How do you navigate the documentary job landscape? Asking for a friend…

Leah sits down with Devon Blackwell to chat about her time working at The New Yorker, how she handled layoffs, and her approach to using archival materials in documentaries.

Devon Blackwell is a director and editor, a Sundance Ignite Fellow, and currently pursuing her Master’s in Documentary Filmmaking at Stanford University. She began her career as a filmmaker and curator at The New Yorker, where she produced Nina and Irena, a film that was shortlisted for an Oscar. She’s also a 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, and her recent film, Goodbye, Morganza, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, earning a special jury mention in the Short Documentary category.

About Goodbye, Morganza: A property dispute led to one family’s displacement from their ancestral home. Today, their youngest daughter is left to pick up the pieces—all of them fitting within two storage units.

In this episode, we discuss:

✨ How to get your documentary featured on The New Yorker

✨ Navigating layoffs and grad school

✨ How to make the Forbes 30 Under 30 list

✨ Tackling imposter syndrome

✨ Tips for using archival footage in your documentary

Episode Resources & Links:

Learn more about documentary producing: Leah’s YouTube

Sure, we all have our dream brands; but how do you actually land a partnership for your film? 

Leah chats with Anna Wilder Burns and they discuss how she and her team were able to raise $20K through brand partnerships for their original film ‘Beyond Normal.’

Anna Wilder Burns is an award-winning Cinematographer and Director who tells impactful stories about athletes, adventurers, and activists. A former Division 1 athlete, she specializes in sports and outdoor content, with a unique ability to connect with her subjects and a passion for striking visuals. She has worked with major brands like Nike, The North Face, and Team USA, and her films have screened worldwide, earning recognition in festivals such as Banff and HollyShorts.

Beyond Normal chronicles the journey of professional surfer Becca Speak as she fights her way back to the water after a traumatic brain injury. An intimate portrait of self discovery, the film is an exploration of the human spirit and a vulnerable look into the gravity of a TBI.

In this interview you will learn…

Episode Resources & Links:

View Anna’s Work:

https://www.annawilderburns.com/

Watch the Beyond Normal Trailer:

https://www.madebackeast.com/beyond-normal

Follow Anna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annaburnsy/

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Sundoc Studios

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Connect with Leah on LinkedIn

Learn more about Documentary Producing

What does it take to win an Oscar? Leah chats with Ben Proudfoot, the CEO and Founder of Breakwater Studios.

Ben Proudfoot is a two-time Academy Award® winning documentary filmmaker and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Breakwater Studios, the home of the short documentary. Based in LA, he leads a team of 20 full-time filmmaking staff to create Oscar winning short documentaries. He was born in Nova Scotia, attended USC, and founded his company in 2012. Since then, he’s made short documentaries for brands like The New York Times, Charles Schwab, LinkedIn, and Amazon. And of course we can’t forget to mention his 3 nominations & his back to back Oscar wins for The Queen of Basketball & The Last Repair Shop. 

In this interview you will learn…

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

1:37 - Dealing with Rejection

5:47 - Why Short Documentaries

9:16 - How Ben Got His Start in Branded Documentaries

15:50 - Why some brand-funded films are bad

18:38 - Scaling Breakwater Studios

27:27 - The Role of a CEO

30:41 - How to Win an Oscar

42:17 - $15M Fundraising Campaign for The Last Repair Shop

46:00 - Finding Funding for your documentary

53:00 - Do’s and Don’ts for finding strategic partners

55:16 - Rapid Fire Questions

Episode Resources & Links:

Donate to The Last Repair Shop Fund:

https://lausdef.givecloud.co/fundraising/forms/PYEVM6DX?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYUxCqPftIuiPTHm5355AWA1jx4gF8sxAE0AbjbCcHXEM522XGSHA101u4_aem_yy88mFLylri31Ltb9cWdNQ

Follow Ben on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bgproudfoot/

Follow Breakwater Studios on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breakwaterstudios/

Learn about Breakwater Studios: https://breakwaterstudios.com/

Academy Awards Eligibility: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Sundoc Studios

Follow on Instagram 

Watch on YouTube

Connect with Leah on LinkedIn

Learn more about Documentary Producing

What does it take to curate documentaries for a global media company? 

