Factual America

The US is a nation of immigrants. And there’s no better example of this than Hamtramck, Michigan, America’s first Muslim-majority city.

No bigger than two square miles, Hamtramck is home to a myriad of nationalities and ethnic groups. Over 30 different languages can be heard on its streets.

Using a city government election as a backdrop, producers and directors Justin Feltman and Razi Jafri eloquently capture the dynamism stemming from successive waves of immigration.

Is America a melting pot or a mosaic? Or does it matter what we call it? We find out as we catch up with Justin and Razi from their homes in Washington, DC, and Hamtramck, Michigan.

They tell us how they managed to gain such unprecedented access, and formed such close relationships with their subjects.

Hamtramck, USA is a deep dive into multiculturalism and what the future landscape of America could look like.

“Our nation is changing. Our demographics are changing very quickly and there’s a lot to be learnt from places like Hamtramck” – Razi Jafri

In 1976, Sylvester Stallone was a struggling actor with a big dream and the courage of his convictions. That dream became Rocky, one of the most iconic films of all time.

Using home movies shot mostly by the director John Avildsen, director and producer Derek Wayne Johnson perfectly captures the moment when Sylvester Stallone became a superstar.

40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic, as it is known in the USA and Canada, or Becoming Rocky: The Birth of a Classic, as it is known everywhere else, reminds us that while Sylvester Stallone is known for a lot of things, consummate filmmaker should be first among them.

We caught up recently with Derek from East Texas. Not only does he give us insights on what it is like to work closely with Sylvester Stallone, but we learn how he too has chased his own dreams to success in Hollywood.

“I think he’s a genius and I stand by that. Because this is a guy who is not only a wonderful actor, but also wonderful writer who writes from the heart, which is very rare.” – Derek Wayne Johnson

In the late 1950s, doo-wop music took America by storm. And its legacy lasts to this day in the music of such recording artists as Bruno Mars and Meghan Trainor. 

Award-winning director and producer Brent Wilson is shining a light on this genre of pop music. Using original interviews with doo-wop recording artists, and those they influenced, Brent’s documentary Streetlight Harmonies perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the 50s and early 60s. 

Doo-wop originated with African-American teenagers on the street corners of urban America – places like New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Detroit. With the rise of vocal harmony singing, teenagers started recording music for themselves for the first time in history. 

However, these teenagers had to face up to racism, predatory producers and the pressures of being in the spotlight. Looking back on their lives, they reveal a love and passion for their music that inspires us to this day.

“I wanted it to feel fresh, I wanted it to feel present. My goal was it would be seen by people who don’t like doo-wop music.”  – Brent Wilson

In the 1970s Camp Jened was not just any old summer camp in the Catskills. Hippy values, the Grateful Dead and pot smoking shaped this utopia for teens with disabilities.  

Before long, a generation of summer campers with disabilities became a social movement that soon changed the world.

We welcome Jim LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham, co-directors of the Netflix documentary Crip Camp, to the podcast. Jim and Nicole share their experiences making a documentary about one of the most compelling, previously untold stories of our time.

In the process, we find out what it is like to work with executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama. Jim and Nicole also discuss the next items on the agenda for disability rights.

“I had no mental model for imagining disability communities, and I didn’t have any mental model for thinking about wild, horny teenagers listening to Bob Dylan at a summer camp. It was just joyous.” – Nicole Newnham

Stewart Brand has been at the forefront of multiple societal trends since the 1960s, and now he’s trying to bring back the woolly mammoth and other species from extinction. 

Is this folly or is he once again ahead of the curve? 

Stewart might just be one of the most influential people that none of us have heard of. 

He traveled around with the novelist Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. Afterwards, he kick-started the modern environmental movement, by pressuring NASA to release a satellite image of the earth. 

Stewart’s Whole Earth Catalog inspired a whole generation, including Steve Jobs. As if that was not enough, Stewart went on to mentor the early pioneers of Silicon Valley.

We talk to the directors of We Are As Gods, David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg, about Stewart’s life and the different inspirational movements he has been involved with. 

Since the coronavirus has delayed the releasing of the documentary, we also discuss how the pandemic has affected the film industry as a whole. And we learn what it is like to have your premier at SXSW cancelled at the last minute. 

“We are as gods and we might as well get good at it.” – Stewart Brand

Baywatch was a 1990s phenomenon well ahead of its time, going ‘viral’ long before there was something called social media. 

Director and producer Matt Felker is an acclaimed observer of pop culture and social media trends. As a result, Matt is making a documentary that takes a serious look at Baywatch – a show that still resonates with a global audience 20 years later. 

