Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

In August of 2022, author Salman Rushdie, speaking onstage about how to protect writers at the venerable Chautauqua Institution in western New York, was attacked by a 24-year-old man with no prior criminal history who stabbed him 15 times, nearly killing him. Salman (“Midnight's Children”, “The Satanic Verses”, “Fury”, and “The Golden House”) and Rachel Eliza Griffiths (“Miracle Arrhythmia”, “Mule and Pear”, “Seeing the Body”, “The Flower Bearers”) join Mike to discuss “Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie,” Alex Gibney's documentary built from Rushdie's memoir of a similar name and the raw footage Griffiths began shooting in the trauma ward in the attack's immediate aftermath. 

Eliza, who served as cinematographer and executive producer, explains how filming began not as a movie but as a way to "take back a little power" and document recovery, using a professional camera a friend sent her rather than a phone. The two discuss Gibney's decision to withhold the actual attack footage until deep into the film, building tension the way Truman Capote structured “In Cold Blood”, and the striking device of restaging the memoir’s imaginary conversation between Salman and his assaulter using a scene from Kurosawa's “High and Low” with the attacker rendered mute and subtitled only. 

Salman reflects on grappling with the attacker's seemingly motiveless violence, the painful history of “The Satanic Verses”’s backlash within South Asian communities, and how the film's Kurosawa/Cat Stevens/Dylan-laced structure mirrors his own maximalist, allusion-driven imagination. Both guests explore the tension between public disclosure and private boundaries, noting the film reveals intense vulnerability while still preserving certain "no-fly zones." They also talk candidly about friendship and loss (Christopher Hitchens, Martin Amis, Paul Auster, Raymond Carver), Rushdie's recurring "through the looking glass" framework for the major relocations of his life, and the emotional return to the Chautauqua stage 13 months later that gave Rushdie an unexpected physical sense of a weight lifting. 

The conversation closes on what happiness and gratitude look like after coming close to death, with both Griffiths and Rushdie describing a hard-won, "wounded" but genuine joy toward the strangers who intervened to save Rushdie's life.

“Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie” opens at the IFC in New York on September 17th, followed by a North American-wide release later in the fall, and forthcoming rollout in the UK and Ireland.

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“American Doctor, the searing new documentary by director Poh Si Teng (“St. Louis Superman”) about three American doctors who travel to Gaza to treat Palestinian victims of Israeli airstrikes, is bracing, in-your-face and graphic. In fact, in an early scene, one of the film’s main participants, Dr. Mark Perlmutter, insists that Poh show even the most gruesome images of Palestinian children killed by the bombs: “(American) taxpayers have the right to know the truth.” Poh relents and directs her cameraman to film the photographs.

Poh joins Ken on the pod to talk about that extraordinary moment and to shed light on the relationships and events at the center of her extraordinary film. For all the film’s urgency, however, Poh herself can reflect on her creative journey with humor, as well as pathos. For example, she recalls that when she first met the three physicians, she thought, “It’s almost like, ‘Three doctors walk into a bar.’ One is Palestinian Muslim... one is Jewish American, and one is Zoroastrian Parsi.” Perhaps it is a throwaway line, but upon further reflection, it is emblematic of the esprit de corps that unites these doctors and keeps them coming back to Gaza. That, and those gruesome images they can’t get out of their heads — and which audiences won’t be able to either.

“American Doctor” is being released theatrically by Watermelon Pictures.

Hidden Gems:

“Who Killed Olex Odeh?”

“Landscapes of Memory”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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Labor Day weekend is upon us, which means only one thing, well, actually three things: Venice, Telluride and TIFF. Bunched together in the first half of September are three of the biggest film festival highlights of the year. It also means world premieres of dozens of not to be missed documentaries. On the cusp of the 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which runs from September 10 – 20, TIFF’s lead documentary programmer Thom Powers (host of the Pure Nonfiction podcast), maestro of the festival’s documentary lineup for more than 20 years, returns to the pod.

