Given today’s combative political environment, why would anyone want to watch a film about government? Well, because Brandon and Lance Kramer made it. Brothers and filmmakers, the Kramers have carved out a space in documentary that’s reflective and thoughtful in an era where loud and combative rule the day. In “The First Step,” the Kramers show that government still works when everyday citizens look beyond superficial differences and recognize their shared humanity. The film successfully follows up on their excellent 2015 film, “City of Trees,” a winning observation of how taxpayer programs really look at ground level … and how they change lives.

Intro and outro music by Podington Bear.

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Even as a young boy growing up in Alaska, David Holthouse was fascinated by newspapers, storytelling and life on the margins. His ability to blend into his surroundings led to a career as a self-styled gonzo journalist. Holthouse did his best work on the inside, infiltrating groups as varied as neo-Nazis and crystal meth addicts. But as the media landscape changed, so too did Holthouse. He now applies his unique perspective to the world of documentary film and has produced a number of popular movies and series on major streamers such as Hulu and Netflix, including “Sasquatch” and “Night Stalker.”

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Morgan Elliott is a documentary filmmaker and long-time resident of New York’s “North Country.” Going back to his childhood, Elliott had heard the story of Potsdam’s famous toilet garden, a self-styled protest by a Potsdam resident in response to perceived mistreatment by the village’s government. The toilets are revered by some, and reviled by others. Elliott waded into the dispute during the pandemic’s early years and emerged in 2022 with a feature documentary that captures a story that is at once quirky and profound.

Intro and outro music: Podington Bear

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The Book Keepers tells the story of Phil Wall’s mother, Carol, a gifted writer who dreamed of becoming a published author and who finally achieved her goal … just as her long battle with breast cancer took a turn for the worse. Carol was unable to tour with her new book and passed away shortly thereafter. Her husband, Dick, did what a loyal husband would do: He went on the book tour in her place. Her son, Phil, did what a filmmaker does: He picked up his camera and followed along. Wall processed his own grief by following his dad's journey to understanding his new life as a widower. Wall also captures intimate behind-the-scenes conversations with his dad, who later pursues an unexpected course that leads to delicate and surprising moments.

Intro and outro music: Podington Bear

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Some 20 years ago, New York filmmaker Zachary Levy went looking for a story that would become his first documentary feature film. He wound up finding the personality of a lifetime in Stanley Pleskun, a New Jersey scrap metal hauler with a colorful side hustle. In Levy’s 2009 documentary Strongman, Levy contributes an enduring character to the canon of vérité filmmaking.

Intro music: Arne Bang Huseby

Outro music: Jahzzar

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Ten years ago, Shaleece Haas stumbled upon a musician whose lyrics captured her attention ... and then her imagination. Turns out the musician, Bennett Wallace, had a story to go along with his music. It was a story increasingly playing out in living rooms across the country and one that is forcing American society to rethink old ideas about gender and identity. In "Real Boy," Haas tenderly trains her lens on a young transgender musician, his best friend and mentor, and the mother who struggles to accept the reality of who her son is becoming.

Intro Music by Lobo Loco

Outro Music by Kevin MacLeod

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Robert Greene is an award-winning filmmaker who directed the highly regarded Netflix documentary, "Procession." But at the dawn of the 2010s, Greene was only beginning to refine his voice and vision as a filmmaker. In 2011, Greene parlayed a family connection into access to a handful of small-time pro wrestlers and followed them as they prepared for a show in rural North Carolina. The result is documentary treasure. Greene's film, "Fake It So Real," explores a subculture that alternately generates smiles and winces but ultimately wins your heart. The film also captures a slice of rural America in the years before Donald Trump exploded onto the political scene, straining the already fraught relationship between urban and rural Americans.

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Drew Xanthopolous was a young, unestablished filmmaker when he came across a New York Times photo essay that would launch his career—as well as change the next five years of his life. The essay documented the lives of people who suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, a crippling condition that forces the afflicted to rethink everything about their day-to-day lives (including where they live and how they interact with family). Xanthopolous was intrigued and decided to learn more. He met several MCS sufferers and decided to tell their story. Over the ensuing handful of years, Xanthopolous undertook a nearly continuous milk run across two time zones to capture the lives of those living with MCS. His ensuing film, The Sensitives, documents the unique emotional terrain of those for whom modern life is more curse than blessing.



Music by Wall Matthews

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In the United States, stray dogs are not allowed to live on the street. They are whisked away to live in concrete cells. The approach is very different in some cities in Europe and Asia, where stray dogs are allowed to live freely alongside the human population.



Elizabeth Lo pondered these differences and what it all means. She wanted to create a visual document that captures stray dogs as seen from their perspective, not ours. The result is a stunning visual achievement that also carries a message about what it means to live free.



Lo's film, Stray, was released in 2021. It won the jury prize for Best International Feature Film at the Hot Docs International Film Festival!

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Justin Schein is a veteran filmmaker who has worked with scores of documentary subjects, but nothing could prepare him for an aging yippee named Mayer Vishner. Schein thought he was making a documentary about Vishner’s life. Vishner had a different idea, and it shook Schein to his core and tested his mettle as a friend, filmmaker and human being. Schein's 2015 film, "Left On Purpose," follows the colorful, unforgettable Vishner through a minefield of emotional and ethical issues.

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