It’s fall film festival season! This is a time I currently hate because I keep hearing about documentaries I have no way of seeing, and more importantly, neither do you. I also miss the days when I had the time and clout to attend several film festivals around the world, mostly on their dime (I could never really afford most of them). Now, due to family and financial reasons (mine and film festivals’ or their local tourism boards’), I attend no festivals throughout the year, let alone the big fall events.

At least I’ve been there, done that with Toronto and New York, but Venice and Telluride are on my bucket list if anyone wants to sponsor my coverage in the future. Otherwise, I’ll get to the highly anticipated latest from Barbara Kopple, Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin, Nanette Burstein, Robert Greene, Frank Marshall, Ava DuVernay, Ron Howard, Laura Poitras, Alex Gibney, Julia Loktev, Liz Garbus, Joshua Oppenheimer, Ben Proudfoot, Bill Morrison, Viktor Kossakovsky, Sophie Fiennes, and Rebecca Huntt when they’re on their way to you.

In addition to looking forward to what’s to come, this week I’m thinking a lot about what’s come before and left behind. As if our latest Pick of the Week weren’t melancholy enough, there have been a lot of celebrity deaths lately that have me thinking about the ways these people will be frozen in time, to quote from that top highlight below. I wish to direct you to a post at That Documentary Girl showcasing documentaries about or featuring Hayden Panettiere, Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and others. Of course, Gloria Steinem could have a list all her own for the number of documentaries she’s participated in or appeared in via archival footage.

Without further ado, below are this week’s documentary highlights, followed by daily listings for all known releases and broadcasts, along with a brief look at what’s coming soon for doc fans (including the latest from William Greaves, Chris Smith, and Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future, plus full access to special posts like our best-of lists, and to give me more time to watch more (if not everything) available. If you have a doc needing coverage or a mention, you can reach us at nonficseditor (at) gmail and let us know about its release plans.

Nonfics Pick Of The Week: The Oldest Person In The World (2026)

Many documentarians, especially those prone to first-person narration, reach a point where they make a film about mortality. Maybe it’s because they get to a certain age, or they receive an unfortunate diagnosis, or a parent or other loved one dies. Or they have children — which I know from experience can really alter your sense of time — and film them through the years. The pandemic also put death at the forefront of all our minds, but especially the minds of those recording reality daily.

Sam Green checks all these boxes with his documentary The Oldest Person in the World, which he began a decade ago just after his father died and right as he was becoming a father himself for the first time. Then he found out he had a rare blood cancer. He had also just turned 50, which is technically past midlife based on the average lifespan, yet below middle age for those who make it past 100. Perhaps that’s one reason he made this film, which spotlights several women who live to 116, 117, or even 119.

[continue reading this review of The Oldest Person in the World]

The Oldest Person in the World (version 1.0) will be released in theaters on Thursday, September 10, 2026, via

Other Documentary Highlights

Barbara Forever (2026)

Lesbian cinema pioneer Barbara Hammer died in 2019, but that hasn’t kept her from narrating her own documentary. Barbara Forever employs the avant-garde filmmaker’s audio diaries to tell her life story rather than recruiting fans or academics to convince us of her importance. We can also see that significance for ourselves with the many clips of her films that make up the documentary, supplemented by her voiceover commentary providing biographical and professional context. Brydie O’Connor, making her feature directorial debut by building upon her 2022 short, Love, Barbara, does a commendable job with a tribute artistically suited to Hammer’s legacy.

Barbara Forever will be released in theaters on Friday, September 4, 2026.

Brailled It (2026)

There is much to be admired about Brailled It, a competition documentary showcasing the annual Braille Challenge. One is that the film includes audio descriptions throughout, making it automatically accessible for blind and low-vision audiences. Another is that it’s shot by its three main characters, each of whom wears a camera that records their experience at the Braille literacy competition. The three kids also received directing credit.

The cameras aren’t at eye level, so most of the footage is captured from a low angle, creating some visual disorientation for those of us with sight. Story-wise, it’s a pretty simple example of the genre, climaxing with an awards ceremony. But it’s difficult to connect with the characters since we’re mostly encountering them off-camera through the first-person video perspective. Mainly, it’s interesting as an introduction to the event and the tools it tests the kids on.

Brailled It will be released in theaters on Friday, September 4, 2026.

Folktales (2025) & Teenage Wasteland (2025)

Two notable teen-focused documentaries that premiered back at Sundance 2025 are making big streaming platform debuts this week. Folktales is the latest feature by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady and follows three young characters as they attend a unique school in the Arctic. The positive and heartwarming coming-of-age documentary lacks dramatic narrative tension but is visually appealing and worth watching at least twice. As I wrote in my review of Folktales, “By the end of the film, when each character’s next steps are shared, and the whole picture is in the rearview, the beauty and sensitivity of the documentary are finally considered in their impressionistic totality, and you’ll want to go back and watch it again with that perspective.”

While Folktales has already been available to stream on Kanopy and to rent or own digitally, Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s Teenage Wasteland has really needed a platform. The film, which premiered as Middletown, ranks high on our list of the best documentaries of 2025 and is probably one of the least-seen titles there. From my capsule review from last fall: “Teenage Wasteland chronicles, through present-day talking head interviews and a lot of archival footage, an investigation by high school students in the 1990s into an environmental conspiracy….I have to recommend this documentary because its storytelling is near-perfect, thrillingly guiding viewers through the narrative as if it were unfolding right in front of them.”

Folktales and Teenage Wasteland begin streaming on Netflix on Friday, September 4, with the latter film available exclusively on the platform.

Remake (2025)

Ross McElwee’s Remake focuses on the director’s son, Adrian, who died of an accidental drug overdose a decade ago. It is a film in conversation with his previous feature, Photographic Memory, and also heavily references his breakthrough 1985 documentary, Sherman’s March, which was optioned for a fictional adaptation. McElwee was planning on documenting the production of that remake, and Adrian was hoping to work on the Hollywood project in some capacity. Remake is the resulting document of neither of those things panning out, one of them expiring, and Adrian tragically passing away. It’s a film full of mournful reflection and regret, yet it doesn’t play too sorrowfully. Read our interview with McElwee about it here.