Recently, Factual America caught up with Matt, producer Nicole Eggert, who played Summer Quinn on the show, and Jeremy Jackson, who played Hobie Buchannon.

Besides sharing their experiences and memories of Baywatch, they explain how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting their day-to-day lives and their ability to complete production on the documentary. 

Moreover, all three examine why Baywatch became the most watched TV show in the world. In addition, Nicole and Jeremy share with complete candour what it was like being child actors and the ‘family’ they have built around Baywatch.

“I’ve been in the trailer when packages of cocaine and alcohol arrived. I’ve seen the predators around the kids. Baywatch wasn’t like that, it was very different to a lot of sets I’ve been on in my life.” – Nicole Eggert

Natalie Wood was an iconic American actress, featuring in many influential Hollywood movies in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Her life was tragically cut short when she drowned at the age of 43. 

Today we talk with Laurent Bouzereau, the director and producer of the recently released HBO documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020). The film explores Natalie’s life and career through the unique perspective of her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, and others who knew her best.

Had she lived, Natalie Wood would have undoubtedly become one of the most influential Hollywood figures of our time. 

The impact she left on the industry she loved so much is nothing short of remarkable. She was an incredible woman, glamorous and relatable, who was ahead of her time, and tragically died far too young. 

“If you don’t like Natalie Wood, you don’t like cinema. If you don’t know Natalie Wood, you don’t know cinema.” – Laurent Bouzereau

The Hart Family had the perfect American life. At least, that is what their social media accounts showed the world. But the reality was very different. 

A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy documents a family’s spiral into abuse and despair. Ultimately, Jennifer and Sarah Hart decided to drive their family SUV off a cliff, killing them and their six adopted children. 

How could this happen? The Harts’ social media accounts were full of beautiful images – playing in the garden with the kids, trips out on a frozen lake or cozy nights by the fire. And everyone thought they were living the perfect American life. 

As the film reveals, however, Jen and Sarah Hart carefully curated their family’s online personas. As a result, they were able to hide a life of mental illness and abuse. That life eventually led to the tragic loss of their six innocent children. 

We caught up recently with the filmmakers, producer Rachel Morgan and executive producer Chuck Lewis. As they point out, A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy provides us with valuable lessons about social media, our society and the American adoption system.

Rachel and Chuck note that our society’s addiction to social media is damaging our mental health.

“This story needed to be told. There were a lot of people speculating, a lot of very strong feelings.” – Chuck Lewis

Cowboys are as American as hot dogs and apple pie. But what is life like for the modern-day American cowboy?

Filmed on eight of the nation’s largest cattle ranches across ten states in the American West, Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait (2019) provides an intimate look at life in the modern world for this most American of icons. 

A cowboy’s life has always been one of solitude and hard work. This is still the case. 

Even as they adapt to modernity, the modern-day cowpoke provides us with lessons in how to cope with isolation. But with cell phones and the internet becoming commonplace on the range, some long for the “good old days”.

The filmmakers behind this ode to the modern-day cowboy join Factual America to tell their compelling story. How did the filmmakers create such an intimate portrait? How did they gain ranchers’ trust while capturing the magnificence of the American West?

Director Bud Force is a former rodeo cowboy. His co-director, John Langmore, is a former working cowboy who spent five years photographing life on “big outfit” ranches.

Bud and John are joined on the podcast by Feli Funke, creative producer and author of Gathering Remnants – a Tribute to The Working Cowboy (2020), Emmy award-winning editor Lucas J. Harger and Ian McLeod of Cleod9 Music.

So join us, as we enter into the life of the modern cowboy…

“We’ve created this career out of trying to create cinematic footage in difficult conditions in the field. Whether it’s cowboying, ice climbing, or shooting scuba diving, you have to operate light and fast.” – Bud Force

Narrated by Samuel L Jackson, I Am Not Your Negro (2016) uses James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript to tell the horrific history of racism in America. Following the lives of three slain civil rights leaders, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr, Baldwin’s words still resonate today. 

Since the beginning, race has defined America and racism permeates its politics to this day. To discuss the issue, Dr Richard Johnson, lecturer in US politics and international relations at Lancaster University, joins the podcast.

Richard’s work examines the US’s increasingly racially polarised politics. He draws parallels between contemporary America and the end of the post-Civil War Reconstruction. Richard believes we are living in the twilight of the ‘second reconstruction’ – an era that began with the civil rights movement. Are there signs that a ‘third reconstruction’ is dawning?

Despite the election of Barack Obama in 2008 – the US’s first black president – the 2010s were a decade of increasing racial polarisation. But with white, working class voters searching for an anti-establishment voice, could there be a glimmer of hope?

“There are racial dimensions to all issues.” – Dr. Richard Johnson