARCH (1985) | WINNEBAGO MAN (2009)

Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to Found Footage Festival HQ 02:42 The origin story: Larry Pierce and dirty country music 07:41 Quitting jobs and the suicide pact 11:17 Following weirdos for four and a half years 15:28 How Found Footage Festival started as fundraising 19:56 South by Southwest premiere and audience award 24:19 Greatest hits from the VHS vault 29:13 What makes bad things good 34:24 Lightning round: American Movie as gateway drug 40:00 Advice for aspiring filmmakers: sleep on couches 45:00 Video Filmed for Life—the illegal documentary

What does impact look like? That's what we're asking this week's guest, Courtney Cook—a veteran impact producer who's helped hundreds of doc-makers answer that question in her 7-years at POV. A high school teacher-turned-PhD-turned-doc-producer and soon-to-be professor of documentary film at Texas State, Courtney has strong opinions about perspective, ethics, and how having a "bad attitude" is the only way to make it in this field.

Courtney happily draws inspiration from Black Feminist Thought, HANDS ON A HARDBODY, and the stop-motion masters, the Brothers Quay—explaining just what it means to be "theoretically promiscuous." Transitioning out of her role at POV and preparing to re-enter academia, we catch Courtney shortly before the Augmented Reality project LAYERS OF PLACE: AUSTIN that she produced with the MIT Open Documentary Lab makes its debut at SXSW this Spring. Courtney breaks down the difference between making art and making a career, why you should know how you want to "haunt" your audience, and what it actually takes to build a life as a documentary storyteller when you're not "kind-of rich." This wide-ranging walk cuts through the noise and confusion of the current doc landscape and lands at a simple conclusion, that the real silver lining in this industry is us. "We're the silver lining."

Plus: the gospel of asking better questions, how EYES ON THE PRIZE changed her entire life, why librarians rule, and a peek inside a little free art gallery in the Mueller neighborhood of East Austin. This one's about community, hustle, and learning to "hold on gently."

Discussion Links: EYES ON THE PRIZE (1987-1990) | HANDS ON A HARD BODY (1997) | LAYERS OF PLACE: AUSTIN (2026)

Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Guest Introduction 02:00 Outlook on Texas Filmmaking and Doc Distribution 05:00 Mueller Lake Park and POV Impact Work 07:00 Education, Ethics, and Power in Documentary 10:00 From PhD to POV: Courtney's Path 15:00 Building Careers vs. Building Projects 19:00 Producer Pay and Labor Practices 23:00 The Three-Month Trial Period 26:00 Feisty Conversations and Better Questions 29:00 Grant Applications and Process 33:00 Theoretically Promiscuous 34:00 Silver Linings: We Have Each Other 37:00 MIT Augmented Reality Project 39:00 It's All Who You Know (Two Steps Away) 43:00 Believing in People Until You Learn Otherwise 45:00 Gateway Drug: Eyes on the Prize 48:00 Advice for Emerging Filmmakers 52:00 Little Free Art Gallery Discovery 53:00 DIY Impact and Educational Distribution 55:00 What's Next for Courtney