Join us for this insider’s view of the TIFF documentary selections. As always, the lineup is a wonderful mix of docs from emerging filmmakers and seasoned veterans, featuring amazing stories from around the world. Thom also weighs in with a couple of picks from among the TIFF documentaries that may be in the thick of the Fall’s Oscar conversation.

The Presenting Sponsor of “Top Docs” is Netflix.

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It's that time of year:  Emmys are here, and we’ve got you covered. Culminating our “Top Docs” podcasts featuring the leading contenders for in the documentary categories, we talk to The Hollywood Reporter’s Executive Editor of Awards Scott Feinberg who breaks down the 2025 Emmy nominees in all the major documentary categories, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special; Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series; Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking; and Outstanding Directing.

The 78th Creative Arts Emmy Awards, including all the major doc categories, will be held on Saturday and Sunday,  September 5 & 6.

An award-winning columnist and podcast host (“Awards Chatter”), Executive Editor of Awards Scott Feinberg has led The Hollywood Reporter’s awards coverage since 2011. He is best known for his “Feinberg Forecast,” through which he assesses the standings of various showbiz awards races, and for Awards Chatter, the interview-centric podcast that he started in 2015.

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Colin Hanks likes John Candy. That much is clear from his Primetime Emmy-nominated documentary “John Candy: I Like Me.” But what drew him to the project was the idea that there had to be something more to the story than the saintly portrait drawn by so many who knew and loved this jovial Canadian comedian, television and movie star who died at age 43, over 30 years ago now.

Colin joins Ken on the pod to talk about how, once he got to know Candy’s wife, Rose, and two children, Jennifer and Chris, a fuller portrait of Candy started to emerge. Candy was marked for life by the tragic death of his father, who died at age 35 on Candy’s 5th birthday. In later years, Candy suffered from panic attacks and anxiety. In addition to the family, Colin interviews the pantheon of Second City and Hollywood stars who achieved some of their best work collaborating on screen with Candy, including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, and (of course) Tom Hanks. It turns out there was more to know about John Candy than we all suspected. And, a helluva lot more to like as well.

“John Candy: I Like Me” has been nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special; Outstanding Music Composition; Sound Editing; Picture Editing; and Sound Mixing. The film is streaming on Prime Video.

Hidden Gem:

“Funky Monks”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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You will likely, as Mike did, stare on in wonder as directors of “Ocean with David Attenborough”–Toby Nowlan, Colin Butfield, and Keith Scholey, the last of whom joined us on “Top Doc”s–show you the wonders of the deep seas.  And you will as well likely fall into shock and despair when they present you with the never-before seen devastation caused by industrial sea trawling.  But what will assuredly bring you hope is the calm, nearly mythic presence of David Attenborough, nearing 100 years of age, serving as co-watcher, century-long witness and unmatched narrator of this fine documentary.  And too, you may find optimism in his promise that if we can truly protect just ⅓ of the ocean we can maintain this place of natural wonder, one which in its consumption of carbon and production of oxygen is actually more effecient than all land-based flora combined.

“Ocean with David Attenborough” can be seen on Disney+

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

“Beware of your local librarian!” The idea that this could be a concern held by some Americans seemed unthinkable to director Kim A. Snyder (“Death By Numbers”, “Newtown”) back in 2021 when she embarked on the project that would end up being her latest documentary “The Librarians.” But as the latest wave of the culture wars has crested over the last few years, librarians — and books on local public and school library shelves — found themselves in the crosshairs of school board members, Christian Nationalists, and well-funded conservative organizations.

