Fog of Truth

Audience fascination with films about the ultra-wealthy in a time of great economic disparity is the topic this week as we discuss THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING and Chris interviews the director of GENERATION WEALTH.

 

Group Review Documentary:

THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING (2018) / USA (Director: Nathaniel Kahn / Producers: Carla Solomon, Debi Wisch, Jennifer Stockman)

The HBO documentary film THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING can be viewed on HBO GO/ NOW)

Audio excerpts courtesy of HBO

 

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

GENERATION WEALTH (2018) / USA (Director / Producer: Lauren Greenfield / Producers: Wallis Annenberg, Frank Evers)

Now playing on Amazon, YouTube & Google Play

 

Other Documentaries Mentioned:

The American Meme / 2018 (Director: Bert Marcus)

The Art of the Steal / 2009 (Director: Don Argott)

Attica / 1974 (Director: Cinda Firestone)

Born Rich / 2003 (Director:Jamie Johnson)

Dirty John (Podcast) / 2016

Fyre / 2019 (Director: Chris Smith)

Fyre Fraud / 2019 (Director: Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason)

Grey Gardens / 1976 (Directors: Albert Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer)

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

Inside Job / 2010 (Director: Charles Ferguson)

Kids + Money / 2008 (Director: Lauren Greenfield)

The One Percent / 2006 (Director: Jamie Johnson)

The Queen of Versailles / 2012 (Director: Lauren Greenfield)

 

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion of docs about the ultra wealthy

16:30 - Review of The Price of Everything

28:35 - Interview with Lauren Greenfield, director of Generation Wealth

49:45 - Doc Talk

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of PRICE OF EVERYTHING
• Review of GENERATION WEALTH

 

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 talk Oscars with a brief discussion of the documentary feature nominees and a more intensive review of each nominated short as well as kvetching generally about the complicated relationship between documentary films and Oscar. Also, we interview Robert Bahar, co-director of The Silence of Others.

 

Oscar Shorts Reviewed:

Black Sheep / 2018 (Director: Ed Perkins)

End Game / 2018 (Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman)

Lifeboat / 2018 (Director: Skye Fitzgerald)

A Night at the Garden / 2017 (Director: Marshall Curry)

Period. End of Sentence / 2018 (Director: Rayka Zehtabchi)

 

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

THE SILENCE OF OTHERS (2018) / USA / Canada / France / Spain (Directors/Producers: Almudena Carracedo & Robert Bahar)

 

Oscar Feature Nominations Mentioned:

Free Solo / 2018 (Directors: Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi)

Hale County This Morning, This Evening / 2018 (Director: RaMell Ross)

Minding the Gap / 2018 (Director: Bing Liu)

Of Fathers and Sons / 2018 (Director: Talal Derki

RBG / 2018 (Directors: Julie Cohen & Betsy West)

 

Other Documentaries Discussed:

20 Feet From Stardom / 2013 (Director: Morgan Neville)

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

Act of Killing / 2012 (Director: Joshua Oppenheimer)

Behind the Bullet / 2019 (Director: Heidi Yewman)

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

Hoop Dreams / 1994 (Director: Steve James)

The Island / 2017 (Director: Adam Weingrod)

Kedi / 2016 (Director: Ceyda Torun)

Made in L.A. / 2007 (Director: Almudena Carracedo)

My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes / 2018 (Director: Charlie Tyrell)

Nutria / 2003 (Director: Ted Gesing)

Paris is Burning / 1991 (Director: Jennie Livingston)

Rat Film / 2018 (Director: Theo Anthony)

Rodents of Unusual Size / 2018 (Directors: Chris Metzler, Quinn Costello, Jeff Springer)

The Thin Blue Line / 1988 (Director: Errol Morris)

Three Identical Strangers / 2018 (Director: Tim Wardle)

White Helmets / 2016 (Director: Orlando von Einsiedel)

Won’t You be My Neighbor?  / 2018 (Director: Morgan Neville)

 

