Fog of Truth

There are no shortage of documentaries on various aspects of film history and we discuss a few of them plus we have a group review of BE NATURAL and Chris interviews Midge Costin of MAKING WAVES.

Group Review Documentary:

BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY BLACHE (2018) / USA (Director / Producer: Pamela B. Green)

Now playing at select theatres nation-wide

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND (2019) / USA (Director: Midge Costin / Producers: Bobette Buster, Midge Costin, & Karen Johnson)

Now playing at select theatres nation-wide

Other Documentaries Mentioned:

After Tiller / 2013 (Directors: Lana Wilson & Martha Shane)

Cameraman / 2017 (Director: Jon Alpert)

Cameraperson / 2016 (Director: Kirsten Johnson)

Casting By / 2013 (Director: Tom Donahue)

Celluloid Closet / 1996 (Directors: Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman)

Color Adjustment / 1992 (Director: Marlon Riggs)

The Cutting Edge / 2004 (Director: Wendy Apple)

Decade Under the Influence / 2003 (Directors: Ted Demme, Richard LaGravenese)

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls / 2003 (Director: Kenneth Bowser)

Mamadrama: The Jewish Mother in Cinema / 2001 (Director: Monique Schwarz)

Natan / 2013 (Directors: Paul Duane & David Cairns)

Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much / 2017 (Director: C.J. Wallis)

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies / (Directors: Martin Scorsese & Michael Henry Wilson)

Picture Character / 2019 (Directors: Martha Shane, Ian Cheney)

Raiders! A Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made / 2015 (Directors: Jeremy Coon & Tim Skousen)

Score: A Film Music Documentary / 2017 (Director: Matt Schrader)

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood / 2018 (Director: Matt Tyrnauer)

The Search for General Tso / 2015 (Director: Ian Cheney)

Visions of Light / 1993 (Directors: Todd McCarthy & Arnold Glassman)

Women He's Undressed / 2015 (Director: Gillian Armstrong)

Links to reviews/interview by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Hammer to Nail review of BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY BLACHE

• Hammer to Nail review of MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion of photography documentaries

19:38 - Group Review of BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY BLACHE

30:09 - Chris interviews Midge Costin of MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND

49:12 - Doc Talk

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Editing by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

This episode is dedicated to 2019 AFI DOCS featuring an interview with Festival Director Michael Lumpkin, group discussion of three features playing this year and an interview with Chris and Linda Goldstein Knowlton of WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS.

Group Review of Three films at 2019 AFI Docs:

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project / 2019 (Director: Matt Wolf)

Slay the Dragon / 2019 (Directors: Barak Goodman & Christopher Durrance)

We Believe in Dinosaurs / 2019 (Directors: Clayton Brown & Monica Long Ross

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

We are the Radical Monarchs / 2019 (Director: Linda Goldstein Knowlton)

Other Documentaries Mentioned:

American Factory / 2019 (Directors: Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar)

The Apollo / 2019 (Director: Roger Ross Williams)

The Brainwashing of My Dad / 2016 (Director: Jen Senko)

Dark Money / 2018 (Director: Kimberly Reed)

Gay Chorus Deep South / 2019 (Director: David Charles Rodrigues)

The Great Hack / 2019 (Director: Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaim)

Maiden / 2019 (Director: Alex Holmes)

Maya Lin: A Clear Strong Vision / 1995 (Director: Freida Lee Mock)

Mike Wallace is Here / 2019 (Director: Avi Belkin)

The Professional: A Stevie Blatz Story / 2019 (Director: Daniel Labarbera)

Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins / 2019 (Director: Janice Engel)

Remember My Name / 2019 (Director: A.J. Eaton)

Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook / 2019 (Director: Michael Kasino)

Ruth: Justice Ginsberg in Her Own Words / 2019 (Director: Freida Lee Mock)

Sea of Shadows / 2019 (Director: Richard Ladkani)

True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality / 2019 (Directors: George Kunhardt, Peter W. Kunhardt & Teddy Kunhardt)

Timestamps:

03:07 - Interview with AFI Docs Festival Director Michael Lumpkin

17:04 - Group Review of three films playing at 2019 AFI DOCS

35:01 - Chris interviews Linda Goldstein Knowlton of WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS

47:17 - Doc Talk

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Editing by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

This week we look at documentaries about photography, polaroid film and ways of seeing as we review INSTANT DREAMS and Chris interviews Rodney Evans, the director of VISION PORTRAITS.