Remake will air on PBS as an episode of POV on Monday, September 7, 2026, and will then be available to stream through PBS’s online channels. This film and Sherman’s March will also be released on VOD on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

Top Of The World (2026)

Another documentary commemorating the upcoming 25th anniversary of 9/11 comes out this week, and it’s a bit different in terms of its size, shape, and sentiment. Top of the World is a short film directed by the Oscar-nominated duo of Julie Cohen and Betsy West (RBG) in remembrance of the lives lost in a restaurant located on one of the uppermost floors of the World Trade Center’s North Tower. The film looks back at the eatery’s history while also recognizing the diversity of its staff, many of whom were immigrants. These two sides of the film coalesce well enough for what it wishes to report on, though the latter is more effective. There’s not a lot to care about concerning the Windows on the World restaurant as an entity outside of the tragedy.

Top of the World premieres on CNN on Monday, September 7, 2026.

Subscribe now

Documentary Release Calendar 8/28/26 – 9/3/26

Friday, September 4, 2026

Austin City Limits Season 52, Episode 1: “Carlos Vives y La Provincia” – The return of a long-running music series. This installment stars Colombian singer Carlos Vives. (PBS)

Barbara Forever (2026) – A documentary feature executive-produced by Kristen Stewart about the pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (In Theaters)

Brailled It (2026) – A documentary feature about a competition for blind and low-vision children completely filmed by three of its entrants. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (In Theaters)

Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause (2025) – A documentary feature about the titular actor and talk show host. (TCM)

Conan O’Brien Must Go Season 3, Episode 3: “Morocco” – The latest installment of a travel series starring Conan O’Brien. (HBO and HBO Max)

Deadliest Catch Season 22, Episode 16: “Contagion” – The latest installment of a series that follows Alaskan crab fishermen. (Discovery Channel)

Film Geek (2023) – A personal documentary in which director Richard Shepard compiles film clips and his own archives for a look back at his love of cinema and his relationship with his father. (TCM)

Folktales (2025) – A documentary by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp) about a folk high school in Arctic Norway. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. (Netflix)

Give it a Shot (2026) – A documentary feature about the launch of a male contraceptive. (In Theaters)

The Grand Tour Season 7 – The return of a docuseries that follows three men as they drive various automobiles around the world. All six new episodes will be released together. (Prime Video)

Instadocs: The Decoy Plane (2026) – A documentary about President Trump’s recent secret flight switch from Air Force One in Turkey. (Netflix)

The Miracle of Sound (1940) – A short documentary showing how sound movies are made. (TCM)

The Program: Texas Tech (2026) – A four-part docuseries narrated by Dennis Quaid about the Texas Tech University Red Raiders College Football Program. (Paramount+)

Teenage Wasteland (2025) – A documentary feature by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine about high school students uncovering a conspiracy in their town. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. *NONFICS PICK* (Netflix)

The Work in Progress (2026) – A documentary that follows Americans as they discuss cultural, political, economic, and generational divisions. (In Theaters)

Saturday, September 5, 2026

The Cincinnati Kid Plays According to Hoyle (1965) – A short film about magician and gambler Jay Ose, who served as a technical advisor for the film The Cincinnati Kid. (TCM)

Crashing the Movies (1950) – A short film presenting clips of people performing strange stunts. (TCM)

Handlebars (1933) – A short film presenting the history of the bicycle. (TCM)

Super Animals Season 4, Episode 3 – The latest episode of a nature docuseries for kids about animals with special traits. (National Geographic)

Yanuni (2025) – An Oscar-shortlisted documentary feature directed by Richard Ladkani (Sea of Shadows) and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio about an indigenous chief trying to protect her ancestral lands. (Leonardo DiCaprio’s YouTube Channel)

Sunday, September 6, 2026

Hazardous History with Henry Winkler Season 2, Episode 20: “Surviving the ‘70s” – The latest installment of a docuseries about dangerous toys and household items that were common in the past. This episode looks back at how unsafe the 1970s were. (History)

The Mega-Brands That Built America Season 4, Episode 6: “Rise of the Personal Computer” – The latest installment of a docuseries about iconic brands. This installment covers early personal computer companies like Microsoft and Apple. (History)

Monday, September 7, 2026

The Hoaxters (1952) – A short documentary about totalitarian dictators, including Adolf Hitler and the leaders of the Soviet Union, being con men. *NONFICS PICK* (TCM)

The Hooters Murders: Deadly Shift (2026) – A true-crime documentary about three Hooters employees killed between 2001 and 2010. (Oxygen)

Mirrors (1934) – A short film starring Freddie Rich and His Orchestra as they perform popular songs. (TCM)

Personalities (1942) – A short film about Hollywood performers at the start of their careers. (TCM)

OJ Unseen: Exploitation of Evil (2026) – A four-part docuseries about O.J. Simpson’s attempt at a comeback with a prank show. (Investigation Discovery)

Remake (2025) – A first-person documentary feature by Ross McElwee about the death of his son and an attempt to remake his classic film Sherman’s March as a narrative feature. Presented as an episode of POV. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. *NONFICS PICK* (PBS)

Rural Mexico (1935) – A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores small towns in Mexico, including Mazatlán, Toluca, and Taxco. (TCM)

The Singing Nun (1966) – A short film on the making of the movie of the same name. (TCM)

Somebody Knows Something Season 1, Episode 6: “Lost at the Science Fair” – The latest installment of a true-crime series about unsolved murder and missing persons cases. This episode involves a missing second grader in Portland. (Freeform)

Spanish Fiesta (1942) – A short film starring the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo as they perform a ballet to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol.” (TCM)

Top of the World (2026) – A short documentary by Oscar-nominated directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West (RBG) about Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. (CNN)

Whispers (1941) – A short film about the power of gossip. (TCM)

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

20 Days in Mariupol (2023) – An Oscar-winning documentary by Mstyslav Chernov about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD)

2000 Meters to Andriivka (2025) – A documentary by Oscar-winning director Mstyslav Chernov (20 Days in Mariupol) about a Ukrainian platoon’s effort to liberate a village from Russian occupation. Read our review of 2000 Meters to Andriivka. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD)

Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser (2026) – A documentary about Alice in Wonderland. (DVD)

An American Family (1973) – A classic docuseries about a typical suburban family, the Louds. *NONFICS PICK* (DVD)

American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos (2024) – A PBS docuseries under the VOCES banner starring John Leguizamo about Latino history. (DVD)

Bastard. The Legacy of Pinochet’s Genocide (2023) – A documentary by Pepe Rovano about his discovery that his father was the head of Chilean police intelligence under Pinochet. (OVID)

Bears (2019) – A documentary about all kinds of bears around the world presented as an episode of American Experience. (DVD)

Becoming Elephant: The Orphans of Reteti – Baby Steps (2026) – A documentary about a disabled orphan elephant presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Big Cats, Small World (2024) – A docuseries about three species of African big cats, presented as an installment of Nature. (DVD)

