Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

Late in director Alexandria Stapleton’s 4-part Netflix series “Sean Combs: The Reckoning”, one of her subjects lays out what may be the documentary’s thesis:  While it may seem like Combs “went bad” well into middle-age, the signs were there well before–”it was a slow build.”

 

Stapleton deftly tracks Comb’s rise:  The son of a murdered father, brought up with music, clothes, and fantasy.  Starting out in the music business as a runner, dancer, and promoter. Then becoming “Puff Daddy” in the fallout of a tragically over-promoted show, he would go on to make a fortune as a promoter and producer, understanding the growing importance of both music as a visual medium, as well as the opportunities provided by corporate sponsorship.

 

But Stapleton is as interested in the other side of Combs, the one that ended up with a Federal indictment for racketeering and more; charges that he may have ultimately eluded, but which still resulted in 40 months in Federal Prison.  Stapleton presents those who say that were hurt by Combs–psychically, physically, financially, and sexually–with sensitivity, but allows them to tell their own stories with a specificity that at times can be harrowing.

 

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

 

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In 1967, 3-year-old Mariska Hargitay — now, an Emmy-winning actor known to millions as Captain Olivia Benson on the long-running TV series “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” — was in a terrible car accident. Her mother — the Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield — and two others were killed instantly. The accident not only took the life of her mother but prevented Mariska from having any lasting memories of her.

 

“My Mom Jayne” is Mariska’s touching and winding documentary journey to learn about her mother’s life and to confront some of the
secrets of her own story as well. Mariska joins Ken on the podcast to talk about Jayne’s breakthrough as a young actress and
the blonde bombshell image that prevented her mother from being treated as the serious actress she always aspired to be. Through difficult conversations with Mariska’s siblings and trips to a long neglected family storage facility, a more complete portrait of Jayne, the actress and mother, begins to emerge. At this point in the film, an even more deeply buried story — this one about Mariska’s father — takes over.

The power of “My Mother Jayne” lies in Mariska’s
willingness to reclaim her own story, wherever it may lead.

“My Mom Jayne” is streaming on HBO Max.

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

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For our 300th episode, we’re bringing you some of our favorite impactful moments from some of our most popular shows of Season 5:

"Pee-wee as Himself" with Matt Wolf

"Chef's Table: Legends" with David Gelb & Adam Bricker

Anatomy of a Scene from "Martha" with R.J. Cutler

"CHAOS: The Manson Murders" with Errol Morris

"Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary" with Garret Price

See you in Season 6!

 

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

 

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In the early morning hours of a typical spring day, a van marked “Immigration Enforcement” stops on a quiet street in a residential neighborhood; two men of color are snatched up for alleged immigration violations and hustled into the van. No, the location is not the U.S., and this is not 2026... Felipe Bustos Sierra’s (“Nae Pasaran”) gripping new Sundance documentary “Everybody to Kenmure Street” depicts the dramatic events of May 13, 2021, when two Sikh men were apprehended in the Pollokshields suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, and the neighborhood spontaneously rallied to protect them. 

 

Felipe joined Ken for a warm, in-person conversation in Park City following the world premiere of his film in the Sundance World Cinema Documentary section. Beginning with the story of his personal journey as a Chilean Belgian filmmaker who made his way to Glasgow to live and make films, Felipe then delves into the city’s rich history of political activism and Pollokshields’ distinctive character. Felipe describes how he relied on footage shot by locals to tell this story and explains his creative decision to use actors Emma Thompson, Kate Dickie and Keira Lucchesi in the film.

 

While this event no doubt has clear resonances with what is currently happening in the U.S., the circumstances, backstory and outcome are very specific to this time and place. The emotional impact, however, no doubt hits home.

 

“Everybody to Kenmure Street” is being released by Icarus Films.

 

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

 

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You may only know her from those few minutes in a dressing room where she was assaulted by Donald Trump, who has himself relentlessly lied about what happened there and slandered the woman who, after years of telling only those closest to her of his crime, finally sought justice–and won.  Repeatedly.

 

But Ivy Meeropol, in her new documentary, “Ask E. Jean” provides a much fuller story:  How E. Jean, after years on a Montana ranch, trying to place her writing, finally arrived in New York at nearly 40 years of age, and then successfully pursued a journalistic career: writing for some of the dominant magazines in an age of magazines; hosting a call-in television show awarded her by Roger Ailes(!); and even serving a season as a writer on SNL.  Ultimately, we see a woman who over the course of decades, emboldened by the me too movement, learns to redefine what constitutes “courage.”

 

“Ask E. Jean” has recently been acquired by Abramorama.

 

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

 

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