Doc Walks

Join Ben as he walks solo with Patrick Heaphy—a New York producer/director and music doc extraordinaire. Together they saunter across South Congress, past the Continental Club to Arlyn Studios. Pat's the filmmaker behind CHARLEY CROCKETT: $10 COWBOY documentary—now screening at Austin Film Festival—but his career path runs through a Nancy Kerrigan vampire clip (the lav accessory, of course), the 1...

Meet Rena Effendi—National Geographic photographer, and first-time filmmaker whose SEARCHING FOR SATYRUS just won the top doc prize at the Austin Film Festival. This walk is pure magic—seemingly in honor of her butterfly-hunting film, monarch butterflies flit all around us like they know something the rest of us don't. Rena's film traces her hunt for one of the world's rarest butterflies, named af...

We've been trying to book this walk with director Chelsea Hernandez for weeks, but she's just too-busy city-hopping for the PBS music doc-series to hit the trail with us—until now. Chelsea is an Emmy-nominated director, a part of the Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and a great friend!   On a return from a recent shoot in Puerto Rico for CITY OF SONGS, Chelsea found that her living room ceiling had collapse...

Keith wanders LA's Atwater Village with acclaimed producer Megan Gilbride—a co-conspirator on TOWER, A SONG FOR YOU, and DEAR MR. BRODY. We stroll the neighborhood, two old friends and frequent collaborators, outlining just how Megan's the "producer kind of crazy" and not the "director kind of crazy." Megan's got theories and she has opinions—and she's got the experience to back them all up. This...

Welcome to Austin Studios, the airport-turned-soundstages located at the intersection of Austin Film Society and Richard Linklater's Detour Filmproductions… and who better to catch on the backlot than Mike Blizzard? A producer known for APOLLO 10½, HIT MAN, and this month's BLUE MOON, all made with longtime collaborator Richard Linklater, Mike takes us through the old airport hangars where MISS CO...

We're wandering through a mystery neighborhood (we don't know the name) with Alex Ross Perry, who has TWO movies screening in Austin on the same day. Here to promote his 10-year passion project VIDEO HEAVEN—an essay film about video stores screening at Austin Film Society, and his part of the omnibus VHS series at Fantastic Fest, Alex has built up a fair amount of cred since 2014's LISTEN UP, PHIL...

This week we're roaming from Go-Valley (the production compound) thru Govalle (the neighborhood) with Marfa, TX-based filmmaker Hillary Pierce, a producing force behind Ben Masters' THE RIVER AND THE WALL, and Maisie Crow's AT THE READY.. Hillary's path involves assisting the legendary Albert Maysles in New York (yes, he ate her leftovers), looping back to Austin, and then simultaneously working o...

Ben crashes the Matt and Bob show to talk WINNEBAGO MAN, viral videos before viral was a thing, and tracking down an angry RV salesman living as a hermit in Northern California. The conversation rips through documentary evolution—from Ken Burns photo zooms to Tiger King (quick: who directed it? exactly)—and lands on why docs are the offensive linemen of film: you don't know their names, but you ne...

This one is pure gold! Join Ben on a solo walk with the legendary Maureen Gosling—a prolific documentary editor and director, and a longtime collaborator of Les Blank. Dig into the makings-of iconic films like SPROUT WINGS AND FLY, GAP-TOOTHED WOMEN and BURDEN OF DREAMS, and explore Maureen's latest work, THE NINE LIVES OF BARBARA DANE. We dive deep into the fascinating twists and turns of Maureen...

A walk down docu-memory lane as we welcome Ben's early filmmaking collaborator, roommate, and mentor Bradley Beesley…. A prolific and adventure-prone docmaker, Bradley's created acclaimed docs OKIE NOODLING 1 & 2, FEARLESS FREAKS, and SWEETHEARTS OF THE PRISON RODEO—among others. This walk takes us through Brad & Ben's old neighborhood, with a stop in front of the house they shared in French Place...

Summer's done and Fall is Falling as we (Keith & Ben) check in with each other about the state of our respective projects and how we go from development to production (fingers crossed). We don't have the answers, but we each have our approaches to deck-creation, sizzle reel sizzling, pitching & fundraising, all to get into the 'making' part of filmmaking. Ben shares details about his doc project D...

Two-time Sundance winner Reid Davenport is in town with his new film LIFE AFTER. We were excited to book time with Reid and his producer Colleen Cassingham for a  sit-down with Keith at the Austin Film Society Cinema. Reid shares the story behind what drew him to telling this complex story about the issues attached to state sanctioned assisted suicide and talks about his early filmmaking days wher...

