"Masaka Kids: A Rhythm Within" with David Vieira Lopez & Moses Bwayo
When Suuna Hassan and Madinah Babirah founded Masaka Kids Africana in the Masaka District of Uganda, they hoped to help a handful of orphaned children and other young people living on the streets. They had no way of knowing where their efforts would lead or that one day the whole world would be watching.
Directors David Vieira Lopez and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Moses Bwayo (“Bobi Wine: The People’s President”) join Ken on the pod to discuss this extraordinary organization, as well as the viral dance videos performed by the children of Masaka that caught the world’s attention during the pandemic. David, who was a volunteer at the organization at the time, and Moses, who is himself Ugandan, teamed up to tell the powerful story behind this Internet sensation. To their credit, the filmmakers are just as impressed with what Nabirah and Ian, and other children of Masaka, have to say, as with the dance steps that made these kids famous. In a place where HIV/AIDS has afflicted many thousands of people over the years and left many young people orphaned, Masaka Kids Africana is not just a symbol of hope but a vibrant community that is actively changing young people’s lives.
“Masaka Kids: A Rhythm Within” will be released on Netflix on December 9th.
Follow:
@bwayomoses on Instagram and X
@masakakidsafricana on Instagram and @masakakids on X
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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"The Stringer" with Bao Nguyen
Who really took the photo widely known as “Napalm Girl”? And does it really matter over a half-century later?
In his new Netflix documentary “The Stringer”, Bao Nguyen (“The Greatest Night in Pop”) follows a journalistic team lead by Anglo-American Gary Knight as they seek to show that the real photographer on that day in 1972 in Trang Bang was not the renowned and fêted Pulitzer Prize-winning Nick Ut, of the Saigon AP Bureau, but a “stringer”, Nguyen Thanh Nghe, paid $20 flat and subsequently denied all credit. And Nguyen argues as well that it does matter not only to Nghe and his family, but also to: the Vietnamese people; the Vietnamese diaspora (who had long lionized Ut); to an America that has still not fully dealt with the war; and to the very nature of truth in an era when technology can both clarify and complicate provenance.
You can stream “The Stringer” on Netflix.
Follow:
@baomnguyen on Instagram and X
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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“The Tale of Silyan” with Tamara Kotevska & Jean Dakar
The main protagonist of Tamara Kotevska’s (“Honeyland”) enchanting new documentary “The Tale of Silyan” is a lovable farmer named Nikola. But as compelling a screen presence as he is, Nikola can’t hold a candle to the film’s real stars, the gorgeous, majestic — and even more lovable — white storks who steal the show.
Producer/Director Tamara Kotevska and Cinematographer/Producer Jean Dakar join Ken on the pod to discuss these incredible birds, the legend of Silyan (a boy who was turned into a stork), and the North Macedonian rural community that the storks, Nikola, and his family call home. Having lived side-by-side in harmony for centuries, both storks and humans are now facing dire economic forces that make farming unsustainable and lead to landfills, rather than fertile fields, becoming the storks’ feeding grounds. As she did with her magical, multiple Oscar-nominated “Honeylands,” also set in her native Macedonia, Tamara manages to spin a tale of her own that seamlessly combines elements of narrative storytelling and observational documentary. Jean’s gorgeous and multifaceted cinematography elevates the film even further. “The Tale of Silyan” is a beautiful love story, too. It turns out that storks are just as lovable to Nikola as to the rest of us.
“The Tale of Silyan” is North Macedonia’s official submission for Best International Feature and is being released by National Geographic Documentary Films in select theaters.
Hidden Gems:
Tamara: “Midnight Family”
Jean: “Riders on the Storm”
Follow:
@tamarakotevska and @jeandakar on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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“Selena y Los Dinos” with Isabel Castro
Elvis. The Beatles. Madonna… Selena. Selena Quintanilla was a huge star on the cusp of becoming an international superstar when she was tragically killed in 1995 at just 23 years old. Filmmaker Isabel Castro (“Mija”) explores the life, music and legacy of this incredibly talented and beloved musician in her exceptional Netflix documentary portrait “Selena y Los Dinos.” As the film’s title implies, Selena’s story goes deeper than that of a singular star to include the central role played by her tightknit musical family who made up the band Los Dinos.
Isabel joins Ken on the pod to discuss the profound impact that Selena, as a symbol of bicultural identity and possibility, had on her own life growing up Mexican American in the U.S. When the Quintanilla family approached her to make a documentary about Selena, Isabel was immensely honored. But along with that privilege came the immense weight of doing justice to the “Queen of Tejano Music.” Taking her cue from the family’s treasure trove of archival material, Isabel reveals a young woman with extraordinary talent, a supportive but disciplined father determined to see his family achieve musical success, and a fan base that went from indifferent to rapturous in just a few short years. Watching Selena and the band find hard-earned success in Mexico and the U.S. and seeing her in the studio recording an all-English language crossover album, the tragedy of what could have been is all too apparent. But the enduring appeal of the music and the symbolism of this strong woman who became equally revered on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border lives on, now more than ever.
“Selena y Los Dinos” is released by and available for streaming on Netflix.
Follow:
@ isabelcastropics on Instagram
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
Hidden Gem:
“The Bend in the River”
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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"Cutting Through Rocks" with Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
Whether you are a fan of motorcycles or not, it’s hard to dispute that riding one down an open stretch of road delivers an intoxicating sense of freedom. As filmmakers Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni make clear in their extraordinary documentary “Cutting Through Rocks,” the motorcycle can also be a powerful — and threatening — symbol of female empowerment and independence.
Sara and Mohammadreza join Ken on the pod to discuss the remarkable woman at the center of their film, Sara Shahverdi, whose motorcycle rides through the countryside of rural northwest Iran have drawn the ire of the patriarchal defenders of traditional gender roles and the curiosity of a group of young women inspired by Sara’s free spirit and unwavering determination. Over the course of the film, we see Sara take the unprecedented step of running for the local council. To the amazement of all, Sara wins, becoming the first woman elected to council throughout the entire region. It’s an inspiring victory that comes with a huge sense of responsibility — and an all-too-expected backlash. What transpires is a tale that, through various twists and turns, ultimately leads back to that open road and to the boundless sense of possibility and joy that is just a motorcycle ride away.
Follow:
@sarakhakifilms and @mohammadrezaeynifilms on Instagram and X
@topdocspod on Instagram and X
Hidden Gem:
Sara: ”The Salesman”
Mohammadreza: the documentary films of Krzysztof Kieslowski
The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.
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