Leah chats with Keshia Hannam, Editor in Chief at Eastern Standard Times. Keshia & Leah discuss the roles and responsibilities of an Editor in Chief & what makes for a compelling documentary. 

About Keshia:

Growing up mixed race and then living as an immigrant across Hong Kong, India, Australia, the UK, and now the US, Keshia was always drawn to how belonging and assimilation affect identity. Her work as an environmental advocate, building communities across the world with womens’ safety organization Camel Assembly and innovation platform Mettā, story craft on stages like the United Nations with Dear World, plus over a decade in media, has culminated in a passion and skill in ensuring stories are shared in a just and authentic way, predominantly by those who have lived the news. Keshia currently serves as Editor in Chief for Asian media platform Eastern Standard Times.

In this interview you will learn…

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

1:17 - Keshia background and identity

4:08 - Working in media & local radio

6:12 - Unconventional path to journalism

8:43 - Working at a magazine

11:11 - International media vs. local media 

12:50 - Starting to work with EST

15:17 - Imposter syndrome in a new job

17:21 - What is EST?

18:06 - Editor in Chief Role

19:24 - Asian Filmmakers telling their stories

21:05 - Process for curating stories 

23:39 - Platforms for freelance filmmakers

25:28 - Networking for jobs

26: 39 - Challenges with publishing content 

28:45 - Allowing subjects to have edits or not 

30:47 - What makes a good documentary

34:20 - Big Goals for EST

35:50 - How to Pitch to EST

36:52 - Tools for Doc Filmmakers

38:50 - Tips for Speaking

41:14 - Outro

Episode Resources & Links:

Eastern Standard Times Website -https://www.easternstandardtimes.com/

Eastern Standard Times Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/estmedia/

Keshia Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/keshiahannam/

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Sundoc Studios

Follow on Instagram 

Watch on YouTube

Connect with Leah on LinkedIn

Learn more about Documentary Producing

Let’s talk about mental health and documentary filmmaking. 

Max Karpman is a filmmaker who was born in New Jersey, but spent most of his childhood in Moscow, Russia. He is a recent graduate from Chapman University and is the director of “Did You Forget Mr. Fogel?” a short documentary about American hostage Marc Fogel who was a teacher at Max’s school in Moscow.

Max, Matt & Leah discuss how he found the story & the exact steps he took to create a student film from start to finish.

In this interview you will learn…

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

1:13 - Who is Marc Fogel?

3:35 - Marc Fogel vs. Brittney Griner

7:17 - Growing up in Russia

9:59 - Finding the Story

Episode Resources & Links:

Free Marc Fogel Website - https://www.freemarcfogel.net/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/freemarcfogel/

Follow the Documentary IG - https://www.instagram.com/marcfogeldocumentary/

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Sundoc Studios

Follow on Instagram & TikTok

Watch on YouTube

Connect with Leah on LinkedIn

Learn more about Documentary Producing

Ebony Gilbert & Adisa Septuri are Co-Directors of Ifine, a short documentary set in the Kono district of Sierra Leone, that captures the beauty of blackness through the lens of the youth coming of age amid a skin-bleaching epidemic.

Leah discusses with them their narrative backgrounds, how they prepared to capture everything in 6 days, and what goes into a successful Co-Directing relationship. 

Learn more about Ifine here:

https://www.ifinedocumentary.com/

Connect with Adisa:

http://adisasepturi.com/

https://www.instagram.com/adisafilms/

Connect with Ebony:

https://www.dirt-stainedroses.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ebony_gilbert_one/

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

Follow on Instagram & TikTok

Watch on YouTube

Join our Doc Club? Apply here

Leah chats with Monica Medellin, Executive Producer of Surf Girls Hawai'i, a four-part docuseries that follows the next generation of Native Hawaiian female surfers as they compete to earn a coveted spot on the professional surfing WSL Championship Tour. 

