Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

During Jacinda Ardern’s historic run as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 - 2023, she became a worldwide phenomenon and icon of the Left. From the pandemic to a horrific mass shooting in NZ, Jacinda faced a series of major crises, as well as a media crush that followed her everywhere. But during those tumultuous times, one thing remained unknown: what was it like for the person at the center of these events to experience all that — and, simultaneously, being a new mother as well? In Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz’s enthralling documentary “Prime Minister,” we now get to hear from the former PM herself.

Michelle and Lindsay join Ken on the pod to describe what it was like to embark on this journey of self-reflection with Jacinda Ardern. Relying on a combination of intimate home movie footage shot by Jacinda’s husband, news clips and original material, the two directors put us right back in the middle of these events, as well as offer Jacinda’s insightful perceptive on what it means to her now and where to go from here.

“Prime Minister” is in theatrical release by Magnolia Pictures.

Hidden Gem:

Lindsay: “Time”

Michelle: “Navalny”, “The Jinx”

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In elementary school, Emmy Award-winning director Cristina Costantini (“Science Fair”) was a science nerd who idolized astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Cristina even painted a mural of Sally on one of her elementary school’s walls. Fast forward to today and National Geographic Documentary Films has just released Cristina’s terrific new feature-length documentary about the astronaut called simply, “Sally.”

Cristina joins Ken on the pod to share her lifelong admiration of Sally Ride and to discuss this nuanced, three-dimensional portrait that examines Sally’s private and public lives in equal measure. Tam O’Shaughnessy, Sally’s life partner of 27 years, serves as the documentary’s central storyteller, and from Tam and others, we get a fuller picture of Sally than ever before. We also learn of the high cost paid by both women for keeping their relationship a secret until Sally’s early death from cancer at age 61. By the end, we find ourselves as dazzled by this timeless love story as we are by Sally’s historic blast into space.

“Sally” is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

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It makes sense that Simone Biles, winner of 11 Olympic medals, and considered by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time, would stick to a consistent pre-competition ritual to prepare for battle. But, as filmmaker Katie Walsh shows in one of the more intimate scenes in her exceptional four-part Netflix docuseries, “Simone Biles Rising,” the big surprise comes when we see that the hair braiding skills of Simone’s mom Nellie might be the most important part of this ritual. This simple act of touch prior to each day’s competition says it all about the close bond between mother and daughter and the person Simone turns to in the most difficult moments.

Katie joins Ken on “Top Docs” to talk about this special relationship between Simone and Nellie and what it was like to document the highs and lows of Simone’s remarkable career. The series begins with Simone’s shocking case of the “twisties” at the 2021 Tokyo Games that caused her to withdraw from the sport she’d come to dominate. Over the course of the series, Katie captures all the key moments as Simone, with the support of her family and close network of friends, finds her way back to gold medal glory. But, just as important, as a powerful advocate for mental health, Simone challenges society’s expectations of its most celebrated athletes — and once again rises above.

“Simone Biles Rising” is streaming on Netflix.

Hidden Gem:

“Daughters”

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Director Josh Greenbaum returns to “Top Docs” to discuss the poignant and culminating closing sequence in his deeply moving documentary “Will & Harper.” In the film, close friends Will Farrell and Harper Steele embark on a road trip across America to get everything out in the open about Harper’s recent transition and to support her new life as a trans woman.  

With the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, the road trip and the film come down to these final crucial moments. Josh elaborates on his cinematographers’ instinctive and skillful camerawork, as well as themes, music, edting and lighting. Nothing does more to leave a lasting and deeply felt impression on an audience than a formally successful and emotionally satisfying ending. “Will & Harper” lands its ending about as perfectly as a golden Southern California sunset.

“Will & Harper” is streaming on Netflix. Please enjoy our original “Top Docs” podcast with Josh from earlier this year discussing “Will & Harper.”

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R.J. Cutler returns to the pod to dig in deeper to his Netflix documentary on Martha Stewart, “Martha”.  R.J. and Mike turn their eyes to a few minutes early on (starting about minute 15 if you want to watch along), when a young Martha Stewart pursues motherhood, Wall Street, and ultimately Turkey Hill to become “Martha”.  R.J. explains how every element–cinematography, archive, editing, graphic design, music–both propels Martha forward towards her seemingly inevitable iconic status while simultaneously pulling her back towards her humble roots.  