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song (2021) – A docuseries about the history of Black churches and African-American faith. (DVD)

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015) – A documentary feature by Stanley Nelson about the Black Panther Party. Read our review of The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. (DVD)

Border 197 (2025) – A docuseries by Drew Blinsky about his effort to visit every country on Earth. (DVD)

Bring Her Home (2022) – A medium-length documentary about indigenous women seeking justice for relatives lost to violence against Native women. (DVD)

The Bug Show (1988) – An incomplete documentary special about insects. Released as part of the Dinosaurs Forever! box set. (Blu-ray)

Critical Condition: Health in Black America (2025) – A documentary feature about systemic racism in the U.S. medical system presented as an episode of Nova. (DVD)

Dino Birds (2025) – A documentary about how birds are the descendants of dinosaurs, presented as an episode of Nova. (DVD)

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (1985) – A short documentary about dinosaurs. Released as part of the Dinosaurs Forever! box set. (Blu-ray)

Dracula’s Hidden Kingdom (2024) – A documentary about the wildlife of Transylvania presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Drag Heals Season 1 – The first season of a docuseries about drag performers. (DVD)

Dreams (1940) – A short film in MGM’s Passing Parade series that examines the meaning of various dreams. (TCM)

The Egg: Life’s Perfect Invention (2019) – A documentary hosted by Sir David Attenborough about the egg, presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Equus: Story of the Horse (2018) – A documentary feature about the history of horsepower and humans’ love of horses. (DVD)

Finding Happy (2025) – A documentary feature about a woman who saved an injured sparrow. (DVD)

Forgotten Hero: Walter White and The NAACP (2025) – A documentary about the titular civil rights activist, presented as an episode of American Experience. (DVD)

The Gilded Age (2018) – A documentary about wealth disparities in the U.S., presented as an episode of American Experience. (DVD)

Grizzly 399: Queen of the Tetons (2024) – A documentary about a famous bear and her four cubs presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Highway 66 Revisited (1992) – A documentary about a road trip along Route 66. Released as part of the Route 66: The Ultimate DVD Collection. (DVD)

The Hummingbird Effect (2023) – A documentary about hummingbirds in Costa Rica presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Hummingbirds of Hollywood (2025) – A PBS documentary about a woman who cares for wounded hummingbirds, presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

I Lived with a Killer Season 1 – A true-crime docuseries about serial killers’ family members. (DVD)

Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director (2025) – A documentary about the titular Japanese filmmaker best known for helming the original Godzilla. (Blu-ray)

The Jewish Journey: America (2015) – A medium-length documentary about Jewish immigration to America through the centuries. (DVD)

A Journey Down Route 66 (1994) – A documentary about the titular highway. Released as part of the Route 66: The Ultimate DVD Collection. (DVD)

Karlton: The Dunkin’ Hines Story (2026) – A documentary feature about basketball player Karlton Hines. (DVD)

Katavi – Africa’s Fallen Paradise (2024) – A PBS docuseries about animal survival during an extreme weather event in the titular national park in Tanzania, presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Kissinger (2025) – A documentary about former National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger presented as an episode of American Experience. (DVD)

Last Stand at Little Bighorn (1992) – A documentary about the titular 1876 battle presented as an episode of American Experience. (DVD)

Life Behind the Stars (2016) – A medium-length documentary about the link between life on Earth and the history of the rest of the universe. (DVD)

Luminaries: Pope Francis (2025) – A short documentary about Pope Francis. (DVD)

More Dinosaurs (1985) – A short documentary about dinosaurs. Released as part of the Dinosaurs Forever! box set. (Blu-ray)

Museum Alive with David Attenborough (2025) – A documentary tour of the Natural History Museum in London hosted by Sir David Attenborough, presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Nature: Parenthood (2026) – A docuseries in the Nature franchise narrated by Sir David Attenborough that showcases animal parents around the world. (DVD)

Nazi Town, USA (2024) – A documentary about a pro-Nazi group in the U.S. in the 1930s presented as an episode of American Experience. (DVD)

Our Old Car (1946) – A short film in which writer, producer, and narrator John Nesbitt traces his life story based on the cars his father owned. (TCM)

Patrick and the Whale (2022) – A documentary about sperm whales presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Phantom Parrot (2023) – A documentary feature about a top-secret British surveillance program. (Blu-ray)

Philly on Fire (2021) – A documentary about the 1985 bombing of an activist group’s home by the Philadelphia Police Department. (DVD)

The Pilgrims (2015) – A documentary about the founding of Plymouth County and the first Thanksgiving presented as an episode of American Experience. (DVD)

Plants Behaving Badly (2017) – A two-part PBS documentary about carnivorous plants and orchids. (DVD)

Pompeii: The New Dig (2024) – A docuseries about an extensive archaeological dig of Pompeii. (DVD)

Prehistoric World (1993) – A short documentary about dinosaurs. Released as part of the Dinosaurs Forever! box set. (Blu-ray)

President in Waiting (2020) – A documentary feature about the office of the Vice President of the United States. (DVD and Blu-ray)

Remake (2025) – A first-person documentary feature by Ross McElwee about the death of his son and an attempt to remake his classic film Sherman’s March as a narrative feature. See our highlights section for more info. *NONFICS PICK* (VOD)

The Return of Dinosaurs (1993) – A short documentary about dinosaurs. Released as part of the Dinosaurs Forever! box set. (Blu-ray)

Revolutionary War Weapons (2025) – A documentary about the muskets, submarines, and other weapons that helped the Americans win the Revolutionary War, presented as an episode of Nova. (DVD)

Route 66 Turns 75: A Special Anniversary Celebration (1994) – A documentary about a road trip along the titular highway in celebration of its 75th birthday. Released as part of the Route 66: The Ultimate DVD Collection. (DVD)

Saving the Animals of Ukraine (2024) – A PBS documentary about Ukrainian citizens saving animals left behind during the Russian invasion and war, presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Secrets of Great British Castles Season 1 – A docuseries presenting the histories of six castles: Warwick, Dover, Caernarfon, the Tower of London, Carrickfergus, and Stirling. (DVD)

Sherman’s March (1985) – A 4K re-release of a classic first-person documentary feature by Ross McElwee about his romantic pursuits amidst his Civil War history project. *NONFICS PICK* (VOD)