The series was produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine in partnership with TOGETHXR and follows rising stars Moana Jones Wong, Ewe Wong, Maluhia Kinimaka, Pua DeSoto, and Brianna Cope. 

Watch on Amazon Prime:

https://www.amazon.com/Surf-Girls-Hawaii-Season-1/dp/B0BZRSCZ1Y

In this episode you’ll learn how Monica transformed her original docuseries into her first TV Show,  her take on directing small indie doc sets vs. large TV sets, and tips for pitching your film to a major streaming platform.

See Monica’s Work

Follow Monica on IG

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

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Leah chats with Emily Stoker, London-based Director and Producer. They discuss how Emily got her start making travel videos on YouTube, how she landed her first TV credits, and some insightful tips for how to set your ethical boundaries as a filmmaker.

Emily Stoker is a London-based director and communications consultant. After working abroad in digital communications, she built her production company. Today she has produced projects with clients, commissioners and funders including National Geographic, BBC, and the European Commission.

Emily’s documentary work spans into broadcast with Sheffield International Documentary Festival recognizing her as an “up and coming talent” in broadcast. Her credits include shooting and producing documentary films in several continents for National Geographic, BBC Studios, Channel 4, and more.

From films that help to raise six-figure project funding, to communication plans that gain national media coverage, to digital videos accumulatively totaling over 1 million views. Emily is experienced in producing films and communication plans that optimise her clients’ impact.

Emily’s work is featured in the Byline Times and she has been interviewed by the European Activism Incubator about her impact in documentary filmmaking. She is available to work in multiple language and speaks Italian, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Connect with Emily:

Check Out Emily's Work

Subscribe to her YouTube channel

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

Follow on Instagram & TikTok

Watch on YouTube

Join our Doc Club? Apply here

Leah sits down with Lucas Cardoso, Director and DP of Estorias Co. They discuss how Lucas transitioned from a corporate job into starting his own production company, his exact lighting setup for interviews, and the importance of sharing your work.

Follow Lucas on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lucasacardoso98/

Check out Estorias:

https://www.estorias.co/

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

Follow on Instagram & TikTok

Watch on YouTube

Join our Doc Club? Apply here

Don’t miss out on this couple’s roundtable where we discuss what it takes to own a documentary production company. 

Matt, Leah, Mark & Carrie go in detail about how to set up different streams of income as a filmmaker - from community screenings, to landing sponsorships, to partnering with nonprofits. 

Follow Mark & Carrie’s work at Burning Torch Productions.

Guest Bios:

Mark Pedri is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and writer from Southwestern Wyoming. His character-driven style of storytelling is reminiscent of his equally unique upbringing in Wyoming.

Mark’s journey has been guided by the stories he tells. His thirst for truth and storytelling go hand in hand, which has given him the opportunity to make films in some of the furthest corners of the planet. In addition to his own writing and directing career, Mark also has a special interest in supporting new voices within the film and television industry. During his tenure at Sundance Institute in the Feature Film and Episodic Programs, he focused on ushering underrepresented artists into the industry by helping them hone their craft and develop their own personal stories. Mark holds an MA in Communication & Journalism from the University of Wyoming and an MFA in Producing for TV and Film from the University of Southern California. Mark splits his time between  Los Angeles and Wyoming.

Carrie McCarthy is a scientist turned producer. She got her start working as a scientific film consultant before going on to earn a PhD in Materials Chemistry from the University of Southern California. Funded by the National Science Foundation, her research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences worldwide.

​Carrie has produced two feature documentaries and several short films. ​She is driven by her endless curiosity to hunt down engaging stories with a unique perspective and has a critical eye for detail in the true-life stories she develops. Carrie is currently based in Los Angeles developing and producing documentary, feature, and episodic content.

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

Follow on Instagram & TikTok

Watch on YouTube

Join our Doc Club? Apply here