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Thom Zimny (“Springsteen on Broadway”, “Springsteen: Letter to You”) can tell you a lot about

As explained by director Liz Garbus ( Bobby Fisher Against the World),  ”Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer is, “A documentary series that follows  the case of young women who went missing from New York City and Long Island.  Ultimately, it's a story about what victims are valued and how when justice fails, people have to step up and demand it for their loved ones.”  You can watch the series on Netflix.

This documentary follows on the success of her docudrama “Lost Girls”, which features a fiery Amy Ryan as Mari Gilbert, the mother of a young woman, Shannan Gilbert, last heard on a 911 call pleading for help from the danger she believed threatened her life. Mari insistently sought justice for her lost child, a crusade which subsequently led to the discovery of the bodies of several other young women on the Southern shore of Long Island.  In the wake of the recent identification of a likely killer of these women (and eventually others), Garbus felt compelled to return to tell the story afresh.  What she reveals is one of a police department that went wrong, and an investigation that long lay fallow, only to be brought to a seeming revelation when key evidence and an indicted killer are recognized for what they truly are.

Hidden Gem: 

No Other Land

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More than 50 years after the conviction of Charles Manson and members of the Manson Family for the shocking Tate-LaBianca murders, acclaimed filmmaker Errol Morris takes aim at the case. Inspired by author Tom O’Neill, whose book (“CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties”) attempts to debunk the thesis of famed prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, Errol dives deep into Bugliosi’s “Helter Skelter” theory that convinced the jury — and then captivated the world as chronicled in his true crime bestseller.

Errol joins Ken on the pod to talk about what attracted him to O’Neill’s skepticism of the Helter Skelter scenario in which Manson’s apocalyptic vision of inciting a race war allegedly compelled his followers to carry out the massacre. But, even as the film delves into O’Neill’s alternative theory involving the CIA’s Project MKUltra (the subject of Errol’s earlier Netflix series “Wormwood”), the narrative shifts once again, as Errol’s nose for the truth leads him to Manson associate and convicted murderer Bobby Beausoleil. It’s a convoluted path that may lead to the truth or, more likely, to more questions. It’s just the kind of quest that Errol Morris fans and true crime buffs have been waiting for.

“CHAOS: The Manson Murders” is streaming on Netflix.

Hidden Gem:

“The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On”

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As Director Matt Wolf shows in his  insightful and fun 2-part HBO series “Pee-wee as Himself”, in Pee-wee, Paul Rubens found a persona that allowed him to both reveal and yet hide some core truths about who he was.  

Fascinated with television and show business since he was a boy, Rubens combined elements of his childhood’s pop culture with the art world of Southern California in the 70s and early 80s to craft a character that would both conquer the then punkish milieu of Melrose Avenue as well as create a nationally televised children’s TV show.  To achieve this, Wolfe delineates how Rubens deliberately foreclosed both his potential love life as well as cast aside long-held friendships.  Wolfe’s series demonstrates both the costs as well as the benefits of outsized talent and ambition.

You can watch “Pee-wee as Himself” on HBO and HBO Max starting Friday, May 23rd.

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On the pod today, Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro return to discuss their latest for Netflix, American Murder: Gabby Petito.

Mike previously had Julia and Michael on to talk about Murdaugh Murders, and like that effort, this series both fulfills the expectations of the true crime genre, while finding deeper themes to explore.  While in Murdaugh Murders, Julia and Michael turned their lens on the socioeconomic fissures in the heart of a Southern county, here, in telling the story of Gabby Peitio–a young woman who was killed by her fiance Brian Laundie, who later killed himself–Julia and Michael both explore how a seemingly normal relationship between young people can go terribly wrong. And they do so while depicting how this relationship–as well as others Gabby had with friends and family–are intermediated by social media and influencer culture. 

Hidden Gems:

Becoming Led Zeppelin

Into the Fire

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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.