Group Review Documentary:

INSTANT DREAMS (2018) / USA (Director: Willem Baptist / Producer: Pieter van Huystee)

Now playing in select theaters nationally and internationally.

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

VISION PORTRAITS (2019) / USA (Director: Rodney Evans / Producers: Rodney Evans, H. Robert Wunder)

Opening in New York on August 9 (at the Metrograph) and in Los Angeles on August 23.

Other Documentaries Mentioned:

• At Sundance / 1995 (Directors: Michael Almereyda, Amy Hobby)
• The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography / 2017 (Director: Errol Morris)
• Born into Brothels / 2004 (Directors: Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman)
• Brother to Brother / 2004 (Director: Rodney Evans)
• Close to Home / 1998 (Direcor: Rodney Evans)
• Dolphin Lover / 2015 (Director: Kareem Tabsch)
• Don from Lakewood / 1989 (Directors: Patrick Tierney, Eric Saks)
• Faces Places / 2017 (Director: Agnes Varda)
• Feminists: What Were They Thinking? / 2018 (Director: Johanna Demetrakas)
• Finding Vivian Maier / 2014 (Directors: John Maloof, Charlie Siskel)
• General Orders No. 9 / 2009 (Director: Robert Persons)
• The Last Resort / 2018 (Directors: Dennis Scholl, Kareem Tabsch)
• Plaza de la Soledad / 2016 (Director: Maya Goded)
• Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project / 2019 (Director: Matt Wolf)
• Salt of the Earth / 2014 (Directors: Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado)
• Social Animals / 2018 (Director: Jonathan Ignatius Green)
• Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film / 2012 (Director: Grant Hamilton)

Links to reviews/interview by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Hammer to Nail interview with Rodney Evans of VISION PORTRAITS
• Hammer to Nail review of VISION PORTRAITS
• Hammer to Nail review of INSTANT DREAMS

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion of photography documentaries

15:10 - Group Review of INSTANT DREAMS

29:04 - Chris interviews Rodney Evans of VISION PORTRAITS

48:05 - Doc Talk

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Editing by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

Politics is the theme this week as we discuss election and political documentaries, review KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE, and Bart interviews David Modigliani of RUNNING WITH BETO.

Group Review Documentary:

KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE (2019) / USA (Director: Rachel Lears / Producers: Rachel Lears, Robin Blotnick, Sarah Olson)

Now playing on Netflix

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

RUNNING WITH BETO (2019) / USA (Director: David Modigliani / Producers: David Modigliani, Rebecca Feferman, Greg Kwedar, Rachel Ecklund, Nancy Schafer, Michelle Modigliani)

Now playing on HBO

Other Films Mentioned:

American Dharma / 2018 (Director: Errol Morris)

American Factory / 2019 (Directors: Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar)

The Brink / 2019 (Director: Alison Klayman)

The Eternal Jew / 1940 (Director: Fritz Hippler)

Fahrenheit 9/11 / 2004 (Director: Michael Moore)

Fahrenheit 11/9 / 2018 (Director: Michael Moore)

The Legend of Cocaine Island / 2018 (Director: Theo Love)

Man with a Movie Camera / 1929 (Director: Dziga Vertov)

Run Like the Devil / 2018 (Director: Steve Mims)

Street Fight / 2005 (Director: Marshall Curry)

Time for Ilhan / 2018 (Director: Norah Shapiro)

Triumph of the Will / 1935 (Director: Leni Riefenstahl)

Weiner / 2016 (Director: Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg)

This Changes Everything / 2018 (Director: Tom Donahue)

Where's My Roy Cohn? / 2019 (Director: Matt Tyrnauer)

Timestamps:

03:00 - Intro conversation about immigration documentaries

15:40 - Group review of KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE

25:13 - Bart interviews David Modigliani of RUNNING WITH BETO

44:20 - Doc Talk

Links to reviews/interview by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Hammer to Nail review of KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE

• Hammer to Nail transcription of KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE interview

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Editing by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

This week we look at documentaries about immigration (and specifically about migrant workers) as we review BISBEE '17 and have an interview with Chelsea Hernandez of BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM.