Son of Dinosaurs (1988) – A short documentary about dinosaurs. Released as part of the Dinosaurs Forever! box set. (Blu-ray)
Stallone: Frank, That Is (2021) – A documentary feature about actor Frank Stallone. (DVD)

Tell Them You Love Me (2023) – A documentary about a scandalous relationship between a professor and a nonverbal person with cerebral palsy. (Kino Film Collection)

Tom Lehrer: Live in Copenhagen (1967) – A concert film starring Tom Lehrer as he performs “Studenterforeningen.” (DVD)

Under the Lights: Lionel Messi (2025) – A medium-length documentary about the titular soccer player. (DVD)

Under the Lights: Maradona (2022) – A medium-length documentary about soccer player Diego Armando Maradona. (DVD)

Untold Mr. T: I Pity the Fool – A documentary feature in the Untold series about Mr. T. (Netflix)

The Volcano Show (1988) – An incomplete documentary special about volcanoes. Released as part of the Dinosaurs Forever! box set. (Blu-ray)

We Want the Funk! (2025) – A documentary by Stanley Nelson and Nicole London chronicling the history of funk music. Read our review of We Want the Funk! (DVD)

The Whale Detective (2020) – A documentary that investigates whether whales have purposefully harmed humans, presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

What Are UFOs? (2025) – A documentary about the possible existence of UFOs, presented as an episode of Nova. (DVD)

The Wondrous World of Weird Animals (1993) – A short documentary about strange but real creatures. Released as part of the Dinosaurs Forever! box set. (Blu-ray)

Woodpeckers: The Hole Story (2022) – A documentary about woodpeckers presented as an episode of Nature. (DVD)

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Don’t Look Back in Anger (2026) – A documentary about the band Oasis as they reunite for their 2025 tour. (In IMAX Theaters)

ER: Caught on Camera Season 1, Episode 10 – The latest installment of a docuseries in which medical patients recall experiences in hospital emergency rooms. (TLC)

Expedition X Season 12, Episode 4: “Ghosts of Guam” – The latest installment of a paranormal investigation series. (Discovery)

Freeports – The Beauty of Tax Free Storage (2021) – A medium-length documentary about tax havens. (OVID)

Untold Stories of the ER Season 14, Episode 4 – The latest installment of a docuseries about difficult emergency room cases. (TLC)

Who Moves America (2026) – A documentary feature following UPS-employed members of the Teamsters union as they prepare to strike nationwide. (In Theaters)

Thursday, September 10, 2026

A Killer Story Episode 1: “Welcome to Topeka” – The first episode of a three-part true-crime docuseries about a double murder, the ex-wife who allegedly committed the crime, and the citizen sleuths who believe she’s innocent. (HBO & HBO Max)

The Oldest Person in the World (2026) – A documentary feature directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sam Green (The Weather Underground) about people who have held the titular record over the last decade. See our highlights section for more info and a link to our review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)

Six Days in June (2007) – A documentary about the Six-Day War in the Middle East in 1967. (OVID)

Spiezio (2026) – A medium-length documentary about Major League Baseball player Scott Spiezio. (In Theaters)

We Never Left (2024) – A documentary feature about three Lebanese immigrants in New York City during the country’s recent revolution. (OVID)

WrestleHer (2026) – An 11-part docuseries about the rise of girls’ high school wrestling. (Allez! Sports and Documentary+)

Share Nonfics

Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon

9/11 – A Marble in the Jar – A documentary feature about surfer Tatiana Weston-Webb and her coach, Greg Browning. (In Theaters)

9/11 – Mighty Mary – A documentary feature narrated by Elizabeth Banks and Hugh Jackman about the first-ever all-women’s sailing crew to compete for the America’s Cup. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)

9/14 – Ghost in the Machine – A documentary feature by Valerie Veatch (Me at the Zoo) about AI’s background in eugenics and misogyny. (PBS)

9/17 – First They Came for My College – A documentary feature about a right-wing political coup at a public college in Florida. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)

9/20 – How to Live on Earth – A documentary feature presented by Benedict Cumberbatch about our connection to nature. (YouTube)

9/30 – The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part – A true-crime documentary feature by Chris Smith (The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann) about a man wed six times and widowed suspiciously in six of those marriages. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (Netflix)

10/12 – Always Lalisa – A documentary feature by Sue Kim (The Last of the Sea Women) that follows a year in the life of Blackpink rapper/singer Lalisa Manoban, aka Lisa, as she embarks on a solo career. (In IMAX Theaters)

10/16 – Once Upon a Time in Harlem – A documentary feature co-directed by the late William Greaves (Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One), resurrecting footage he shot in 1972 of a get-together of Harlem Renaissance legends. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)

10/21 – One in a Million – A Sundance-winning documentary feature that captures 10 years in the life of a Syrian refugee and her family. Read our review of One in a Million. *NONFICS PICK* Watch the new trailer for the film here. (In Theaters)

10/30 – Everest: The Other Side – A documentary feature by Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) that follows mountaineering couple Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson as they climb and ski the North Face of Mount Everest. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In IMAX Theaters)

10/30 – Who Killed Alex Odeh? – A documentary feature about the 1985 assassination of the titular Palestinian-American civil rights activist. *NONFICS PICK* Watch the new trailer for the film here. (In Theaters)

12/11 – George Michael: The Faith Tour – A concert film starring George Michael that was originally shot in 1988. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)

Venice: Haunted by tragedies this NatGeo doc never flinches at, Jim Morrison makes the dangerous attempt to climb up and ski down the Everest’s North Face in another spellbinding chronicle from the Oscar-winning “Free Solo” team.

And now here’s the second part of my interview with Jon Shenk, director of the must-see documentary The Island President, which follows the former Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed (he was just recently deposed in a coup) in a fight to save his people in more ways than one. I would call this post the second half (as I did yesterday), but it’s actually much, much longer than the first part (read that here).

In this segment, which is less directly tied to his new film, Shenk and I talk about containing documentary narratives versus (or in addition to) addressing their real-life continuation on or off screen, how The New York Times’ Op-Docs now substitute for DVD extras, what it was like being the in-house documentarian for Lucasfilm, and finally his take on where documentary filmmaking is at today.

The conversation is long, but I assure you it’s very interesting stuff.

Adding an update on Nasheed and the Maldives at the end of the film works for the story, but what is your usual view on that kind of thing? Personally, I get annoyed with Q&As where people just want to know the latest on a subject, because film narratives should be somewhat contained, even with documentary. What are your thoughts on viewers’ desire for the continued story?