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion of history of Academy Awards and Docs and this years nominated features

16:35 - Review of nominated Documentary Shorts

38:30 - Interview with Robert Bahar, co-director of The Silence of Others

51:45 - Doc Talk

 

Film Review Links written by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Film Festival Today Review of Rodents of Unusual Size
• Hammer to Nail Review of Silence of Others
• Hammer to Nail Review of Oscar Doc Shorts Nominees

 

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)

Youth culture (and specifically docs dealing with subjects “on wheels”) is the topic this week as we look at UNITED SKATES about roller skating in African American communities across the U.S. and MINDING THE GAP about three skateboarding friends growing up in the rust belt.

Note: This interview with Bing Liu was recorded before the Oscar nominations were announced, hence we did not mention MINDING THE GAP being nominated in the 2019 Best Documentary category. But, we are very excited about that development since recording!

Group Review Documentary:

UNITED SKATES (2018) / USA (Directors / Producers: Tina Brown, Dyana Winkler)

THE HBO DOCUMENTARY FILM UNITED SKATES DEBUTS FEBRUARY 18th ON HBO

Audio excerpts courtesy of HBO

 

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

MINDING THE GAP (2018) / USA (Director / Producer: Bing Liu, Produced by Diane Moy Quon)

Now playing on Hulu and available on PBS on 2/18/19

 

Other Films Mentioned:

American High / 2001 (Creator: R.J. Cutler)

Bowling For Columbine / 2002 (Director: Michael Moore)

Boyhood / 2014 (Director: Richard Linklater)

Desolation Center / 2019 (Director: Stuart Swezey)

Dogs / 2018 (Creator: Glen Zipper)

Dogtown and Z-Boys / 2001 (Director: Stacy Peralta)

Hell on Wheels / 2007 (Director: Bob Ray)

Hoop Dreams / 1994 (Director: Steve James)

The Interrupters / 2011 (Director: Steve James)

Kedi / 2017 (Director: Ceyda Torun)

Los Punks: We Are All We Have / 2016 (Director: Angela Boatwright)

Paris is Burning / 1991 (Director: Jennie Livingston)

Promises / 2002 (Directors: Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg, Carlos Bolado)

Slomo / 2013 (Directors: Josh Izenberg, Amanda Micheli)

Streetwise / 1984 (Director: Martin Bell)

This is Everything Gigi Gorgeous / 2017 (Director: Barbara Kopple)

Village at the End of the World / 2013 (Directors: Sarah Gavron, David Katznelson)

Waking Life / 2001 (Director: Richard Linklater)

 

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion about Youth Culture docs

14:55 - Group review of UNITED SKATES

31:43 - Group interview with Bing Liu, director of MINDING THE GAP

47:45 - Doc Talk

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of Minding the Gap

 

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)

Chris and Summre interview four filmmakers from snowy Park City in this special Sundance & Slamdance on location episode.

 

Filmmakers Interviewed:

Penny Lane (Director), HAIL SATAN?

Heidi Yewman (Director) & Will Little (Subject), BEHIND THE BULLET

Jonathan Sutak (Director), DONS OF DISCO

Alex Holmes (Director), MAIDEN

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of BEHIND THE BULLET
• Review of DONS OF DISCO
• Review of HAIL SATAN?
• Review of MAIDEN

 

Timestamps:

01:54 - Interview with Penny Lane

15:35 - Interview with Heidi Yewman

32:58 - Interview with Jonathan Sutak

43:05 - Interview with Alex Holmes

 

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)

We discuss the four films we will be covering in Park City this year with filmmaker interviews and get hyped for our upcoming travels to the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals.

