The Dangerous Art of the Documentary

Filmmaker Tiller Russell (Waco: American Apocalypse, Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, Operation Odessa, The Last Narc, The Seven Five) exchanges the camera for a microphone, sitting down with other documentary filmmakers for riveting, in-depth conversations about their most successful, iconic or recent films.

TV & Film
Film Interviews
Society & Culture
51
Kartiki Gonsalves (The Elephant Whisperers | Ne...
Kartiki Gonsalves (The Elephant Whisperers | Netflix)
35 min
52
Chris Passig (Telemarketers | HBO)
Chris Passig (Telemarketers | HBO)
45 min
53
Griffin Dunne (Joan Didion: The Center Will Not...
Griffin Dunne, Oscar-nominated Actor, Writer, Director
38 min
54
Simon Chinn (Searching for Sugar Man, Man on Wire)
Simon Chinn, Oscar-winning Producer
50 min
55
Jeff Tremaine (Jackass)
Jeff Tremaine, Director/Writer/Producer of "Jackass" and "Bad Grandpa"
57 min
56
Julie Cohen (Every Body | In Theaters)
Julie Cohen, director of "Every Body" (now open in theaters)
33 min
57
Lesley Chilcott (Arnold | Netflix)
Lesley Chilcott, director of "Arnold" (now available on Netflix)
49 min
58
Nick Rosen & Peter Mortimer (The Alpinist | Net...
Nick Rosen and Peter Mortimer, directors of "The Alpinist" (now available on Netflix)
42 min
59
Ondi Timoner (Last Flight Home)
Acclaimed director Ondi Timoner’s latest film “Last Flight Home”
43 min
60
R.J. Cutler (Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus and M...
R.J. Cutler’s new four-part documentary series
50 min
61
Sebastian Junger (Restrepo)
Sebastian Junger's iconic Oscar-Nominated 2010 war epic RESTREPO chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, widely considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, "Restrepo," named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. Experiential, immersive, and raw, RESTREPO is a 90-minute deployment to a complicated, fraught warzone. Sebastian discusses with Tiller if it is an anti-war movie (1:43), his path to the Korengal Valley (5:30), the challenge of editing down months of footage (11:02), capturing emotional interviews with hardened soldiers (12:10), and incorporating footage of Platoon Medic Restrepo (16:30).
24 min
62
Orlando von Einsiedel (Virunga, From Devil's Br...
Academy award winning director Orlando von Einsiedel sits with Tiller to discuss his film VIRUNGA, a gripping expose of the realities of life in the Congo that follows a team of brave individuals risking their lives to protect the last mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park. Tiller also asks Orlando about his latest short film FROM DEVIL'S BREATH, a dramatic look at the catastrophic wildfires in Portugal in 2017 and a revolutionary scientific discovery creating hope in the face of climate change. During their discussion, Orlando describes his film selection process (2:10), the beginning of VIRUNGA (5:20), uncovering the story of corrupt oil drillers (9:18), recruiting an undercover journalist as a spy (13:49), financing the film (18:10), joining forces with Leonardo DiCaprio (23:00), creating FROM DEVIL'S BREATH (27:40), and intercutting dual narratives to tell one powerful story (33:10).
43 min
63
Waco: American Apocalypse - Episode 4: The Lega...
Waco: American Apocalypse is a deep dive into the Netflix documentary series, exploring topics and interviews that didn’t make the final cut. In Episode Four, Tiller and Lee evaluate how the tragedy at Waco became a rallying cry for the anti-government movement within America as well as a foundation for arguments surrounding gun rights and religious freedom. Tiller also speaks with Bob Ricks, the FBI’s Assistant Special Agent in Charge, about the FBI’s failed response to Waco, rampant conspiracy theories, government distrust, Waco’s connection to the Oklahoma City Bombing a year later, and how it resonates through to the present day.
29 min
64
Waco: American Apocalypse - Episode 3: The Toll...
Waco: American Apocalypse is a deep dive into the Netflix documentary series, exploring topics and interviews that didn’t make the final cut. In Episode Three, Tiller speaks to Lee about the challenge of objectively reporting on Waco and the lasting trauma the story has had on her life, as well as on those included in the documentary series. Featuring excerpts from interviews with KWTX reporter John McLemore, the sole reporter who covered the ATF raid live only to have his life upended by it, and David Thibodeau, perhaps the most well-known Branch Davidian alive today.
32 min
65
Waco: American Apocalypse - Episode 2: The Man ...
