Kathryn Ferguson
From Talk Art by Russell Tovey and Robert Diament
May 21, 2026 · 1h 7m · Season 27 · Episode 14
About this episode
Robert meets Kathryn Ferguson to discuss her impactful documentary work and the role of art in activism.
Robert meets Belfast-born Kathryn Ferguson, an Emmy and BAFTA nominated, BIFA and IFTA winning director whose innovative and boundary-pushing documentary work has screened globally. We explore art as activism and how film has the power to reveal, and amplify, untold stories. Kathryn studied at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, and in 2022 was awarded the inaugural BFI & Chanel Award for Creative Audacity. In 2018, Kathryn's short documentary Taking the Waters about Margate’s open water swimming premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest, and was long-listed for a BAFTA. Then, in 2021, Kathryn worked with Passion Pictures on the short Space to Be for The Guardian's acclaimed documentary series. After a decade of short-form work centred on identity, gender politics, and community, Kathryn recently completed her debut feature documentary Nothing Compares - which takes as its subject Sinéad O'Connor's artistry and activism. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2022 then toured the international festival circuit, where it picked up multiple awards, before hitting cinemas in October 2022. It has received over thirty…
People in this episode
Host: Robert
Guest: Kathryn Ferguson
Topics covered
- art as activism
- documentary filmmaking
- identity
- gender politics
- community
- Sinéad O'Connor
Keywords
- Kathryn Ferguson
- documentary
- art activism
- Sinéad O'Connor
- identity
- gender politics
- BIFA
- IFTA
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Central Saint Martins, Royal College of Art, BFI, Chanel, Passion Pictures, The Guardian
Books & works: Taking the Waters, Space to Be, Nothing Compares, Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes
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