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Natalie Halla, the award winning Austrian filmmaker of THE LAST AMBASSADOR (2025), among other films, found that her way of making the world a better place is making insightful and incisive films. In her latest, she tells the story of Manizha Bakhtari, who is "risking everything in her fight for the rights of girls and women in Afghanistan."

It had its North American premiere at Hot Docs to a standing ovation, and Natalie is here to talk about her journey and her powerful filmmaking.

In this episode, Natalie and I discuss:

• the reception of THE LAST AMBASSADOR (2025) at Hot Docs;
• how did she get the access to make such a film?;
• how did she get involved in filmmaking -- "I'm a total autodidact";
• what drives her to make documentaries -- "I see it as my mission";
• the idea of a "search for the ultimate value of life" -- how that is connected throughout her filmmaking -- "it's not about just staying alive, it's about finding something worth living for";
• how she made a documentary with so much done on the road;
• "let's shoot it; I'll find the funding later" -- how she started filmmaking;
• what advice she would give documentary filmmakers;
• why she goes to festivals like Hot Docs and what her strategy is for attending -- "I really love meeting fellow filmmakers, so film festivals [are] the best chance to do that";
• what is next for her? "I don't have the energy and time to start something new, this film has so much interest it will keep me occupied for awhile";
• what's it like as an indie filmmaker in Austria?

Links:

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Visit Natalie's Website

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