Group Review Documentary:

BISBEE '17 (2018) / USA (Director: Robert Greene / Producers: Douglas Tirola, Bennett Elliott, Susan Bedusa)

Now playing on iTunes

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM (2019) / USA (Director: Chelsea Hernandez / Producers: Chelsea Hernandez, Marisol Medrano)

Now playing at select screenings nation wide

Other Films Mentioned:

306 Hollywood / 2018 (Directors: Elan Bogarin, Jonathan Bogarin)

The Act of Killing / 2012 (Director: Joshua Oppenheimer)

Actress / 2014 (Director: Robert Greene)

Close to Home (short) / 2010 (Director: Theo Rigby)

Dolores / 2018 (Director: Peter Bratt)

Human Flow / 2017 (Director: Ai Weiwei)

The Institute / 2013 (Director: Spencer McCall)

Island Soldier / 2017 (Director: Nathan FItch)

King of Kong / 2007 (Director: Seth Gordon)

Letters From the Other Side / 2006 (Director: Heather Courtney)

Made in LA / 2007 (Directors: Almudena Carracedo, Robert Bahar)

Marathon (short) / 2015 (Director: Theo Rigby)

One Man Dies a Million Times / 2019 (Director: Jessica Oreck)

The Silence of Others / 2018 (Directors: Almudena Carracedo, Robert Bahar)

Transit / 2018 (Director: Christian Petzold)

Transmilitary / 2018 (Director: Gabriel Silverman)

Welcome to Shelbyville / 2011 (Director: Kim Snyder)

Which Way Home / 2009 (Director: Rebecca Cammisa)

The Workers / 2003 (Director: Heather Courtney)

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro conversation about immigration documentaries

14:30 - Group review of BISBEE '17

26:00 - Bart & Chris interview Chelsea Hernandez of BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM

42:05 - Doc Talk

Links to reviews/interview by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Film Festival Today review of Bisbee '17
• Hammer to Nail review of Building the American Dream
• Hammer to Nail transcription of Building the American Dream interview

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Editing by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

Many documentaries use archival footage in different ways, sometimes the entire film is archival and other times it is interwoven with new footage, or altered or animated to create a completely new and different work. This week we chat a bit about all of these variations and review the recent archival masterpiece, THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD and Chris interviews Todd Douglas Miller of APOLLO 11.

Group Review Documentary:

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD (2018) / UK, New Zealand (Director: Peter Jackson / Producers: Peter Jackson, Clare Olssen)

Now playing on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube & Google Play

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

APOLLO 11 (2019) / USA (Director: Todd Douglas Miller / Producers: Todd Douglas Miller, Evan Krauss, Thomas Peterson)

Now playing on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube & Google Play

Other Films Mentioned:

Chicago 10 / 2007 (Director: Brett Morgen)

Decasia / 2003 (Director: Bill Morrison)

Dinosaur 13 / 2014 (Director: Todd Douglas Miller)

Eyes on the Prize / 1987 (Creator: Henry Hampton)

Gahanna Bill / 2001 (Director: Todd Douglas Miller)

The Gleaners and I / 2001 (Director: Agnes Varda)

Grizzly Man / 2005 (Director: Werner Herzog)

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 / 2008 (Director: Kevin Rafferty)

Holy Hell / 2016 (Director: William Francesco Allen)

King in the Wilderness / 2018 (Director: Peter Kunhardt)

Lorena / 2019 (Director: Joshua Rofe)

Los Angeles Plays Itself / 2004 (Director: Thom Andersen)

Los Reyes / 2018 (Directors: Bettina Perut, Iván Osnovikoff)

A Movie / 1958 (Director: Bruce Conner)

Night & Fog / 1955 (Director: Alain Resnais)Rat Film / 2017 (Director: Theo Anthony)

Scaring the Fish / 2008 (Director: Todd Douglas Miller)

Tower / 2016 (Director: Keith Maitland)

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro conversation about documentary use of archival footage

20:55 - Group review of THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

30:29 - Chris interviews Todd Douglas Miller, director of APOLLO 11

50:35 - Doc Talk

Hammer to Nail Review Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of Apollo 11

Film Festival Today Interview Transcription by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Interview with director Todd Douglass Miller of Apollo 11

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Editing by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

This bonus episode features an interview with the great Stanley Nelson, a prolific director telling complex and socially relevant stories in an expert and entertaining way. The episode drops the day before Nelson's latest film, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, plays at the Maryland Film Festival, in co-host Chris Reed's hometown of Baltimore.

