In ‘Simple As Water’, Syrian Families Dispersed By Horror Of War Share Their Struggles To Stay Connected – Contenders Documentary

Guy Lodge Film CriticA close-quarters study of the daily trials of living with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease — co-directed by the patient’s son with equal parts adoration and despairing frustration — “Eat Your Catfish” is a documentary every bit as tough-minded as its title is unexpectedly playful.

Sarah Silverman and Seth Rogen are voicing characters in HBO Max’s naughty new animated TV series. 

Introducing, subject Blair said she allowed director Rachel Fleit to film her coping with multiple sclerosis treatments because she could not find examples of other people going them. Blair and director Rachel Fleit spoke with Deadline’s Matthew Carey at The Contenders: Documentary.

Jeffrey Robinson, the central figure of Sony Pictures Classics’ Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, says that despite a long-held belief across the nation that America has been a post-racial society, only now is the country being forced to reckon with that false narrative.

The filmmakers behind Julia, the in-depth exploration of iconic television cooking show host Julia Child, said her profound impact on the culture was felt far beyond introducing lovingly prepared French cuisine to a mass American audience.

Evgeny Afineevsky called his Pope Francis documentary Francesco a “healing moment” during a Discovery+ panel for the feature film at Deadline’s Contenders Documentary. He also said Pope Francis’ leadership inspired him during the Covid pandemic.

Arthur Ashe is an icon in the tennis world, breaking barriers to become the first Black male champion of three Grand Slams: the Australian Open; the U.S. Open; and, most famously, beating Jimmy Conners in 1975 to win Wimbledon. But on the other side of the net is Ashe’s work as an activist, which becomes the focus of CNN Films’ documentary Citizen Ashe.

The 1960s were a time of cultural upheaval for society in general, but also within the Roman Catholic Church.

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson took an immersive approach in his preparations to direct Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), winner of the top nonfiction prize at Sundance and Best Documentary at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

Homeroom filmmaker Peter Nicks, whose documentary delves into the lives of a high school class in Oakland, CA, dealing with troubling issues ranging from the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic to concerns about their school system’s internal police force, said his Hulu film reveals how the teen generation is eager and capable of using their mastery of social media to drive significant change.

The bracingly intimate feel of the documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry emerged because the pop singer at its center grew to trust the filmmakers enough to reveal her private pain on her own terms, the film’s director revealed.

Edgy rock band the Velvet Underground was an outgrowth of manager Andy Warhol’s avant garde art movement that over time has emerged as one of the most influential groups of the 1960s and ‘70s. It also exerted a powerful influence – particularly in the image crafted in Warhol’s films – on the way filmmaker Todd Haynes presented the group onscreen in the documentary The Velvet Underground.

Procession director Robert Greene said he would have stopped filming at any point if it was harming his subjects. He followed six survivors of sexual abuse by Kansas City priests as they re-created scenes of their experiences in the church. Greene spoke with Deadline’s Matthew Carey about the film for The Contenders: Documentary.

The affecting intimacy of Val, the sometimes ethereal, often unblinking look at Val Kilmer’s life and career through personal home footage, was a reflection of the actor’s unselfconscious ease, both on camera and in life, according to the documentary’s filmmakers.

The late African American civil rights activist, author and legal scholar Pauli Murray spent a lifetime taking on the system—fighting inequality, institutionalized racism and gender bias.

Flee director Jonas Poher Rasmussen revealed that it took animation to tell the true story of his childhood friend Amin’s harrowing journey as an Afghan refugee and the painful secrets he’s held for decades to allow him to finally tell his tale both anonymously and with deep emotion.

The First Wave director Matthew Heineman said his Covid documentary was both frightening and inspiring. Heineman followed medical personnel at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in the Queens borough of New York for four months in 2020. He spoke with Deadline’s Matthew Carey about the experience.

The HBO Max documentary LFG chronicles the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s fight for equal pay with the men’s team. But Team USA captain Becky Sauerbrunn and directors Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine appeared on a panel for the film at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event and said equal pay is about more than just money.

Filmmaker Morgan Neville borrows lyrics from a Kris Kristofferson song to describe the late chef, author and TV personality Anthony Bourdain: “Partly truth, partly fiction, a walking contradiction.”