Westdoc Online – Details, episodes & analysis

The HBO Original two-part documentary WISE GUY David Chase and The Sopranos directed by Academy Award®-winner Alex Gibney (HBO’s “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” and “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley”) debuts SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. 25 years after the show first debuted, HBO’s paradigm-shifting series “The Sopranos” remains a cultural phenomenon and a touchstone for prestige television. On a replica set of Dr. Melfi’s psychiatrist’s office, Gibney flips the script on David Chase, excavating and analyzing the origins of “The Sopranos,” his creative process, and the intimate connections between his own life and many of his characters.

Producer Director JEFF ZIMBALIST has two terrific documentaries released at the same time. HOW TO COME ALIVE with NORMAN MAILER explores the rollercoaster life of America’s most controversial and bestselling author of the 20th Century. Propelled by his tremendous ego and contrarian spirit, Mailer’s ceaseless visibility in the public eye lasted 6 decades, during which he had 6 tumultuous marriages, 9 children, 11 bestsellers, 3 arrests, and 2 Pulitzer Prizes. SKYWALKERS; A LOVE STORY is about a pair of Moscow daredevils who’ve made a career out of scaling some of the world’s tallest buildings. Their climbs are often technically considered trespassing — and completed with minimal or nonexistent safety precautions in place. But they aren’t just climbing buddies — they’re also in love. Skywalkers is on Netflix now and while Mailer is in theaters now and video on demand soon. See more documentary episodes on www.westdoc.net

Available now on Westdoc, our new episode # 148 with renowned cinema vérité filmmakers Joan Churchill and Alan Barker spoke to us from the cozy living room of their Ojai, California home. We covered a wide range of subjects: improv; traditional camera gear vs iPhones; being “in the circle” when filming; the FBI, IRS, and HUAC; the historic value of cinema vérité; and their documentary workshops. The couple has four short films coming out about Oscar winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler. The conversation reveals a rich history of two people who have devoted their lives to filmmaking.

Young filmmaker Ben Proudfoot went searching for the process behind student instrument repair in the vast Los Angeles City school system, but his Oscar nominated short, The Last Repair Shop, uncovered instead a warehouse filled with human tales of struggle, endurance, and success. Proudfoot speaks to Westdoc about magic, funding, and a wealth of future projects. His wonderful short is available free on YouTube.

Just two miles from mainland China, but still part of Taiwan, sits the tiny island of Kinmen. "Island In Between" is American/Taiwanese filmmaker S. Leo Chiang’s powerful, Oscar nominated short doc about international tension and changing times. Chiang speaks with Westdoc about growing up both there and here, seeing both the danger and the beauty, and trying to make sense of it all.

The war in Ukraine rages on. Veteran “conflict journalist” Mstyslav Chernov captures the terror and panic of the initial assault in his stark documentary. He speaks to Westdoc about the need to be multi-lingual, surviving in a war zone, hiding the digital evidence in a tampon, which itself had to be hidden — and the universal destructiveness of war: to civilians, soldiers, and filmmakers. “20 Days in Mariupol” is in contention for an Oscar nomination and can be seen now free on Frontline and YouTube. 

It’s been a disappointing year for quality scripted features, but not for documentaries. One of the most provocative is bio doc, "The Disappearance of Shere Hite,” with the liberation of the female orgasm center stage. The Hite Report was one of the best-selling books of all time. On the new edition of Westdoc, director Nicole Newnham talks about why Shere Hite left the country, renounced her US citizenship, and disappeared.  

There is a great pleasure in finding something you believe very few people have yet discovered. As a member of the Motion Picture Academy, I have access to most of this year's films, and all the documentaries submitted. I try to watch as many as possible and I stumbled upon this film and am very happy to share it with you. The 1930's and 40's is a fascinating period of time and then throw in Orsen Welles, FDR, and some other characters with great stories. The first-time director Danny Wu is a Chinese immigrant to Canada in his mid 20's. His film school was YouTube. Watch our conversation and then view the doc now on the Oscar web portal for members, or on Amazon, YouTube, AppleTV, and Google Play.

Tune in to a world full of sound with Westdoc Online host, Chuck Braverman, and guest, Sam Green. Documentary "32 Sounds" immerses you in the elemental phenomenon of sound and its ability to profoundly shape our reality.

Life can be a struggle, whether you are a polar bear searching for food on melting ice or a black man searching for justice on shrinking real estate. The inevitability of rising sea levels have Miami’s developers turning a covetous eye toward the black ghetto, located, as it is, on the highest-and-driest ground in the city. Ghetto residents are bracing for another fight - Climate Gentrification.  "Razing Liberty Square" is a story of climate change, race, altitude, and attitude. German born filmmaker Katja Esson tells us about her history in Miami, applying and re-applying for grants, and the value of personal relationships in film. Her film is in limited release now and will be on PBS in January.