I’m in your camp. I think of documentaries as films. They’re movies, and they have stories. And in the shooting and the editing, there’s a structure to that. It’s not an accident that they turn out how they turn out. Good documentary filmmakers think about it that way. Like anybody who makes a film about a current event, when things change [afterward] you’re going to be asked, “Well, do you want to change the ending? Are you bummed that you didn’t film long enough?” It’s kind of absurd. The film is what it is.

Several years and a lot of energy went into making it what it is, and hopefully that will stand the test of time. When I’m in the editing room, I think about the audience, of course, in the immediate future, but also part of my mind is thinking about the fifty- or hundred-year audience that’s going to see it much later. In that case, it won’t really matter what happened to Nasheed. All that will matter is the impact of the story that you captured.

On the other hand, I don’t blame the audiences for wanting to know. Part of the double-edged sword of a documentary, and what makes them so powerful, is that they are true. And it’s only human nature to want to know what happened to this guy or these people. I’m more than happy to talk about that and maybe even think about that as a film one day. Who knows? That’s another thing, a whole other potential story that we’re maybe just at the beginning of now.

When I was 10 years old, I saw Animal House in the theater, so it was one of my most memorable movie experiences, and at the end they have these great, very funny, pithy titles about what happened to all the characters. It doesn’t really change the movie. It’s just a funny thing to leave you with. Of course, it’s a comedy, but I’ve always loved the idea of short updates at the end that allow you to think about the issue in time.

Documentaries and films share one thing. Well, they share a lot of things, but one thing they share is very important: time is so poignant. If you take a picture of a kid and then you wait 70 years and take a picture of the adult and say simple things about their life — they went to school, they got married, they had kids, eventually they died — almost any human being will be brought to tears by simple stories like that.

I think documentaries can be special because if you add the element of time and give a sense of the trajectory, in that there’s a real story here, it can get under your skin even more. I’ve always liked that idea, to encourage people to think about time and what happens to people, how they evolve, and how characters can change over time.

So I don’t have a problem adding little updates, but in terms of the film itself, I totally agree with you. It’s like, look, a lot of energy went into this; I hope you can appreciate it. I think it’s really satisfying, and I hope you can see what I saw.

And things happen so quickly these days. The Island President only premiered last fall, and then a big turn of events happened shortly after in February. Combine the speed of developments with the fact that documentaries take a long time to be finished and then, unfortunately, often a long time to be released. By the time the DVD comes out, there seems to be a need for an update, especially if it involves current events like this does.

Unfortunately, even distributors and sales agents and people who know documentaries often get confused between a documentary film and news. In a lot of ways there are some similarities — we use the same equipment, and in some ways there’s the same visual language — but it kinda ends there. When you’re making a documentary, you’re really thinking about a story and an evolution of character. In some ways it’s like a Shakespearean character outline more than it is a news story. Not to be too highfalutin about it. You’re really in that space more than you’re in the space of thinking about current events when I’m working.

So when people say, “Hey, do you want to go shoot an addendum or change the ending?” I would not consider that. What I would consider is, maybe there could be a little short made or a clip, outside of the film, that allows people, if they’re interested, to go to a website. Or when it plays on TV, another thing. But the film is the film.

Read more

Many documentarians, especially those prone to first-person narration, reach a point where they make a film about mortality. Maybe it’s because they get to a certain age, or they receive an unfortunate diagnosis, or a parent or other loved one dies. Or they have children — which I know from experience can really alter your sense of time — and film them through the years. The pandemic also put death at the forefront of all our minds, but especially the minds of those recording reality daily.

Sam Green checks all these boxes with his documentary The Oldest Person in the World, which he began a decade ago just after his father died and right as he was becoming a father himself for the first time. Then he found out he had a rare blood cancer. He had also just turned 50, which is technically past midlife based on the average lifespan, yet below middle age for those who make it past 100. Perhaps that’s one reason he made this film, which spotlights several women who live to 116, 117, or even 119.

Ever since my dad died four years ago, at 80, I’ve felt like that will also be the age of my endpoint, and I’m constantly thinking about how long I have until then. Never mind that his own father only reached the age of 69, and I’ve got a good chance of living longer because of my lifestyle and choices. I’ve also had a grandfather and great-grandmother on either side of my family tree live to be 97 and 99, respectively.

Watching The Oldest Person in the World can give one hope of being like the Guinness World Record honorees who appear in the film. Especially female members of the audience, since all of the documentary’s titular participants are women. But the film can also be sad because it keeps introducing us to people who die shortly afterward. At one point, though, I laughed thinking about how they all die soon after being filmed by Green, making him seem like the cause, a curse, a grim reaper wielding a camera instead of a scythe.

Morbid humor arrives directly in The Oldest Person in the World as Green quotes a friend who said it’s “a film where the main character dies over and over and over again.” That bit of needed levity comes during one of the moments where the filmmaker discusses the suicide of his younger brother. During these sequences of mournful reflection, the documentary aligns tonally and structurally with Ross McElwee’s latest, Remake — he unfortunately only has one piece of footage of his brother, however; still, seeing Green’s son grow up over the decade of production on The Oldest Person in the World adds to the textual and aesthetic comparison.

Very rarely do I consider another first-person-narrating documentarian in a class with McElwee, but Green gets very close this time, particularly with comments about people becoming “frozen in time” after death. He says of his brother, in voiceover while showing a specific still photograph, “The world keeps changing, but he stays the same, always talking on a landline.”

I do take issue with the idea that the film’s “main character” dies over and over and over again, even if it’s a joke, unless the statement means multiple main characters replacing the previous one. Otherwise, the implication is that the women Green visits are all the same. In some respects, they are very similar, even though they are of various races and widely spread across the world. They’re mostly immobile, have poor memories and eyesight, and their attitudes about their age are fairly alike. What brought them such longevity is unverifiable, though they all seem to have been rather carefree and stress-free.

What brings them joy down to the end is where they can be easily distinguished. One loves Coca-Cola. Another is a nun who loves her faith, even if she doesn’t understand why God lets her live so long while allowing children to die. Another stays away from men (that’s also her secret to a long life, which goes with the stress-free idea). Still, the film does treat them homogeneously as subjects or props.

Anyway, the real main character is Green, and as with McElwee, he’s proving himself to be a through-line in his later work (I wonder if, like McElwee, he disagrees that he’s the protagonist of his films). He appears in them. He narrates them, often in person, as with his “live documentaries.” He connects some of them, as with how The Oldest Person in the World is kind of a spinoff of his Guinness World Records-focused 2014 project, The Measure of All Things.

