Documentary Spotlight
Why ‘The Cave’ Director Put Himself in Danger (Again) to Bring Syria’s Bloody Civil War to the Screen
The documentary, earning director Feras Fayyad his second Oscar nomination, underscores his singular commitment to show the conflict, from a female doctor's perspective.
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‘The Edge of Democracy’ Acts as Warning Shot for America, Says Director
Brazilian director Petra Costa, earning her first Oscar nomination for the Netflix documentary explains the doc presents a dark "distorted mirror" of the myriad crises facing the U.S. today.
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‘American Factory,’ ‘For Sama,’ ‘Honeyland’ Filmmakers Share Backstories of Oscar-Nominated Docs
The filmmakers behind each of the movies share the backstories of how they made their films and why they were drawn to their subjects.
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Why ‘Aquarela’ Filmmaker Made a Nearly Wordless Doc About the Beauty and Danger of Water
Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky traveled the world to capture the brute force and beauty of water and the way humanity has been affected by it and affects it: "Water is a massive energy that never dies."
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‘The Apollo’ Director Talks Iconic Venue’s Impact on Black Culture and the Bet Obama Took to Sing Al Green
Roger Ross? Williams reveals his personal connection to the Apollo's amateur night, the scramble to find historical materials lost during the years when the building had to shut its doors and the major barrier the Academy's doc branch just surpassed.
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Music Doc Directors Reveal How to Film Iconic Artists: “I Knew There Was Stuff That Might Piss Him Off”
Six of this year's best doc contenders center on top artists from David?Crosby to Linda Ronstadt and the behind-the-scenes locales that illuminated their stardom like The ?Apollo and Blue Note Records.
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How to Capture the Essence of Toni Morrison on Film
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders speaks to THR about capturing the essence of his late friend, literary icon Toni Morrison.
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‘Biggest Little Farm’ Doc Maker on Filming Skittish Animals and Showing “Harsh Realities”
The documentary follows a city-dwelling couple who pack up their lives and move to a farm, hoping to create a sustainable ecosystem: "I felt this responsibility to share with people what I had witnessed."
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How ‘Amazing Johnathan Documentary’ Filmmaker Embraced Chaos: “What the F*** Is This?”
The idea was to follow around the illusionist, but things changed once another film crew arrived. Director Ben Berman explains his decision to pivot from traditional biopic to comedic autobiographical piece when things went spectacularly wrong.
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‘Our Planet’ to ‘Chef’s Table’: How Docuseries Told Impactful Stories About Chefs, Nature and More
Filmmakers behind 'American Masters,' 'Hostile Planet' and '30 for 30' turned their cameras on artists, animals and sports figures to craft the tales nominated in the documentary or nonfiction series category.
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From ‘Leaving Neverland’ to ‘The Inventor’: Docs Unmask the Biggest Frauds Onscreen
The Hollywood Reporter unmasks the fraudsters behind the cons that rocked TV screens this year: "There's a very thin line that separates the fraudster from the visionary."
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Natural History Docs Aim to Fix “Climate Crisis,” Raise Awareness of Endangered Planet
Docu-series such as 'Hostile Planet' (Nat Geo) and 'Our Planet' (Netflix) capture stunning footage of animals and outdoor miracles in an effort to put a spotlight on pressing environmental issues.
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