Kim joins Ken on the pod to explain the evolving public image of librarians and to connect the dots between conservative political strategy, attempts to remove books from school libraries, and threats of criminal prosecution of librarians who dare to stand up for the rights of their students. Kim discusses the list of 850 books created by a Republican Texas state representative with the intent of identifying and removing the books from school library shelves. Not surprisingly, these titles feature LGBTQ+ characters (over 60% of the books on the list), as well as books about race and Black history, and authors of color. While Texas and Florida may be ground zero for these attacks on literature and librarians, Kim describes how the movement has gone national. Fortunately, for those who value the importance of young people (and adults) having access to these books, a group of librarians known as “The Freedom Fighters” — and other librarians across the country — are now speaking out.

“The Librarians” is nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. It is available for streaming on the PBS YouTube Channel.

Hidden Gem:

“Cutting Through Rocks”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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In February 2023, Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl, escaped from the Central Park Zoo through a hole cut in the netting of his enclosure and soon found himself alone on a Manhattan sidewalk. But, as director Penny Lane (“Hail Satan?”, “Our Nixon”) shows in her inquisitive, insightful and irresistible documentary “Wild Inside,” Flaco would not be alone for long. Soon, he became the toast of the town, with his own devoted followers including owlers, tourists, apartment dwellers, TV late night hosts, and the news media.

Penny joins Ken on the pod to discuss how this enigmatic, majestic bird with the penetrating pumpkin eyes won New Yorkers’ hearts from one end of Manhattan to the other and touched off a debate about how the wild animals in our midst should be treated and protected. Penny talks about how she, a birder herself, first heard about Flaco from a filmmaker friend who happened upon Flaco on his first night of freedom, and then embarked on her own journey to tell this multi-layered story from different perspectives. Flaco’s point of view on all of this remains unknowable, but Penny succeeds wildly in illuminating how one bird can give us new eyes to see the world anew.  

“Wild Inside” is from HBO Documentary Films and has its world premiere in Central Park on July 29th, followed by screenings in select theaters across the U.S. See more details at FlacoDocumentary.com.

Hidden Gem:

“Best Worst Movie”

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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It’s clear from the opening shot of “Being Eddie,” director Angus Wall’s (Oscar-winning editor of “The Social Network” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”) enchanting Netflix documentary about comedy superstar Eddie Murphy, that being Eddie is a pretty good gig. The film begins with a thrilling drone shot that starts from inside the Moroccan-style courtyard of Eddie’s spectacular Beverly Hills mansion and ends on a draw-dropping panoramic view of the Southern California coastline in the distance. As the shot crescendos, we hear, in voiceover, the soft spoken voice of Eddie the channel surfer as he succinctly expresses the common man’s  lament: “With all of this stuff on TV, how come there is nothing to watch?!” The juxtaposition of these elements is pure Eddie Murphy, as masterfully constructed by a two-time Oscar winning editor.

Angus joins Ken on the pod to talk about what it was like to hang out with Eddie in his living room and re-visit his remarkable career. But this is no self-congratulatory trip down memory lane. Eddie proves to be a soft-spoken sage whose perspective on comedy, movies, power, and life add a surprising element of gravitas to the proceedings. Or at least in the moments when he is not telling a hilarious story about Yul Brynner and an offer to “party” that took years for Eddie to unpack. The film culminates in Eddie’s triumphant return in 2019 to host “Saturday Night Live” — his first time hosting the show in 35 years. At least for one night, we can guarantee that there was something truly special to watch on TV.

“Being Eddie” is streaming on Netflix.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

Hidden Gems:

“Restrepo”, “Senna”

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As Mike tells our guest, director Margaret Brown, when he heard that she had delivered HBO’s “The Yogurt Shop Murders” in the wake of what he considered one of the 21st-Century’s finest documentaries, “Descendant”,  his first thought was, “Oh, good for Margaret!  She’s doing some true crime, and she’s going to get paid.”

But he knew in his heart that because Margaret was the director, this would be much more than a run-of-the-mill procedural.  And in fact, the series–initially a 4-parter, but appended with a 5th episode when the case was finally and surprisingly solved–is, in many ways like Descendant, a meditation on time, place, memory and trauma.

Hidden Gem:

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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