 

Sundance Films Reviewed:

Hail Satan? / 2019 (Director: Penny Lane)

Maiden / 2018 (Director: Alex Holmes)

 

Slamdance Films Reviewed:

Behind the Bullet / 2019 (Director: Heidi Yewman)

Dons of Disco / 2018 (Director: Jonathan Sutak)

 

Other Films Mentioned:

Nuts! / 2016 (Director: Penny Lane)

Our Nixon / 2013 (Director: Penny Lane)

Penny Lane Vimeo Page - Shorts Collection

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

Review of Maiden

 

Timestamps:

00:46 - Intro of the hosts

4:58 - Discussion of Maiden

10:03 - Discussion of Behind the Bullet

15:16 - Discussion of Dons of Disco

21:09 - Discussion of Hail Satan?

 

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)

Well, it’s that time of year where everyone loves to assemble top ten lists of all sorts. In this Bonus Episode, we each discuss our top ten documentaries of this year and the general trends we are seeing in 2018 doc films.

 

Bart’s Top 10 List:

1. 209 Rue Saint Maur / 2018 (Director: Ruth Zylberman)
2. 306 Hollywood / 2018 (Directors: Elan Bogarin & Jonathan Bogarin)
3. Bisbee ‘17 / 2018 (Directors: Robert Greene)
4. Minding the Gap / 2018 (Director: Bing Liu)
5. Our New President / 2018 (Directors: Maxim Podorovkin)
6. RBG / 2018 (Directors / Producers: Julie Cohen & Betsy West)
7. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead / 2018 (Director: Morgan Neville)
8. Wild Wild Country / 2018 (Creators: Chapman Way & Maclain Way)
9. Won’t You be my Neighbor?  / 2018 (Director: Morgan Neville)
10. Yours in Sisterhood / 2018 (Director: Irene Lusztig)

 

Chris’s Top 10 List:

1. The Dawn Wall / 2018 (Directors: Josh Lowell & Peter Mortimer)
2. Free Solo / 2018 (Directors: Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi)
3. Hale County This Morning, This Evening / 2018 (Director: RaMell Ross)
4. Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. / 2018 (Director: Stephen Loveridge)
5. Our New President / 2018 (Director: Maxim Pozdorovkin)
6. RBG / 2018 (Directors: Julie Cohen & Betsy West)
7. Science Fair / 2018 (Directors: Cristina Costantini & Darren Foster)
8. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead / 2018 (Director: Morgan Neville)
9. Three Identical Strangers / 2018 (Director: Tim Wardle)
10. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? / 2018 (Director: Morgan Neville)

 

Summre’s Top 10 List:

1. 209 Rue Saint Maur / 2018 (Director: Ruth Zylberman)
2. Ingrid (Director: Morrisa Maltz)
3. The King / 2018 (Director: Eugene Jarecki)
4. Mr. Fish / 2018 (Director: Pablo Bryant)
5. RBG / 2018 (Directors: Julie Cohen & Betsy West)
6. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead / 2018 (Director: Morgan Neville)
7. Three Identical Strangers / 2018 (Director: Tim Wardle)
8. United Skates / 2018 (Directors: Dyana Winkler & Tina Brown)
9. Won’t You be my Neighbor? (2018) / USA (Director: Morgan Neville)
10. Yours in Sisterhood / 2018 (Director: Irene Lusztig)

 

Timestamps:

00:46 - Bart, Chris and Summre introduction conversation

02:30 - Top 10 Lists

 

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

 

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

In a special Halloween themed episode, things get spooky as we talk about the myriad of horror documentaries available online, review 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene and Chris interviews Kimberly Reed of Dark Money.

 

Group Review Documentary:

78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene (2017) / USA (Director: Alexandre O. Philippe  Producers: Robert Muratore, Kerry Deignan Roy)

Available to stream on Hulu, Google Play, YouTube & Amazon

 

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

Dark Money (2018) / USA (Director: Kimberly Reed,  Producers: Kimberly Reed, Katy Chevigny)

Available to stream on Google Play, YouTube & Amazon

 

Other Documentaries Mentioned:

Beware the Slender Man / 2016 (Director: Irene Taylor Brodsky)

Caniba / 2012 (Director: Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel)

Dark Tourist / 2018 (Director: Colin Rothbart, Zoe McIntosh, Justin Hawkes, Ian Hart, Paul Horan, David Farrier)

