Talking Documentary Podcast

When Phil Wall last appeared on this podcast, he was the everything guy—director, cinematographer, writer, editor—on The Book Keepers, a film about death and grief made intimate by how few hands touched it. Now Wall returns with a radically different project: a three-episode, 137-minute history of American men's professional soccer, delivered on a punishing deadline with a small army of creatives at his side. In Soccer Meets America, Wall is no longer the jack-of-all-trades, he’s a director in the classic sense.In this conversation, Wall talks about soccer's strange, stubborn failure to crack the American mainstream (despite a passionate hidden audience), why landing Werner Herzog as a guest interviewee was a validating win, and what it feels like to release the tripod someone is taking from your hands because—as they keep reminding you—you're the director now.Music: Podington Bear This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.talkingdocumentary.com

Justin Schein is a veteran filmmaker who has worked with scores of documentary subjects, but nothing could prepare him for an aging yippee named Mayer Vishner. Schein thought he was making a documentary about Vishner’s life. Vishner had a different idea, and it shook Schein to his core and tested his mettle as a friend, filmmaker and human being. Schein's 2015 film, "Left On Purpose," follows the colorful, unforgettable Vishner through a minefield of emotional and ethical issues. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.talkingdocumentary.com

Hollywood photographer Pamela Littky was overtaken by a nagging curiosity ... what happens, she wondered, to the thousands of kids named Most Likely to Succeed in high schools all across America? Littky embarked on her first documentary film to find out. Ten years later, she answered the question in her 2019 film, "Most Likely to Succeed." It's an endearing and honest look into life's most vulnerable period where even high school stars get bumped around along the way. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.talkingdocumentary.com

Dani Connor Wild was volunteering for a wildlife photographer in northern Sweden when the Covid pandemic descended and locked her in place. For the next six months she lived alone in a town of 20 mostly elderly residents and found solace and meaning by heading into the dense, rustic woods near her home. What she found there altered the trajectory of her young career and transformed her into a successful multi-platform documentarian. Her first documentary film, The Squirrels & Me, was released on YouTube in February and has already racked up nearly a million views. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.talkingdocumentary.com

In 1982, three young men from Allentown, Pa., climbed aboard a billboard in a competition to win an $18,000 mobile home. Times were tough, owning a home was an inaccessible dream, and the three competitors were determined to win. They wound up living on the billboard far longer than anyone imagined and became global celebrities in the process. Nearly four decades later, their story of obsession and determination still resonates. Filmmaker Pat Taggart discusses how this unusual contest came to be and how he overcame an unsettling first interview to make the film.Learn more about the film at billboardboys.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.talkingdocumentary.com

When Jeremy Workman learned his friend, Matt Green, planned to walk every street in New York City, Workman did what any sensible filmmaker would do: he grabbed his camera and followed along. Three years and 600 hours of footage later, Workman had everything he needed to tell the story of Green's unusual quest in Workman's film, The World Before Your Feet. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.talkingdocumentary.com

Eddie Fischer was a charismatic teacher who ruled the halls of an elite prep school in Charleston, South Carolina. He also harbored a terrifying secret that left shame and heartbreak in his wake. Director Paige Tolmach was a student at that school. Three decades later, Tolmach decided to tell the story of how Fischer shattered so many lives without being detected. Her film, "What Haunts Us," was released in 2018 and earned an Emmy nomination for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.talkingdocumentary.com

"Talking Documentary" is a new podcast devoted to documentary films and the people who make them. Join us for a series of conversations with the great creators in the documentary field. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.talkingdocumentary.com