Waco: American Apocalypse is a deep dive into the Netflix documentary series, exploring topics and interviews that didn’t make the final cut. In Episode Two, Tiller speaks with Robert Rodriguez, an undercover agent with the ATF who embedded with David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. On the day of the raid, Robert knew the Davidians were tipped off that the ATF was coming, and he tried to call the whole thing off. However, despite his warnings, the ATF went ahead with their plan, resulting in the largest gunfight on US soil in over 100 years, and Robert was pinned as the scapegoat. In a rare interview not included in the documentary series, Robert shares intimate memories with Tiller from his time working undercover before narrating the day of the raid from his perspective in grueling detail.
31 min
66
Waco: American Apocalypse - Episode 1: Who in t...
Waco: American Apocalypse is a deep dive into the Netflix documentary series, exploring topics and interviews that didn’t make the final cut. In Episode One, director Tiller Russell and reporter Lee Hancock paint a complex portrait of cult leader David Koresh – the controversial figure at the center of the story – and discuss how he convinced over 100 people (and perhaps himself) that he was a living prophet. Featuring excerpts from interviews with FBI Agent Bob Ricks, Hostage Rescue Team Sniper Chris Whitcomb, Branch Davidian Kathy Schroeder, and Heather Jones, the last child to make it out of the compound alive.
37 min
67
Violet Columbus & Ben Klein (The Exiles)
Ben Klein and Violet Columbus's debut feature film, "The Exiles", premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary. It follows documentarian Christine Choy as she tracks down three exiled dissidents from the Tiananmen Square massacre in order to find closure on an abandoned film she began shooting in 1989.
36 min
68
Charles Ferguson (Inside Job)
The Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary in 2010, Inside Job, shows that the 2008 global financial Armageddon was no accident; it was predicted and could have been prevented. Director Charles Ferguson, with narration by Matt Damon, created a compelling, wonderfully illuminating film that provides a detailed examination of the rogue industry that led to the collapse and identifies key corrupt financial and political players. 
35 min
69
Alexander Nanau (Collective)
In 2015, a fire at Bucharest’s Colectiv club leaves 27 dead and 180 injured. Soon, more burn victims begin dying in hospitals from wounds that were not life-threatening. One revelation leads to another as the journalists start to uncover vast health care fraud. When a new health minister is appointed, he offers unprecedented access to his efforts to reform the corrupt system but also to the obstacles he faces. Following journalists, whistle-blowers, burn victims, and government officials, "Collective" is an uncompromising look at the impact of investigative journalism at its best.
45 min
70
David Siev (Bad Axe)
Midwest-born and raised, David is a first-generation Cambodian-Mexican-American filmmaker. His SXSW award-winning feature debut BAD AXE captures his closely-knit Asian American family living in rural Michigan during the pandemic as they fight to keep their local restaurant and American dream alive. With rising racial tensions, the family uses their voice and must unite as they reckon with backlash from a divided community, white supremacists, and intergenerational trauma from Cambodia's "killing fields."
49 min
71
Ramin Bahrani (2nd Chance)
Narrative director Ramin Bahrani – best known for The White Tiger, Fahrenheit 451, and 99 Homes – speaks to Tiller today about his debut documentary feature entitled “2nd Chance”, a brilliantly inquisitive film about the inventor of the bullet proof vest, who shot himself in the chest 196 times . A self-made mythical figure with an allergy to accountability, Richard Davis’s hilarious yet heartbreaking story is a particularly American one, as Bahrani puts it.
44 min
72
Bing Liu (Minding the Gap)
In his Academy Award nominated debut feature, filmmaker Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends' turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern masculinity, while they all work to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.
40 min
73
Amy Berg (Deliver Us From Evil, Phoenix Rising)
Academy Award nominated filmmaker Amy Berg has built a prolific career elevating the voice of the underdog, investigating systemic abuse, and shining a light in dark places.
49 min
74
Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys, God Forbid)
“Popcorn Doc” auteur and king of Miami Billy Corben, best known for his mainstream hit Cocaine Cowboys, joins Tiller to chat about his latest explosive film God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty, which profiles former pool attendant Giancarlo Granada’s 7-year relationship with charming older woman, Becki Falwell, and her husband, the Evangelical Trump stalwart Jerry Falwell Jr., as well as the overarching influence this affair had on a presidential election.
59 min
75
Matthew Heineman (Retrograde)
Described by the Sundance Film Festival as "one of the most talented and exciting documentary filmmakers working today", auteur Oscar-nominated filmmaker Matthew Heineman - best known for his film "Cartel Land" - discusses his new film "Retrograde", in which he embeds with the American Green Berets and an Afghan General during the last months of the war in Afghanistan.
36 min