The Devil We Know / 2018 (Director: Stephanie Soechtig)

Doc of the Dead / 2014 (Director: Alexandre O. Philippe)

Faces of Death / 1978 (Director: John Alan Schwartz)

Haunted / 2018 (Director: Jan Pavlacky)

Haunters: The Art of the Scare / 2017 (Director: Jon Schnitzer)

Haxan / 1929 (Director: Benjamin Christensen)

Hell House / 2002 (Director: George Ratliff)

Inside the Criminal Mind / 2018 (Director: Max Serio)

Killer Legends / 2014 (Director: Joshua Zemen)

Making a Murderer / 2015 (Writers: Moira Demos, Laura Ricciardi)

The Nightmare / 2015 (Director: Rodney Ascher)

The Rachel Divide  / 2018 (Director: Laura Brownson)

The Staircase / 2018 (Director: Bryan Gildner)

They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead / 2018 (Director: Morgan Neville)

TVTV: Video Revolutionaries / 2018 (Director: Paul Goldsmith)

 

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion about Horror Documentaries

20:35 - Group review of 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene

32:15 - Chris Interviews Kimberly Reed of Dark Money

50:30 - Doc Talk

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of Dark Money
• Interview with Kimberly Reed, Director/Producer of Dark Money

 

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

 

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

 

This week we discuss our own personal work and creative ventures and look at two doc portraits of activists doing what they love for careers in the arts: MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END and MR. SOUL!

 

Group Review Documentary:

MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END (2018) / USA (Director: Pablo Bryant,  Producer: Ted Collins)

Available on iTunes Winter 2018

 

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

MR. SOUL! (2018) / USA (Directors: Melissa Haizlip & Samuel D. Pollard,  Producer: Melissa Haizlip)

Now Playing at Select Festivals

 

Other Documentaries & Books Mentioned:

Acorn and the Firestorm / 2017 (Directors: Samuel D. Pollard & Reuben Atlas)

Alpha Girl: Taryn Murphy Revisited / 2018 (Director: Christopher Llewellyn Reed)

Color Adjustment / 1992 (Director: Marlon Riggs)

Ethnic Notions / 1986 (Director: Marlon Riggs)

Frame of Mind (TV) / 1992 - Present (Producer: Bart Weiss)

Growing up Coy / 2016 (Director: Eric Juhola)

Sleep with Me / 2017 (Director: Summre Garber)

Taryn Murphy (on YouTube and Vimeo) / 2006 (Director: Christopher Llewellyn Reed)

WARNING! Graphic Content: Political Cartoons, Comix and the Uncensored Artistic Mind (Book) / 2014 by Mr. Fish

 

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion about Creative Work/Life Balance

15:11 - Group review of MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END

27:35 - Bart Interviews Melissa Haizlip of MR. SOUL!

41:34 - Doc Talk

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End

 

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

 

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

What better time to focus on docs about strong dissenting women effecting positive change in the world? Feels like now is good, so in this episode we review MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A. and Chris interviews the director of ¡Las Sandanistas!

 

Group Review Documentary:

MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. (2018) / USA (Director: Stephen Loveridge,  Producers: Paul Mezey, Lori Cheatle, Andrew Goldman)

Now Playing in Select Theatres

 

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

¡Las Sandanistas! (2018) / Nicaragua / USA (Director: Jenny Murray)

The film opens at the Film Forum in New York on 11/21 and at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago on 11/30

 

Other Documentaries, Podcasts & Organizations Mentioned:

13th / 2016 (Director: Ava DuVernay)

AfroQueerPodcast / 2018 (Executive Produced / Hosted by Selly Thiam)

Alone in the Game / 2018 (Directors: Natalie Metzger & Michael Rohrbaugh)

Chisolm ‘72 / 2004 (Director:Shola Lynch)

Dolores / 2017 (Director:Peter Bratt)