It's a sobering summer day in Austin as we invite the Austin Chronicle's  Richard Whittaker out for a walk. Fresh off the presses, Richard has researched and written a story that details the ramifications of the recent defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the impact that this move has on independent documentaries. We get into it, talking up the history and significance of PBS a...

We talk a lot about mentorship on this podcast—so it makes sense that we'd bring a pivotal mentor to both of us into the mix. Join us as we find a shady spot on the campus of the University of Texas as DocWalks becomes DocTalks with Dr. Paul Stekler. We'll get into Paul's POV from many angles—from his days as a Harvard PhD, to his filmmaking roots in New Orleans, through his role as the chair of t...

This week we're breaking out of the non-fiction world to talk fictionalization with Oscar-nominated writer/director Greg Kwedar. Fresh off the awards trail with last year's SING SING, Greg shares insights and ideas about turning documentary style research into based-on-a-true-story truth. It's a light-hearted walk through Hyde Park, with another stop at a shady creek, as we dig into Greg's approac...

Take a stroll with Reed Harkness, Portland-based creator behind SAM NOW, a creative portrait that follows the journey of the Harkness brothers, Reed and Sam, as they search for Sam's mother who mysteriously disappeared in the year 2000. This walk mirrors Reed's film, becoming a moving and unexpectedly epic conversation about family, loss, and long-haul filmmaking. This one takes us off the trail,...

After 15 DocWalks Keith & Ben take a look back. Where did we start, where are we going? Walk with us as we discuss the evolution of the podcast, highlighting some highs and glossing-over some lows along the way. In addition to all that, we talk (as always) about changes in the film industry, notably Texas' new film incentives, and share some enthusiasm for upcoming episodes, including deep dives i...

We're off to Kansas! Or… Ben is. He's flying back to to Lawrence, Kansas, to interview one of his professors from his days at the University of Kansas — Academy Award-winning filmmaker and KU professor Kevin Willmott. Known for co-writing BLACKKKLANSMAN with Spike Lee, Wilmott shares personal stories of his journey from a young creative in Kansas to an Oscar award-winning filmmaker. This one is ja...

This one's a little different… Keith gets off the trail for an old-fashioned sit-down conversation with Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, the acclaimed husband-wife filmmaker duo behind the BOYS STATE and this year's MIDDLETOWN. Jesse and Amanda share insights and highlights from their films, their career, and the challenges and opportunities that come from working together as a married couple and fi...

Acclaimed filmmaker Sandi DuBowski has come to our hometown to present SABBATH QUEEN at Austin Film Society's Doc Days. Twenty-one years in the making, Sandi has grown up with this film… and they're taking the show on the road with dozens of fests, scores of community screenings, and an art house tour to rival any indie film this year. Sandi takes us on a heartfelt exploration of their work, from...

Known for her versatility as a director, producer, showrunner, and distribution advocate, Avril Speaks joins us this week to walk and doc. From her theological start to her producing days on the SXSW award-winning feature JINN, Avril delves into the importance of storytelling, her transition into nonfiction during the pandemic, and her advocacy for better distribution practices. And, she's our fir...

It's a picture perfect spring morning in East Austin, a beautiful walk made better by the presence of our guest, acclaimed filmmaker Kahane Corn Cooperman, in Austin to premier CREEDE, USA, her newest doc. Keith & Ben explore Kahane's illustrious career, from her 1991 Sundance debut with COOL WATER, to her days behind-the-scenes of DAZED AND CONFUSED, through nearly two decades as a producer and E...

The flowers are blooming, Ben's chasing squirrels while Keith eyes the skies over Hyde Park for hawks… oh, and we're talkin' docs. Spring brings up new thoughts about New Media and the docmakers role vs the "influencer's paradise" of Youtube and social media.  This episode steps into Ben & Keith's perspectives on storytelling approaches and the future of media consumption — and we even stop to sme...

Taking it back to the indie film boom of the 90s with super-sales-agent John Sloss of Cinetic Media. Walking through the tree-filled Zilker neighborhood in an escape from SXSW, John shares his career journey from a life-changing pickup basketball game with John Sayles to  longtime associations with film legends like Richard Linklater, John Pierson and Errol Morris. Ben & Keith eat up the stories o...

Drink up the scene like a local as Keith & Ben chat up their fellow Austinites (and a few out of town visitors) at the annual Austin Film Society Parking Lot Party at SXSW. This episode is a veritable smorgasbord of festival conversation including appearances by local filmmakers Cassie Hay, Tracy Frazier & Karen Skloss; festival programmers like Bart Weiss and James Faust; SXSW-premiering CREEDE,...