What's Up with Docs Podcast

In this episode, I speak with journalist and filmmaker, Resita Cox. We chat about her local news career and why she decided to become a documentary filmmaker. We also discuss her latest project which is supported by Kartemquin Films, Freedom Hill a powerful film that celebrates Princeville, North Carolina, the first town incorporated by freed, enslaved Africans in America that is now suffering the impact of both environmental racism and climate change. Because Resita is a filmmaker who is not only true to her vision and her protagonists and in doing so, disrupts the status quo, the episode’s song is The Roots, “What They Do.”

In this episode, I speak with Matt Lauterbach, Grishma Shah, and Reveca Torres of All Senses Go. During our conversation, we chat about how their work with organizations and content creators to ensure the media they support and create is accessible for all, the accessibility changes the team would like to become the norm as we move into a post-Covid world, and how people with disabilities and their co-conspirators can work together effectively to make lasting, sustainable change that benefits us all. Because organizations like All Senses Go and others disrupt the notion that those who are labeled not mainstream need to seek outside validation, this episode’s song is Billie Eilish’s self-acceptance and self-love anthem, “My Future.”

In this episode, I speak with curator, Abby Sun about her work with the DocYard, an award-winning film and discussion series at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge. We also chat about her work with Distribution Advocates, an organization committed to demystifying and transparency in distribution with the goal of creating a more ethical and equitable framework. Because ethical and equitable practices are rooted in liberation and require us to take actions that break us from the things that seem safe and stable, this episode’s song is Queen’s “I Want to Break Free.”

In this episode, I speak with Coordinating Producer at American Documentary/America Reframed, Robert Chang. During our conversation we chat about his Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, America ReFramed’s new season, navigating documentary in the soon-to-be post-COVID world, and get a lesson on how PBS works locally and nationally. Because keeping one’s balance in the documentary world and life is one of the keys to creativity, this week’s song is Janelle Monáe’s “Tightrope".

In this episode, I speak with UK-based artist-filmmaker Steven Eastwood and producer, Elhum Shakerifar about their collaborative work on the film ISLAND and how that work has shaped their thoughts on the exploration of death and dying in the time of COViD. We also chat about their current film and multiscreen installation the Neurocultures Project which not only centers on the neurodiverse experience but is being co-created with autistic artists. Because Steven, Elhum and the artists with whom they work center the diversity and complexity of the human experience, this week’s song is “Cactus” from the London-based neurodiverse funk band the Fish Police.

The Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers West (BADWest) is a professional organization providing people of African descent working in documentary film, video or other media the opportunity to network professionally, share resources, exchange ideas, and meet socially in order to enhance the development, production, promotion, and exhibition of documentaries. BADWest also advocates for the recognition and professional advancement of Black documentary filmmakers.

In this episode, I speak with writer, photographer, educator, filmmaker, and proud mom, April Dobbins. During our conversation, we chat about her many, many, many artistic endeavors and the joys and challenges of making her first feature documentary, Alabamaland. Because we are so often defined by the situations to which we say, “Yes,” this week’s song, Fela Kuti’s “No Agreement” challenges us all to find power in small and large acts of resistance. Remember, “No,” is a complete sentence.

In this episode, I speak with filmmaker and educator Victoria Thomas. In our conversation, we chat about her latest project, Born in New York, Raised in Paris, her teaching at the London Film School, the production company she founded, the Polkadot Factory, and the challenges of navigating a documentary and narrative film industry rooted in a white supremacist work culture that is resistant to change. Because just like many Black women, Victoria finds being in these spaces can be taxing and exhausting, to say the least, this episode’s song is Destiny Chid’s “Survivor.”

In this episode, I speak with filmmaker Lindsey Dryden and filmmaker, novelist, and podcaster, Day Al-Mohamed. In our conversation, we chat about Day’s advocacy work in Washington, D.C., Lindsey’s work as a producer of the film Unrest, and the organization they co-founded with the Oscar-nominated director of Crip Camp, Jim Lebrecht and Alysa Nahmias, FWD-Doc. FWD-Doc is committed to empowering filmmakers with disabilities and part of that advocacy is being bold saying the words “disability” and “disabled.” With that said and the spirit of naming what is, is, this week’s song is Destiny Child’s “Say My Name.”

In the this episode, I speak with Firelight Media’s Manager of Artists Programs, Chloë Walters-Wallace. In our conversation, we chat about what got her started in the documentary field, her work at the Tribeca Film Institute and the New Orleans Film Society, and some of Firelight’s new initiatives for BIPOC filmmakers. Because she is originally from Jamaica, this episode’s song is Toots & the Maytals, “Take Me Home, Country Road/West Jamaica.”