Stanley Nelson Films Discussed:

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool / 2019

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution / 2015

The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords / 1999

Boss: The Black Experience in Business / 2019

Freedom Riders / 2009

A Place of Our Own / 2004

Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities / 2017

Two Dollars and a Dream / 1989

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple / 2006

Other Films Mentioned:

Listen to me Marlon / 2015 (Director: Stevan Riley)

Always in Season / 2019 (Director: Jacqueline Olive)

Words From a Bear / 2019 (Director: Jeffrey Palmer)

The Infiltrators / 2019 (Director: Cristina Ibarra & Alex Rivera)

Timestamps:

00:46 - Interview with Stanley Nelson

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Episode edited by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

In what is now a tradition for bonus episodes, we look at an online collective of short documentaries, this time with Field of Vision. Founded by Laura Poitras, AJ Schnak and Charlotte Cook, the site showcases insightful films from insider perspectives on various areas of the world, with a focus on political and social inequalities.

https://fieldofvision.org/

Field of Vision Films Covered:

The Above / 2015 (Director: Kirsten Johnson)

Adversary / 2018 (Director: Scott Cummings)

Concussion Protocol / 2018 (Director: Josh Begley)

Libre / 2019 (Director: Ana Barsan)

Our New President / 2017 (Director: Maxim Pozdorovkin)

Relatively Free / 2016 (Director: Alex Winter)

Other Films & Series Mentioned:

Buffalo Juggalos / 2013 (Director: Scott Cummings)

Facing the Dragon / 2019 (Director: Sedika Mojadidi)

Menashe / 2017 (Director: Joshua Z Weinstein)

World in Action (TV Series 1963 - 1998)

Timestamps:

00:46 - Intro discussion of Field of Vision

07:57 - Discussion of six Field of Vision short documentaries

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Episode edited by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

For SXSW we discuss two of the films playing this year, RAISE HELL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS and PAHOKEE, and Bart & Chris interview the filmmakers from Austin Texas.

 

SXSW Films Covered:

Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins / 2019 (Director:Janice Engel)

Pahokee / 2019 (Directors: Patrick Bresnan & Ivete Lucas)

 

Other Documentaries and Film Festivals Mentioned:

AFI DOCS

DOC NYC

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

Hot Docs

Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival

The Send-Off / 2016 (Directors: Patrick Bresnan & Ivete Lucas)

True/False Film Festival

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of Pahokee
• Review of Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins

 

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion of film festivals and documentary film

09:38 - Review of Raise Hell

21:15 - Review of Pahokee

31:57 - Interview with Patrick Bresnan & Ivete Lucas of Pahokee

47:55 - Interview with Janice Engel of Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins

 

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

 

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Editing by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

Portrayals of Southern culture in documentary is the topic this week as we look at HILLBILLY and Chris interviews Morrisa Maltz, the director of INGRID.

 

Group Review Documentary:

HILLBILLY (2018) / USA (Directors / Producers: Ashley York, Sally Rubin)

Now playing on YouTube, Google Play, Vudu & Amazon

 

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

INGRID (2018) / USA (Director / Producer: Morrisa Maltz)

Now playing on Amazon, YouTube & Google Play

 

Other Films & Podcasts Mentioned:

The Allusionist (Podcast)

The Innocent Man / 2018 (Director: J. Clay Tweel)

Coal Miner’s Daughter / 1980 (Director: Michael Apted)

Deliverance / 1972 (Director: John Boorman)

Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey / 2017 (Director: Dave O’Leske)

Dogs / 2018 (Creator: Glen Zipper)

Harlan County, USA / 1977 (Director: Barbara Kopple)

Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry / 2016 (Director: Laura Dunn)

S-Town (Podcast)

Sherman’s March / 1985 (Director: Ross McElwee)

 

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion of docs about folk culture

13:10 - Review of HILLBILLY

23:04 - Interview with Morissa Maltz, director of INGRID

38:49 - Doc Talk

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of INGRID

 

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

 

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Editing by Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)