Our latest Documentary Spotlight event took place in October, co-presented by The Ankler in Los Angeles. On this episode, we hear selections from the following conversations hosted by Thom Powers:

- "Sugarcane" directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie explore how indigenous communities in Canada investigate the legacy of abuse in Catholic residential schools. The film won the Sundance Documentary Directing Prize.

- "Porcelain War" co-director Brendan Bellomo describes profiling three Ukrainian artists against the backdrop of Russia's war on their country. The film won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Documentary.

- "No Other Land" directors Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham discuss their collaboration between Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers to document the destruction of a village in the West Bank. The two co-directors spoke by Zoom from the village of Masafer Yatta. "No Other Land" won the Jury and Audience Awards in Berlinale's Panorama section.

This is the first of three episodes covering the Los Angeles Documentary Spotlight.

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Shiori Ito shocked Japan in 2017 when she publicly accused a prominent journalist with close ties to the Prime Minister of raping her. Both the police and her family tried to dissuade her from pursuing the case. She felt like there was a "black box" of cover up. She broke the silence and stigma, first by writing a memoir and now directing the film "Black Box Diaries" about her experiences trying to speak her truth, despite enormous backlash and death threats. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by MTV Documentary Films for distribution. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Shiori in March during the CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen.

"Nocturnes" won a Sundance special jury prize for cinematic craft. In the film, set in the mountainous forest on the border of India and Bhutan, we follow the scientist Mansi who works at night projecting light onto a sheet where countless species of colorful moths gather. The film offers an escape into nature away from the industrialized world. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the two directors Anupama Srinivasan and Anirban Dutta about their unique approach. They also describe the hazards of filming under constant rain with leeches falling from the trees. "Nocturnes" is currently being released in theaters across the U.S. by Grasshopper Films.

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"Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" profiles the actor who was paralyzed from a horse riding accident and found a new purpose in life. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the documentary directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui. They discuss how they made their way to this project after previously collaborating on films about fashion designer Alexander McQueen in "McQueen" and the paralympics in "Rising Phoenix."

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"Daughters," now streaming on Netflix, follows a Daddy Daughter Dance held in a prison. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the film's director Angela Patton and Natalie Rae Robison, who collaborated on the feature documentary debut. They also discuss the contributions of cinematographer Michael "Cambio" Fernandez and executive producer Kerry Washington.

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Episode 200 is dedicated to the legacy of Jess Search, the visionary producer and co-founder of Doc Society. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Beadie Finzi of Doc Society and Judy Kibinge of Docubox in Kenya. They are two members of DISCO (Decentralised Independent Story and Culture Organizers), a network of documentary organizations around the world. They discuss the mission of DISCO and the Independence Project.

Learn more at:

Doc Society

Docubox

The DISCO Network

Independence Project

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"No Other Land" is directed by a collective of two Palestinians and two Israelis. They capture lives of Palestinians in the West Bank village of Masafer Yatta that's been routinely targeted by Israeli settlers and the military with violence and home demolitions. Taking place from 2019 to 2023, the film shows an alliance form between two of the directors – Basel Adra, who lives in Masafer Yatta, and Yuval Abraham from Israel – in their efforts to expose an injustice.

"No Other Land" won the Berlin Film Festival's jury and audience prizes in the Panorama section. Now it's coming to festivals in North America at TIFF, Camden, NYFF and other stops. It will be released in theaters this fall.

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers conducted this interview by Zoom reaching Basel Adra in Masafer Yatta and Yuval Abraham in Jerusalem. The film's other directors are Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor.

"Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa" profiles the woman who holds a world record for climbing Mount Everest. But her story is much bigger than that, overcoming innumerable hardships. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Lucy Walker about following Lhakpa on her quest to summit Everest for her tenth time and her hope to inspire other women, especially her daughters. Lucy describes how her earlier film "Blindsight" (2006) about a group of blind Tibetan youths trying to climb Everest gave her the confidence to tell Lhakpa's story.

"Mountain Queen" is now streaming on Netflix.

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Two years ago, Sonya Childress and Sarah Driver founded Color Congress to support documentary organizations led by people of color in the United States. They serve over 100 organizations that have long been overlooked and underfunded. Color Congress has given out grants, convened a conference, and is preparing to launch a new distribution initiative. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Sonya and Sahar about how Color Congress is filling a void and what they've learned about building allies in fractious times.

They also discuss a new existential threat from a right-wing movement that is targeting organizations that serve people of color. Sonya points to the recent legal case of the Fearless Fund as a cautionary tale.

Sonya was previously interviewed on PN episode 139.

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"Skywalkers: A Love Story" (on Netflix) profiles the couple Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau who attempt to climb the second tallest building in the world. It's both illegal and highly dangerous. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist about how he and co-director Maria Bukhonina captured this adventure like a heist movie. 

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