DC/DOX, which just wrapped its fourth edition, gives the nation’s capital what it deserves – a first-rate nonfiction film festival. Not only is D.C. a major metropolitan area, of course, but so many prominent documentaries on pressing social and political issues connect directly to decisions made by policymakers there.

American Doctor, which screened at DC/DOX, confronts U.S. support of Israel and its decimation of Gaza. The climate crisis is the backdrop to Time and Water. Seized raises critical 1st and 4th Amendment issues. Freefall questions the corporate governance of Boeing, the aviation giant regulated by the FAA.

That’s not to say that every film programmed at DC/DOX explores such news making terrain. Some take us inside wonders of the scientific and natural world, like Phenomena and Super Nature; others reveal exceptional artists and personalities, like YO (Love Is a Rebellious Bird), Sara Bareilles: Good Grief and Los Lobos Native Sons.

On the latest edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we visit with DC/DOX co-founders Sky Sitney and Jamie Shor to learn how they program the cinematic event and how they’ve managed to turn the festival into one of the most important in the documentary space in only four years.

Continuing our exploration of nonfiction festivals, Doc Talk heads overseas to Millennium Docs Against Gravity in Poland for a discussion with artistic director Karol Piekarczyk. MDAG, held simultaneously in seven cities including Warsaw, has become the second-biggest documentary festival in Europe, behind only IDFA.

Many festivals in Europe, unlike in the U.S., rely on government support to fund their operations. That can present challenges if a festival programs a film or provides a platform for filmmakers who make statements that displease political leaders (case in point, the Berlin Film Festival in February). MDAG, however, gets much of its support from Bank Millennium. Piekarczyk explains how that relationship works and why it has insulated MDAG from some potential political interference.

On the new episode, hosts John Ridley and Matt Carey also get into the defamation lawsuit Tyra Banks recently filed against Netflix and producers of the docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, which depicts the reality TV show creator in a less-than-flattering light.

That’s on the new episode of Doc Talk hosted by Oscar winner Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Shirley) and Carey, Deadline’s senior documentary editor. The pod is a production of Deadline and Ridley’s Nō Studios.
Listen to the episode above or on major podcast platforms including Spotify, iHeart and Apple.