Factual America

Three-part docuseries Scouting for Girls: Fashion's Darkest Secret reveals how a group of men behind the world's most successful modelling agencies were involved in a darker side of the industry. It exposes how modelling agents like John Casablancas, Jean-Luc Brunel, Claude Haddad and Gérald Marie, who denies the allegations, created a culture that enabled many of them to indulge in a spectrum of abusive behaviours, ranging from grooming and coercion to the rape of models as young as 15.

The film hears from a generation of forgotten women who were promised stardom and glamour, but instead found themselves used, abused and in some cases, trafficked between networks of powerful men. Building on an ongoing investigation by Lucy Osborne for The Guardian, the series delivers the fashion industry its own 'me too' reckoning, and follows the survivors, including Carré Ottis, as they come together to take action against those responsible.

Watch the episode at https://www.factualamerica.com/scouting-for-girls

Clare Richards, series director, Lucy Osborne, senior producer, and Carré Ottis, model, author, wellness consultant, activist and contributor to the film, join us to discuss Scouting for Girls that airs on Sky Documentaries on June 24th.

“Models are seen as beautiful people that get paid a ton of money, and that creates a discrimination against us that we shouldn’t have the same rights and protections as workers in other industries.” - Carré Ottis 

Based on reporting by New York Times journalists Cade Metz and Neil Boudet, Elon Musk's Crash Course zeroes in on Elon Musk, the world's richest person and CEO of Tesla, and his claims about self-driving cars.

The latest in a series of films from The New York Times Presents is directed and produced by Emmy-winning journalist and filmmaker Emma Schwartz, and it reveals the quixotic nature of Musk's pursuit of self-driving technology and its tragic results.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com/elon-musk-crash-course

Elon Musk made his name and fortune taking bold risks and betting on the impossible. But Musk's pursuit of self-driving cars has put them on a crash course with business realities and the limits of technology.

The film, available on FX and Hulu, uncovers what many former Tesla employees have to say about Musk's claims, and the culture he has created at the self-described tech company. Is Silicon Valley's era of "move fast and break things" really over? 

“With self-driving cars, Elon Musk was selling a promise that was a long way off.” - Emma Schwartz

Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen (2022) captures a bygone era of early television and blockbuster Hollywood musicals. It also shines a light on the incredible career of fellow filmmaker Norman Jewison. 

Jewison had critical success over more than three decades, but his crowning achievement might be bringing the famous musical Fiddler on the Roof to the big screen. Legendary film critic Pauline Kael called Fiddler the most powerful movie musical ever made. 

Award-winning and Oscar nominated filmmaker Daniel Raim, the director of Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen, joins us to share the unlikely story behind this iconic American film.

Watch the interview at https://factualamerica.com/fiddler-on-the-roof

“Like so many millions of people who learn about Jewish culture and history through “Fiddler on the Roof,” I was completely captivated by the music, the story and the production design.” - Daniel Raim

Deep in the Heart (2022) is a visually stunning portrait of Texas, told through the eyes of the wildlife species themselves. Narrated by Texas icon Matthew McConaughey and featuring state of the art cinematography, this documentary brings to life one of the world's most diverse, but possibly lesser known set of ecosystems.

Similar in style to Planet Earth, the film shows off some of the most remarkable wildlife spectacles and eco regions in the state of Texas, weaving in the story of our society's relationship with wildlife in Texas over the past 150 years.

Award winning filmmakers Ben Masters and Katy Baldock join us to celebrate the diverse landscapes and remarkable wildlife of the Lone Star State. Joining us as well to co-host this conversation is Patrick Scott Armstrong, host of The Lone Star Plate podcast, who interviews famous Texans and explores compelling Texas stories. 

Deep in the Heart has its Texas-wide theatre release on June 3rd, and will be available on streaming platforms in July 2022. 

“I learned a lot about my home state during the production of ‘Deep in the heart.’” - Ben Masters

Documentary film ‘Hold Your Fire’ provides us with a riveting account of a hostage situation in Brooklyn in January 1973, when four young African American men were caught stealing guns in a sporting goods store and took a dozen hostages. 

The police assumed that they were members of the Black Liberation Army and came down with all the force of the NYPD. The situation snowballed into an event full of miscommunications, misunderstandings and mistaken identity, and it soon became tragically violent.

Emmy-nominated filmmaker Stephen Forbes, cinematographer and director of ‘Hold Your Fire,’ shares how he brought this incredible story to the big screen. 

