"Heightened Scrutiny" with Sam Feder & Amy Scholder
With intense scrutiny of the trans community comes threats to the personal safety, healthcare and civil rights of trans people. Just ask Sam Feder (“Disclosure”), director of the timely new documentary “Heightened Scrutiny” that follows ACLU attorney Chase Strangio on his journey all the way to the Supreme Court to fight for the rights of transgender adolescents and their access to gender affirming healthcare.
Sam and producer Amy Scholder join Ken on “Top Docs” to discuss their collaboration on “Disclosure” and their subsequent creative partnership on “Heightened Scrutiny.” Through this multi-layered story, we observe Chase, the first out trans person to argue a case before the Court, up-close as he prepares his legal brief. But, as we talk about in our convo, the film succeeds in going deeper than just being a portrait of a civil rights pioneer. How have mainstream media outlets not only presented a distorted lens on the trans community but provided fodder for the very forces seeking to overturn trans rights? It’s a chilling and urgent story that certainly deserves your heightened interest.
Starting July 18th, “Heightened Scrutiny” is in select theaters in NYC and LA.
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@samfeder_1 on Instagram and @SamFederFilm on X and @amyjscholder on Instagram
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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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"Nobu" with Matt Tyrnauer
It all starts with the fish. In director Matt Tyrnauer’s (“Carville, Winning is Everything, Stupid”) delectable and insightful new documentary “Nobu,” we are reminded of this fact when Nobu himself, the man behind the restaurant empire that shares his name, reels in a fish, skins, slices and serves it right on the boat to friends and family. It is one of many revelatory scenes that, taken as a whole, peel back the layers of Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa’s life and his long journey to re-define sushi for the modern world.
Matt joins Ken on the pod to shed light on his observational approach to documentary portraiture and to explore the unique and ever-expanding Nobu style. Rather than a straight line to success, Nobu’s story is one of early struggles, crushing failures and constant attention to detail. From a tense scene featuring an executive chef struggling to reproduce one of Nobu’s signature dishes to a humdrum meeting of Nobu’s business partners (including the actor and Nobu partner Robert De Niro in a surprising and riveting star turn) that suddenly turns contentious, “Nobu” not only spotlights the talents of a game-changing chef, but once again reminds us why the hard-earned observational approach is as satisfying as a perfectly prepared plate of sushi.
“Nobu” is being released by Vertical in theaters in NY on June 27th and in cities nationwide beginning July 4th.
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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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"Prime Minister" with Michelle Walshe & Lindsay Utz
During Jacinda Ardern’s historic run as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 - 2023, she became a worldwide phenomenon and icon of the Left. From the pandemic to a horrific mass shooting in NZ, Jacinda faced a series of major crises, as well as a media crush that followed her everywhere. But during those tumultuous times, one thing remained unknown: what was it like for the person at the center of these events to experience all that — and, simultaneously, being a new mother as well? In Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz’s enthralling documentary “Prime Minister,” we now get to hear from the former PM herself.
Michelle and Lindsay join Ken on the pod to describe what it was like to embark on this journey of self-reflection with Jacinda Ardern. Relying on a combination of intimate home movie footage shot by Jacinda’s husband, news clips and original material, the two directors put us right back in the middle of these events, as well as offer Jacinda’s insightful perceptive on what it means to her now and where to go from here.
“Prime Minister” is in theatrical release by Magnolia Pictures.
Hidden Gem:
Lindsay: “Time”
Michelle: “Navalny”, “The Jinx”
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@utzies26 on Instagram and @Lindsay_utz on X
@shellfishes on Instagram
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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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"Sally" with Cristina Costantini
In elementary school, Emmy Award-winning director Cristina Costantini (“Science Fair”) was a science nerd who idolized astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Cristina even painted a mural of Sally on one of her elementary school’s walls. Fast forward to today and National Geographic Documentary Films has just released Cristina’s terrific new feature-length documentary about the astronaut called simply, “Sally.”
Cristina joins Ken on the pod to share her lifelong admiration of Sally Ride and to discuss this nuanced, three-dimensional portrait that examines Sally’s private and public lives in equal measure. Tam O’Shaughnessy, Sally’s life partner of 27 years, serves as the documentary’s central storyteller, and from Tam and others, we get a fuller picture of Sally than ever before. We also learn of the high cost paid by both women for keeping their relationship a secret until Sally’s early death from cancer at age 61. By the end, we find ourselves as dazzled by this timeless love story as we are by Sally’s historic blast into space.
“Sally” is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
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@xtinatini on Instagram and X
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The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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"Simone Biles Rising" with Katie Walsh
It makes sense that Simone Biles, winner of 11 Olympic medals, and considered by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time, would stick to a consistent pre-competition ritual to prepare for battle. But, as filmmaker Katie Walsh shows in one of the more intimate scenes in her exceptional four-part Netflix docuseries, “Simone Biles Rising,” the big surprise comes when we see that the hair braiding skills of Simone’s mom Nellie might be the most important part of this ritual. This simple act of touch prior to each day’s competition says it all about the close bond between mother and daughter and the person Simone turns to in the most difficult moments.
Katie joins Ken on “Top Docs” to talk about this special relationship between Simone and Nellie and what it was like to document the highs and lows of Simone’s remarkable career. The series begins with Simone’s shocking case of the “twisties” at the 2021 Tokyo Games that caused her to withdraw from the sport she’d come to dominate. Over the course of the series, Katie captures all the key moments as Simone, with the support of her family and close network of friends, finds her way back to gold medal glory. But, just as important, as a powerful advocate for mental health, Simone challenges society’s expectations of its most celebrated athletes — and once again rises above.
“Simone Biles Rising” is streaming on Netflix.
Hidden Gem:
“Daughters”
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@projectlifemedia on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
New Zealand