He also continues to be a substantial, innovative brand of filmmaker who has been expanding the scope of what documentaries can be, first with his live films and now with the notion, if not promise, that this one will be a living film. That is a perpetually unfinished one. This isn’t a novel concept, whether we compare his idea of revisiting The Oldest Person in the World every 10 years with the latest record-holders to the Up series structure, or his plan to rework and add to the film being akin to constantly revised, ever-evolving works like Loose Change.

It’s an ambitious plan, maybe to be passed on to his son, and could be quite poignant if it goes another 109 years so that eventually it encounters a person who was born when the project began. The idea could also get old long before it reaches that point.

Many documentarians, especially those prone to first-person narration, reach a point where they make a film about mortality. Maybe it’s because they get to a certain age, or they receive an unfortunate diagnosis, or a parent or other loved one dies. Or they have children — which I know from experience can really alter your sense of time — and film them through the years. The pandemic also put death at the forefront of all our minds, but especially the minds of those recording reality daily.

Sam Green checks all these boxes with his documentary The Oldest Person in the World, which he began a decade ago just after his father died and right as he was becoming a father himself for the first time. Then he found out he had a rare blood cancer. He had also just turned 50, which is technically past midlife based on the average lifespan, yet below middle age for those who make it past 100. Perhaps that’s one reason he made this film, which spotlights several women who live to 116, 117, or even 119.

Ever since my dad died four years ago, at 80, I’ve felt like that will also be the age of my endpoint, and I’m constantly thinking about how long I have until then. Never mind that his own father only reached the age of 69, and I’ve got a good chance of living longer because of my lifestyle and choices. I’ve also had a grandfather and great-grandmother on either side of my family tree live to be 97 and 99, respectively.

Watching The Oldest Person in the World can give one hope of being like the Guinness World Record honorees who appear in the film. Especially female members of the audience, since all of the documentary’s titular participants are women. But the film can also be sad because it keeps introducing us to people who die shortly afterward. At one point, though, I laughed thinking about how they all die soon after being filmed by Green, making him seem like the cause, a curse, a grim reaper wielding a camera instead of a scythe.

Morbid humor arrives directly in The Oldest Person in the World as Green quotes a friend who said it’s “a film where the main character dies over and over and over again.” That bit of needed levity comes during one of the moments where the filmmaker discusses the suicide of his younger brother. During these sequences of mournful reflection, the documentary aligns tonally and structurally with Ross McElwee’s latest, Remake — he unfortunately only has one piece of footage of his brother, however; still, seeing Green’s son grow up over the decade of production on The Oldest Person in the World adds to the textual and aesthetic comparison.

Very rarely do I consider another first-person-narrating documentarian in a class with McElwee, but Green gets very close this time, particularly with comments about people becoming “frozen in time” after death. He says of his brother, in voiceover while showing a specific still photograph, “The world keeps changing, but he stays the same, always talking on a landline.”

I do take issue with the idea that the film’s “main character” dies over and over and over again, even if it’s a joke, unless the statement means multiple main characters replacing the previous one. Otherwise, the implication is that the women Green visits are all the same. In some respects, they are very similar, even though they are of various races and widely spread across the world. They’re mostly immobile, have poor memories and eyesight, and their attitudes about their age are fairly alike. What brought them such longevity is unverifiable, though they all seem to have been rather carefree and stress-free.

What brings them joy down to the end is where they can be easily distinguished. One loves Coca-Cola. Another is a nun who loves her faith, even if she doesn’t understand why God lets her live so long while allowing children to die. Another stays away from men (that’s also her secret to a long life, which goes with the stress-free idea). Still, the film does treat them homogeneously as subjects or props.

Anyway, the real main character is Green, and as with McElwee, he’s proving himself to be a through-line in his later work (I wonder if, like McElwee, he disagrees that he’s the protagonist of his films). He appears in them. He narrates them, often in person, as with his “live documentaries.” He connects some of them, as with how The Oldest Person in the World is kind of a spinoff of his Guinness World Records-focused 2014 project, The Measure of All Things.

He also continues to be a substantial, innovative brand of filmmaker who has been expanding the scope of what documentaries can be, first with his live films and now with the notion, if not promise, that this one will be a living film. That is a perpetually unfinished one. This isn’t a novel concept, whether we compare his idea of revisiting The Oldest Person in the World every 10 years with the latest record-holders to the Up series structure, or his plan to rework and add to the film being akin to constantly revised, ever-evolving works like Loose Change.

It’s an ambitious plan, maybe to be passed on to his son, and could be quite poignant if it goes another 109 years so that eventually it encounters a person who was born when the project began. The idea could also get old long before it reaches that point.

And now here’s the second part of my interview with Jon Shenk, director of the must-see documentary The Island President, which follows the former Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed (he was just recently deposed in a coup) in a fight to save his people in more ways than one. I would call this post the second half (as I did yesterday), but it’s actually much, much longer than the first part (read that here).

In this segment, which is less directly tied to his new film, Shenk and I talk about containing documentary narratives versus (or in addition to) addressing their real-life continuation on or off screen, how The New York Times’ Op-Docs now substitute for DVD extras, what it was like being the in-house documentarian for Lucasfilm, and finally his take on where documentary filmmaking is at today.

The conversation is long, but I assure you it’s very interesting stuff.

Adding an update on Nasheed and the Maldives at the end of the film works for the story, but what is your usual view on that kind of thing? Personally, I get annoyed with Q&As where people just want to know the latest on a subject, because film narratives should be somewhat contained, even with documentary. What are your thoughts on viewers’ desire for the continued story?

I’m in your camp. I think of documentaries as films. They’re movies, and they have stories. And in the shooting and the editing, there’s a structure to that. It’s not an accident that they turn out how they turn out. Good documentary filmmakers think about it that way. Like anybody who makes a film about a current event, when things change [afterward] you’re going to be asked, “Well, do you want to change the ending? Are you bummed that you didn’t film long enough?” It’s kind of absurd. The film is what it is.

Several years and a lot of energy went into making it what it is, and hopefully that will stand the test of time. When I’m in the editing room, I think about the audience, of course, in the immediate future, but also part of my mind is thinking about the fifty- or hundred-year audience that’s going to see it much later. In that case, it won’t really matter what happened to Nasheed. All that will matter is the impact of the story that you captured.

On the other hand, I don’t blame the audiences for wanting to know. Part of the double-edged sword of a documentary, and what makes them so powerful, is that they are true. And it’s only human nature to want to know what happened to this guy or these people. I’m more than happy to talk about that and maybe even think about that as a film one day. Who knows? That’s another thing, a whole other potential story that we’re maybe just at the beginning of now.