Free Angela and All Political Prisoners / 2016 (Director:Shola Lynch)

Harlan County USA / 1977 (Director: Barbara Kopple)

He Named Me Malala / 2015 (Director: Davis Guggenheim)

Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise / 2016 (Directors: Bob Hercules & Rita Coburn Whack)

Miss Representation / 2011 (Director: Jennifer Siebel Newsom)

Sonita / 2015 (Director:Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami)

What Happened Miss Simone / 2015 (Director:Liz Garbus)

Women Make Movies

Yours in Sisterhood / 2018 (Director:Irene Lusztig)

 

Timestamps:

00:48 - Intro discussion on empowering documentaries about women and people of color

13:42 - Group review of MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A

26:29 - Chris Interviews Jenny Murray of ¡Las Sandanistas!

28:22 - Doc Talk

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

Review of ¡Las Sandanistas!

 

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

 

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)

Recreations, hybridity and truth are the topics this week as we discuss what classifies a documentary while fictionalization in documentaries become more commonplace. Through this lens we review 306 HOLLYWOOD and interview Irene Lusztig of YOURS IN SISTERHOOD.

 

Group Review Documentary:

306 HOLLYWOOD (2018) / USA (Directors: Elan Bogarin & Jonathan Bogarin,  Producers: Elan Bogarin, Judit Stalter & Jonathan Bogarin)

Now Playing in Select Theatres

 

Film Featured in Interview Portion:

YOURS IN SISTERHOOD (2018) / USA (Director: Irene Lusztig,  Producer: Irene Lusztig)

Now Playing at Select Festivals

 

Other Documentaries Mentioned:

The Act of Killing / 2012 (Director: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn)

The Beaches of Agnes / 2008 (Director: Agnes Varda)

BlacKkKlansman / 2018 (Director: Spike Lee)

Chronicle of a Summer / 1965 (Directors: Jean Rouch & Edgar Morin)

The Gleaners and I / 2000 (Director: Agnes Varda)

Growing up Female / 1971 (Directors: Julia Reichert & Jim Klein)

Heartbound: A Different Kind of Love Story  / 2018 (Directors: Janus Metz Pedersen & Sine Plambech)

Is the Man Who Was Tall Happy? / 2013 (Director: Michel Gondry)

La Commune (Paris 1871) / 2000 (Director: Peter Watkins)

Man on Wire / 2008 (Director: James Marsh)

March of Time Newsreels / 1935 - 1951

Nanook of the North / 1922 (Director: Robert J. Flaherty)

Nellie Bly Makes the News / 2018 (Director: Penny Lane)

Normal Appearances / 2018 (Director: Penny Lane)

Nuts! / 2016 (Director: Penny Lane)

O Amor Natural / 1996 (Director: Heddy Honigmann)

Our Nixon / 2013 (Director: Penny Lane)

Primary / 1960 (Director: Robert Drew)

Shoah / 1985 (Director: Claude Lanzmann)

Stories We Tell / 2013 (Director: Sarah Polley)

The Thin Blue Line / 1988 (Director: Errol Morris)

Tower / 2016 (Director: Keith Maitland)

Waltz with Bashir / 2008 (Director: Ari Folman)

The Woman’s Film / 1971 (Directors: Louise Alaimo, Judy Smith & Ellen Sorren)

Women He’s Undressed / 2015 (Director: Gillian Armstrong

 

Timestamps:

00:45 - Intro discussion about Recreations in Documentary

14:30 - Group review of 306 HOLLYWOOD

28:26 - Group Interviews Irene Lusztig of YOURS IN SISTERHOOD

47:18 - Doc Talk

 

Hammer to Nail Links by Christopher Llewellyn Reed:

• Review of Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.
• Interview with Jenny Murray, of ¡Las Sandanistas!

 

Website/Email:

www.fogoftruth.com

[email protected]

 

Credits:

Artwork by Hilary Campbell

Intro music by Jeremiah Moore

Transitional music by BELLS (thanks to Christopher Ernst)