FYC Interview: Sam Now by Reed Harkness
Shot over 25 years, Reed Harkness’s multi award-winning documentary concerns his titular half-brother’s search for his missing mother, and the effect her disappearance had on his and her subsequent lives, as well as those of other family members. “I wanted to do a project about growth,” Harkness tells Business Doc Europe of a film that is both visually alluring and emotionally compelling. “And Sam just kind of fell into my lap as a subject.”
FYC Talk: Luke Lorentzen and Alexander Nanau discuss A Still Small Voice
Luke Lorentzen won the Best Director prize at Sundance 2023 for his documentary A Still Small Voice, which follows Mati, a chaplain completing a year-long hospital residency as she learns to provide spiritual care to people confronting profound life changes. He speaks about his film with Alexander Nanau, director of Collective which, in 2021, was nominated in the Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film categories.
FYC interview: Roger Ross Williams on Stamped From The Beginning
When Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams first read the book ‘Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History Of Racist Ideas in America,’ he was shocked. As a Black American, he thought he knew plenty already about racism in America but author Ibram X. Kendi gave him new insights into the deep-rooted causes of that racism. “After reading the book, I saw the world differently,” he tells Business Doc Europe.
FYC and IDFA review: The Disappearance of Shere Hite by Nicole Newnham
A fascinating delve into the life and work of Shere Hite and her contributions to the feminist movement, the intriguingly titled feature documentary is blessed with challenging and evocative archival material as it examines responses to her ground-breaking 1976 survey of thousands of women’s individual sexual experiences, while also detailing the modelling work she did to make ends meet while undertaking her research.
BDE FYC interview: American Symphony by Matthew Heineman
US director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, The First Wave) was in Amsterdam during IDFA this weekend. He gave a Q&A following a Soho House screening of his new feature doc American Symphony (available globally on Netflix on 29 November) that follows the Grammy and Oscar winning musical maestro Jon Batiste as he composes a major new work. Heineman also spoke to Business Doc Europe about the film.
BDE FYC Interview: The Deepest Breath by Laura McGann
Laura McGann’s feature documentary tells the story of a love which seemed predestined, between two people who were driven by their dedication to the perilous sport of freediving: Alessia Zecchini, an Italian world champion diver, and Irish Stephen Keenan, an adventurer who devoted his life to making sure divers came back up alive. The director discusses her film, which deals, in equal measure, with endurance, danger and death.
BDE interview: Errol Morris on The Pigeon Tunnel
In his new film The Pigeon Tunnel (in cinemas and on Apple TV globally from October 20th), renowned documentary maker Errol Morris explores the life and work of writer John Le Carré, author of such classic espionage novels as The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People. “[I] could have gone on forever with this guy,” the Oscar-winning Morris tells Business Doc Europe.