When I was 10 years old, I saw Animal House in the theater, so it was one of my most memorable movie experiences, and at the end they have these great, very funny, pithy titles about what happened to all the characters. It doesn’t really change the movie. It’s just a funny thing to leave you with. Of course, it’s a comedy, but I’ve always loved the idea of short updates at the end that allow you to think about the issue in time.

Documentaries and films share one thing. Well, they share a lot of things, but one thing they share is very important: time is so poignant. If you take a picture of a kid and then you wait 70 years and take a picture of the adult and say simple things about their life — they went to school, they got married, they had kids, eventually they died — almost any human being will be brought to tears by simple stories like that.

I think documentaries can be special because if you add the element of time and give a sense of the trajectory, in that there’s a real story here, it can get under your skin even more. I’ve always liked that idea, to encourage people to think about time and what happens to people, how they evolve, and how characters can change over time.

So I don’t have a problem adding little updates, but in terms of the film itself, I totally agree with you. It’s like, look, a lot of energy went into this; I hope you can appreciate it. I think it’s really satisfying, and I hope you can see what I saw.

And things happen so quickly these days. The Island President only premiered last fall, and then a big turn of events happened shortly after in February. Combine the speed of developments with the fact that documentaries take a long time to be finished and then, unfortunately, often a long time to be released. By the time the DVD comes out, there seems to be a need for an update, especially if it involves current events like this does.

Unfortunately, even distributors and sales agents and people who know documentaries often get confused between a documentary film and news. In a lot of ways there are some similarities — we use the same equipment, and in some ways there’s the same visual language — but it kinda ends there. When you’re making a documentary, you’re really thinking about a story and an evolution of character. In some ways it’s like a Shakespearean character outline more than it is a news story. Not to be too highfalutin about it. You’re really in that space more than you’re in the space of thinking about current events when I’m working.

So when people say, “Hey, do you want to go shoot an addendum or change the ending?” I would not consider that. What I would consider is, maybe there could be a little short made or a clip, outside of the film, that allows people, if they’re interested, to go to a website. Or when it plays on TV, another thing. But the film is the film.

Read more

Jon Shenk’s exceptional new documentary, The Island President, is a special work of nonfiction and character-driven storytelling. It follows Mohammed Nasheed, then the president of the Maldives and the first democratically elected leader of the country in more than 30 years (he’s sadly since been deposed in a coup), as he adapts his people to freedom and embarks on a crusade to save their land by fighting to curb global warming (if the sea level rises, it will submerge the island nation). He’s the most captivating political documentary subject since Street Fight’s Cory Booker.

This week I chatted with Shenk, a filmmaker who got his start as an in-house documentarian at Lucasfilm leading up to the release of Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace (his early work can be found among the prequel’s DVD extras) and who has directed such major works as Lost Boys of Sudan and The Rape of Europa and contributed to others like No End in Sight and Eames: The Architect & The Painter.

Because we talked for a bit, I’ve divided the interview up into two parts. This first half of the conversation is more of an introductory discussion of what drew Shenk to Nasheed, why this is the most exciting address of climate change yet, and how the recent developments fit into the story. I hope it all will entice you to see the film. And return for part two, which involves less direct talk of this film and docs in general.

How did you first become interested in or introduced to Mohammed Nasheed?

I first heard about Nasheed when he was elected president in October ‘08. There was a little bit of coverage in the American press. I read about it in the [New York] Times. And then if you looked into it, it was covered pretty well in the UK because they have a closer tie to the Maldives. The story was instantly interesting because it was the first democratic election for president in the Maldives. And the Maldives are 100-percent Muslim, so in hindsight it seems like kind of a bellwether for what’s going on in the Middle East, but at the time it was very unusual.

Then when he stepped into office, he immediately started saying incredibly profound and honest things about the environmental situation. He did not pull punches. He said it how it was. I think he even said, half-jokingly, that the Maldives were looking for a new homeland for its people because inevitably it will be underwater. I just started following him in the news, and the more I learned, the more unique he seemed to me, and then one thing led to another.

So were you mostly drawn to him as a character, or was there also the appeal of the issues regarding democracy and climate change?

Well, the whole package was really appealing. But I have to say the thing that draws me to stories is character. Number one is you have to have a story and a character to make a film. That’s what films are. To me, anyway.

Some documentary filmmakers forget that part.

Once I heard [D. A.] Pennebaker say that he doesn’t know how to make films about things that have already happened. For me, I kinda modify that a little bit. I don’t know how to make films that don’t have people, that don’t have characters. It’s very hard for me to make “essayistic” or “argument” films or whatever you want to call them. Of course, one can do it with interviews and talking about issues. I think it’s difficult to do what cinema does best, which is to move people’s hearts and to get people to emotionally respond to things. That’s why we go to the movies. That’s why they’re magical. You want to lose yourself in a character and cry and laugh and feel the world from that perspective.

The thing that Nasheed made me realize when I started reading about him, before I even met him, is that climate change is not a boring topic. I think if you look at the movies and read the press on it, there’s almost a dead, helpless feeling about the issue, because it’s so difficult to report on it. You can easily get lost in the science and the argument about it. What Nasheed helped me do is realize, “No, wait a minute, this is the most exciting issue in the world.” We’re talking about the impending apocalypse. Then you add to that a hero who’s trying to save the world? That’s like The Bourne Identity. Of course, there’s a social issue aspect to the film, but hopefully it’s all through the eyes of the story and the character.

Read more

Jon Shenk’s exceptional new documentary, The Island President, is a special work of nonfiction and character-driven storytelling. It follows Mohammed Nasheed, then the president of the Maldives and the first democratically elected leader of the country in more than 30 years (he’s sadly since been deposed in a coup), as he adapts his people to freedom and embarks on a crusade to save their land by fighting to curb global warming (if the sea level rises, it will submerge the island nation). He’s the most captivating political documentary subject since Street Fight’s Cory Booker.

This week I chatted with Shenk, a filmmaker who got his start as an in-house documentarian at Lucasfilm leading up to the release of Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace (his early work can be found among the prequel’s DVD extras) and who has directed such major works as Lost Boys of Sudan and The Rape of Europa and contributed to others like No End in Sight and Eames: The Architect & The Painter.

Because we talked for a bit, I’ve divided the interview up into two parts. This first half of the conversation is more of an introductory discussion of what drew Shenk to Nasheed, why this is the most exciting address of climate change yet, and how the recent developments fit into the story. I hope it all will entice you to see the film. And return for part two, which involves less direct talk of this film and docs in general.

