Conversations With the Makers of Emmy-Contending Doc Series
Spotlight on The Jinx, Black Twitter, Beckham, Telemarketers, and Our Planet. Live from Los Angeles…
It's not often that so many creatives and conversations come together in one room. But that was the scene at Documentary Spotlight on Sunday June 9, co-hosted by Pure Nonfiction and
This time, over 250 attendees from the filmmaking community gathered at NeueHouse Hollywood. Thom Powers moderated an afternoon of interviews with the makers of 10 Emmy-contending nonfiction films and series released this year — and the scope for dialogue was broad.This week, Pure Nonfiction released two podcast episodes from the event, covering doc series and doc features, respectively. In today's report, we feature highlights from conversations with series producers, directors, and composers. They shared candid perspectives on the inspirations behind their work, the social and political implications of their projects, and surprising discoveries made on their journeys.
Interviewees included director Andrew Jarecki, (The Jinx Part Two) whose continuation of his 2015 Primetime Emmy-winning HBO Documentary series picks up after the arrest of real estate heir and convicted murderer Robert Durst. Prentice Penny, director of Black Twitter: A People's History, reflected on the necessity of documenting the impact of a movement that could risk erasure from written records. Sam Lipman-Stern and Adam Bhala Lough, directors of the Critics Choice Award-winning Telemarketers, spoke to their goal of inciting large-scale change through their exposé of the American telemarketing industry. Our Planet II composer Jasha Klebe recalls employing hundreds of vocalists and instruments for a rousing score that mirrored the visuals of the nature series. And Beckham director Fisher Stevens explained the influence of his acting background on his interviewing style — and why telling the famed footballer's story was as cathartic as it was challenging.
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