Westdoc Online

Writer and Film Festival Programmer ANTHONY KAUFMAN on the current status of documentaries

Producer Director IVY MEEROPOL and her doc on E. JEAN CARROLL who beat Trump in court for $88 million. Recorded May 26, 2026, 29 minutes. Recorded just a day before the Department of Justice announced their criminal investigation into the E. Jean Carroll case. In this powerful new episode of Westdoc Online the six‑year journey gaining access to E. Jean Carroll, the challenges of financing and prod...

In this new episode of Westdoc Online, Chuck Braverman sits down with visionary entrepreneur and filmmaker Michael Cioni, whose groundbreaking work has helped reshape modern digital filmmaking. From the early days of digital cinema and Final Cut Pro to his leadership at Frame.io and now his latest venture, Strada, Michael shares an insider’s perspective on the technologies transforming how films a...

This is the way Producer Director PARIS BARCLAY planned the new feature doc. Recorded March 2026, 28 minutes, Former president of the Directors Guild of America and one of television’s most prolific storytellers— an intimate, wide-ranging conversation about his latest documentary, Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It. We discuss Preston’s impact on the music world; his work with the Beatle...

Oscar nominee (one man band) producer, director, writer, cinematographer, SAM A. DAVIS creates a masterful short film. February, 2026, 25 minutes. The Singers short film is currently on Netflix and the filmmaker is interviewed by Chuck Braverman of Westdoc. In The SINGERS, a fiction film infused with documentary style, filmmaker Sam A. Davis quietly invades a broken down bar filled with broken dow...

Oscar nominated feature documentary producer, director, editor SARA KHAKI and MOHAMMADREZA EYNI recorded February, 2026, 35 minutes. Producer/director/editors Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni speak with passion about their Oscar nominated cinéma vérité film Cutting Through Rocks, the first Iranian feature documentary to be so honored. The project, eight years in the making, follows a mid-wife in a...

Lance Kramer, the director, and his brother Brandon Kramer, the producer, began filming "Holding Liat" when one of the hostages from October 7th turned out to be a relative. Both brothers work in Washington, D.C., where significant events were unfolding. This personal connection to the crisis fueled their desire to create a documentary that goes beyond the headlines.

Oscar short listed doc talk with Producer Director Eden Wurmfeld Jan 9, 2026 An extraordinary college‑level history class held inside an Oregon prison. Eden shares how the project began, the remarkable bonds formed between inside and outside students, and the transformative impact the experience had on everyone. This conversation offers a rare, moving look at education, vulnerability, and humanity...

A Deep Dive into Heartbeat Heartbeat is an Oscar-shortlisted documentary directed by filmmakers Jay Rosenblatt and Stephanie Rapp. This film, recorded in December 2025, runs for 26 minutes. It captures the intimate journey of a couple trying to have a baby. The film sheds light on the often unspoken experiences of pregnancy and miscarriage. In a candid conversation, Westdoc host Chuck Braverman sp...

Producers ANDREW JARECKI and CHARLOTTE KAUFMAN conversation Nov 2025. 31 mins HBO documentary The Alabama Solution exposes the brutal realities of the Alabama prison system. What begins as an exploration of resilience turns into a harrowing investigation of corruption, forced labor, secrecy, and systemic human rights violations.

Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo documentary short, recorded November 2025, 29 mins. Documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud was the first American journalist to die while reporting on the war in Ukraine. His younger brother and collaborator, Craig Renaud, and producer Juan Arredondo recovered Brent's body and his final recordings from Ukraine and brought them back to their childhood home in Arkansas. A...

First time director David Goldblum, doc short, recorded November 2025, 26 minutes. The Palisades and Eaton fires swept through Los Angeles, destroying 16,000 homes, including 270 in Big Rock, a section of Malibu. Director David Goldblum’s film, Big Rock Burning, chronicles the horror of that event. Goldblum lived in Big Rock. He speaks to Westdoc about running for his life, the lack of water in th...

Experienced producer, first time director David Bushell creates their Last Movie. Recorded October, 2025, 30 minutes   David Bushell, whose credits include scripted films going back to “Sling Blade” and “Dallas Buyers Club,” talks to Westdoc about his first documentary, Cheech & Chong - The Last Movie, the status of independent docs, and lifting the veil on two legendary comics (the original s...

In this compelling new episode of Westdoc Online, Chuck Braverman sits down with award-winning director Geeta Gandbhir to discuss her powerful Netflix documentary The Perfect Neighbor. The film tells the tragic story of Ajike Owens, a young Black mother murdered by a white neighbor in Florida, through an unprecedented trove of police body-cam footage. Gandbhir shares how a personal connection to t...

Director Jennifer Tiexiera and Co Director/DP Guy Mossman discuss the new documentary Speak with moderator Chuck Braverman.

An interview with the director producer of "It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley" a documentary about the fallen star of the 90s.

Director Matt Wolf takes us into the world of Pee-Wee as Himself in this episode of Westdoc Online. Host Chuck Braverman peels back the layers of Wolf’s journey—his battle for creative control with Paul Reubens, securing HBO’s backing, and collaborating with Hollywood heavyweights like producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff and the Safdie brothers.

Chuck Braverman speaks with filmmakers Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz about their extraordinary documentary chronicling the rise and leadership of the former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Director Sean O'Malley on making his film Blue: The Art and Life of George Rodrigue and how it got on 200 PBS stations.

Director/producer Robert Greenwald discusses his NEW documentary on Gaza and more.

Set against the backdrop of his son’s first five years of life—filmmaker Justin Simms looks at modern masculinity through the lens of fatherhood as he asks an increasingly urgent question: How do we teach our boys to be better men?

Listen to the full interview with the director and editor of "Art for Everybody" a documentary about Thomas Kinkade, the Painter of Light.

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH" is a very special episode of Westdoc interviewing producer director Alex Braverman and his life long obsession with Andy Kaufman and the eight year road to producing this feature documentary.

Horton tells us his formula for low budget scripted and documentary success with digital distribution with FilmHub mostly to FAST channels like Tubi, Mubi, Amazon Prime and dozens more.

Sugarcane is a documentary about injustices to Native American children for generations done by the Catholic Church in the US and Canada. This is an interview with the Producers.