How did you first become interested in or introduced to Mohammed Nasheed?

I first heard about Nasheed when he was elected president in October ‘08. There was a little bit of coverage in the American press. I read about it in the [New York] Times. And then if you looked into it, it was covered pretty well in the UK because they have a closer tie to the Maldives. The story was instantly interesting because it was the first democratic election for president in the Maldives. And the Maldives are 100-percent Muslim, so in hindsight it seems like kind of a bellwether for what’s going on in the Middle East, but at the time it was very unusual.

Then when he stepped into office, he immediately started saying incredibly profound and honest things about the environmental situation. He did not pull punches. He said it how it was. I think he even said, half-jokingly, that the Maldives were looking for a new homeland for its people because inevitably it will be underwater. I just started following him in the news, and the more I learned, the more unique he seemed to me, and then one thing led to another.

So were you mostly drawn to him as a character, or was there also the appeal of the issues regarding democracy and climate change?

Well, the whole package was really appealing. But I have to say the thing that draws me to stories is character. Number one is you have to have a story and a character to make a film. That’s what films are. To me, anyway.

Some documentary filmmakers forget that part.

Once I heard [D. A.] Pennebaker say that he doesn’t know how to make films about things that have already happened. For me, I kinda modify that a little bit. I don’t know how to make films that don’t have people, that don’t have characters. It’s very hard for me to make “essayistic” or “argument” films or whatever you want to call them. Of course, one can do it with interviews and talking about issues. I think it’s difficult to do what cinema does best, which is to move people’s hearts and to get people to emotionally respond to things. That’s why we go to the movies. That’s why they’re magical. You want to lose yourself in a character and cry and laugh and feel the world from that perspective.

The thing that Nasheed made me realize when I started reading about him, before I even met him, is that climate change is not a boring topic. I think if you look at the movies and read the press on it, there’s almost a dead, helpless feeling about the issue, because it’s so difficult to report on it. You can easily get lost in the science and the argument about it. What Nasheed helped me do is realize, “No, wait a minute, this is the most exciting issue in the world.” We’re talking about the impending apocalypse. Then you add to that a hero who’s trying to save the world? That’s like The Bourne Identity. Of course, there’s a social issue aspect to the film, but hopefully it’s all through the eyes of the story and the character.

Read more

And now here’s the second part of my interview with Jon Shenk, director of the must-see documentary The Island President, which follows the former Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed (he was just recently deposed in a coup) in a fight to save his people in more ways than one. I would call this post the second half (as I did yesterday), but it’s actually much, much longer than the first part (read that here).

In this segment, which is less directly tied to his new film, Shenk and I talk about containing documentary narratives versus (or in addition to) addressing their real-life continuation on or off screen, how The New York Times’ Op-Docs now substitute for DVD extras, what it was like being the in-house documentarian for Lucasfilm, and finally his take on where documentary filmmaking is at today.

The conversation is long, but I assure you it’s very interesting stuff.

Adding an update on Nasheed and the Maldives at the end of the film works for the story, but what is your usual view on that kind of thing? Personally, I get annoyed with Q&As where people just want to know the latest on a subject, because film narratives should be somewhat contained, even with documentary. What are your thoughts on viewers’ desire for the continued story?

I’m in your camp. I think of documentaries as films. They’re movies, and they have stories. And in the shooting and the editing, there’s a structure to that. It’s not an accident that they turn out how they turn out. Good documentary filmmakers think about it that way. Like anybody who makes a film about a current event, when things change [afterward] you’re going to be asked, “Well, do you want to change the ending? Are you bummed that you didn’t film long enough?” It’s kind of absurd. The film is what it is.

Several years and a lot of energy went into making it what it is, and hopefully that will stand the test of time. When I’m in the editing room, I think about the audience, of course, in the immediate future, but also part of my mind is thinking about the fifty- or hundred-year audience that’s going to see it much later. In that case, it won’t really matter what happened to Nasheed. All that will matter is the impact of the story that you captured.

On the other hand, I don’t blame the audiences for wanting to know. Part of the double-edged sword of a documentary, and what makes them so powerful, is that they are true. And it’s only human nature to want to know what happened to this guy or these people. I’m more than happy to talk about that and maybe even think about that as a film one day. Who knows? That’s another thing, a whole other potential story that we’re maybe just at the beginning of now.

When I was 10 years old, I saw Animal House in the theater, so it was one of my most memorable movie experiences, and at the end they have these great, very funny, pithy titles about what happened to all the characters. It doesn’t really change the movie. It’s just a funny thing to leave you with. Of course, it’s a comedy, but I’ve always loved the idea of short updates at the end that allow you to think about the issue in time.

Documentaries and films share one thing. Well, they share a lot of things, but one thing they share is very important: time is so poignant. If you take a picture of a kid and then you wait 70 years and take a picture of the adult and say simple things about their life — they went to school, they got married, they had kids, eventually they died — almost any human being will be brought to tears by simple stories like that.

I think documentaries can be special because if you add the element of time and give a sense of the trajectory, in that there’s a real story here, it can get under your skin even more. I’ve always liked that idea, to encourage people to think about time and what happens to people, how they evolve, and how characters can change over time.

So I don’t have a problem adding little updates, but in terms of the film itself, I totally agree with you. It’s like, look, a lot of energy went into this; I hope you can appreciate it. I think it’s really satisfying, and I hope you can see what I saw.

And things happen so quickly these days. The Island President only premiered last fall, and then a big turn of events happened shortly after in February. Combine the speed of developments with the fact that documentaries take a long time to be finished and then, unfortunately, often a long time to be released. By the time the DVD comes out, there seems to be a need for an update, especially if it involves current events like this does.

Unfortunately, even distributors and sales agents and people who know documentaries often get confused between a documentary film and news. In a lot of ways there are some similarities — we use the same equipment, and in some ways there’s the same visual language — but it kinda ends there. When you’re making a documentary, you’re really thinking about a story and an evolution of character. In some ways it’s like a Shakespearean character outline more than it is a news story. Not to be too highfalutin about it. You’re really in that space more than you’re in the space of thinking about current events when I’m working.

So when people say, “Hey, do you want to go shoot an addendum or change the ending?” I would not consider that. What I would consider is, maybe there could be a little short made or a clip, outside of the film, that allows people, if they’re interested, to go to a website. Or when it plays on TV, another thing. But the film is the film.

Read more

New chief Darren Walker on the management and production company’s big fall.