'Hold Your Fire' has its theatrical release in the US on May 20th and will be available on iTunes.

“We’re taught a domination model in interaction. The best schools in America teach that you enter a conversation to win.” - Stefan Forbes

The Invisible Pilot is an HBO Max Docuseries that captures the incredible story of Gary Betzner, an Arkansas crop duster who died under mysterious circumstances. Or did he?

The mystery around this man's death would be more than enough for a compelling doc. But that is only the beginning of a story that proves that truth is most definitely stranger than fiction. Given the unlikeliest of events set against the backdrop of 1970s and 80s America and Reagan's war on drugs, the docuseries is Forrest Gump meets American Made meets All the President's Men.

Emmy-winning filmmakers Phil Lott and Ari Mark, co-directors and executive producers of The Invisible Pilot, share how they discovered this amazing story and how their investigative journalism led to the creation of a compelling 3-part documentary. 

Watch the full episode at https://factualamerica.com/the-invisible-pilot

"Just because it’s a documentary and not a feature, it doesn’t mean it’s solely educational or intellectual - it can also entertain." - Phil Lott 

Legendary rock band King Crimson has been inspiring generations of musicians for over 50 years. After starting off with great success in 1969 in London, the band effectively split up in the same year, which then started a process of fragmentation and reinvention that has continued for 52 years. 

Documentary film In the Court of the Crimson King that premiered at this year's SXSW festival, captures life on the road with King Crimson. The group's legendary cult following has long waited for a doc, but you do not have to be a fan of the band to appreciate the film, which still awaits wider release. 

The acclaimed director, broadcaster and co-producer Toby Amies joins us to discuss the film, the essence of being in a rock band, the philosophy of music and the meaning of life.

Watch the episode at https://www.factualamerica.com/king-crimson

"As a filmmaker, I’m interested in human condition, and King Crimson matter as a band because they speak to human condition." - Toby Amies

Our Great National Parks is a breathtaking Netflix original docuseries, executive produced and narrated by President Barack Obama, who protected more public lands and waters than any other US president in history.

Watch the full episode at https://www.alamopictures.co.uk/podcast/our-great-national-parks

President Obama takes us on a journey to experience nature in the world's most iconic national parks, spanning five continents. The series brims with wonder, humour and optimism as each episode tells the story of a national park through the lives of its wildest residents, both big and exceptionally small.

The series explores our changing relationship with wilderness traveling from the waters of Monterey Bay, California to the bright red soil of Kenya Savo National Park, the lush rainforests of Indonesia's Gunung Leuser National Park, the majestic terrain of Chilean Patagonia and more.

Our Great National Parks beckons us to get out and explore, create new ways for these wild places to thrive, and vigorously preserve them for future generations to come.

Acclaimed filmmakers James Honeyborne and Sophie Todd are the executive producer and series producer behind this five-part documentary. They share their experiences making this series and what it was like working with President Barack Obama.

Not all human ideas are bad. National parks were a human idea. We did that, so we can be a force for good as much as a force for bad. - Sophie Todd 

Ella Blumenthal is one of the oldest living survivors of the Holocaust. Despite living through one of history's darkest chapters, she brings a joy to life that few can match. On her 98th birthday, however, Ella reveals to close friends and family profound memories of her incredible survival in a way she has never done before. 

Award-winning documentary I Am Here (2021) celebrates Ella's remarkable life and her magnetic personality and spirit that have remained undimmed.

South African filmmaker Jordi Sank, the director and co-producer of I Am Here, relays how he met this remarkable woman and decided to bring her incredible life story to the screen. In the process Jordi's film provides us with a first-hand account of the Holocaust.

“People need to learn from history so that we can have a peaceful future that’s worth living.” - Jordy Sank

Watch the full episode at https://www.alamopictures.co.uk/podcast/i-am-here/ 

Andy Warhol is arguably the most famous artist of his generation, and his work still resonates today, 35 years after his untimely death. But what do we know about the man behind the cultural icon?

Acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Rossi is the writer and director of the Netflix docuseries, The Andy Warhol Diaries. In this 6-part series, Andrew brings Warhol’s diaries brilliantly to life. In the process he helps us learn how Andy Warhol – the talented, sensitive, gay and religious man – was far more complex and human than his public persona ever led on. 

“There can be competing thoughts within someone’s worldviews and what they confess in their diaries.” - Andrew Rossi