Making Media Now

Paul Burger , an Emmy-winning documentary producer and the founder of  Early Days Studios , joins host Michael Azevedo on this episode. Paul shares with Michael how Early Days was created to build premium nonfiction for a changing media landscape.  After 25 years of producing cinematic non-fiction for the world’s leading networks and streamers, Paul started Early Days to develop stories that seaml...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is first-time filmmaker Rogan O’Donnell to discuss his documentary InHuM AINE, a feature-length film examining the homelessness crisis in Bangor, Maine.   Developed over 19 months, the documentary weaves together narrative advocacy and applied clinical training to spotlight the humanity, resilience, and systemic inequities at the heart of this crisis.  ...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is journalist Addie Morfoot.   Addie covers media, entertainment and film for various publications. We reached out to ask her to chat after reading a recent article of her’s in The Ankler titled “2 Million Viewers or Bust: Inside Documentary’s Darwinian Collapse”.   According to Addie’s reporting, the Darwinian collapse referenced in that attention-grab...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is documentary filmmaker Nick Beaulieu, the director of a personal and thought-provoking film called "My Omaha," which will have its broadcast premiere on the PBS series Independent Lens on Oct 5. The film will also be available on the PBS app and its YouTube channel on the same day.   Set in Omaha, Nebraska — where the legacies of Malcolm X, racial seg...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Filmmakers Collaborative members Kerthy Fix and Paul Kloss to discuss their documentary "More Than Medicine" which follows four therapists navigating the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted therapy.    Paul and Kerthy have worked for the past 8 years doing the research, conducting the interviews, shooting and editing their documentary.  They made...

Host Michael Azevedo's guest on this episode is award-winning documentary filmmaker, former Olympian, and Filmmakers Collaborative member Mary Mazzio .   Mary’s latest film, conveniently titled "Mighty Mary" has been garnering all sorts of accolades and attention since it began its run in AMC theaters across the nation on September 11.   The response has been so enthusiastic that its big screen ru...

Host Michael Azevedo's guest on this episode is writer, director, and actor Ed Burns.   Ed has been a force in the movie world since his debut film "The Brothers McMullen" which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in 1995.   Over the ensuing 30 years, Ed has written and directed more than 15 films and has acted in numerous others, including Steven Spielberg’s "Saving Private Ryan."   Ed’s...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Nadia Gill the co-director of an insightful and thought-provoking documentary called The [Conserv]atives.   From summer 2021 through Donald Trump's re-election campaign, four Republican insiders wage an uphill battle to transform their party's stance on climate change from within. As extreme weather intensifies and the 2024 election approaches, they...

Director Valerie Veatch joins host Michael Azevedo on this episode to discuss her provocative documentary "Ghost in the Machine," which will have its broadcast debut on the PBS series Independent Lens on Sept. 14.    Valerie's film will also be available on the PBS Documentaries YouTube channel.   Valerie’s film examines AI’s troubled history and its present day impact.   "Ghost in the Machine" re...

Host Michael Azevedo recently had the pleasure of watching a captivating, thrilling and inspiring documentary called Women & The Wind (which is currently streaming for rent on Vimeo).   This intimate and beautifully made and thrilling film tells the story of 3 young women who literally throw caution to the wind and set out on a 2200 nautical mile voyage across the North Atlantic—from South Car...

Host Michael Azevedo is joined on this episode by Jenny Carchman, director of the riveting true-crime documentary “Whatever It Takes: Inside the eBay Scandal,” which is now streaming on Amazon Prime.    Jenny’s film unspools the chilling true crime saga of suburban bloggers from Natick, MA who were targeted in a terrifying cyberstalking campaign orchestrated by senior security executives at global...

On episode #200 of Making Media Now host Michael Azevedo chats with  Sophie Vershbow the co-host, along with Rudi Greenberg, of a new podcast called It Was A Book First , which as you might guess from the title is all about new book-to-screen adaptations.  On each episode Sofie and Rudi dissect the TV and film adaptations that are all across your feeds, what you'll be reading and watching next, an...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is former Hollywood studio executive and serial entrepreneur Steven Puri.   After working as an executive at three film studios and a producer on films such as "Die Hard 5" and "The Wolverine," raising $21MM of venture capital, and running 3 start-ups, Steven has learned some vital lessons about high-performancers and how nurturing focus—particularly fo...

We continue our 2-episode series of conversations with filmmakers who have documentaries playing at the 35th Annual Woods Hole Film Festiva l in scenic Woods Hole, MA which runs from July 25 to August 1 this year.   In this episode, I’m talking with award-winning cinematographer and director Cynthia Matty-Huber about her film "Hard Twist: Through The Lens of Barbara Van Cleve," which presents the...

The 35th Annual Woods Hole Film Festival in scenic Woods Hole, MA runs from July 25 to August 1 this year and we’re devoting a couple of episodes of Making Media Now to conversations with filmmakers who have documentaries playing at the festival.   First up is Michael Azevedo's conversation with 2-time Emmy winner Marilyn Ness, the director of The Endless Frontier an intimate, urgent portrait of t...

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by Nicholas Bruckman the co-director and producer of a fascinating documentary series currently airing on the Documentary+ platform called The Price of Milk , which dives into the untold story behind the '90s "Got Milk" campaign and leads a four-part investigative romp from the dairy farm to the White House, diving into Americans’ love/hate relationship with milk and...

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by Sasha Waters, the director of “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” a biographical documentary about poet Mary Oliver that is now playing in a limited theatrical release and which will broadcast on the PBS series American Masters in August.   Celebrated best-selling poet, Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but...

Award-winning documentary filmmaker and photojournalist Jessica Earnshaw joins host Michael Azevedo to discuss her latest film, "Baby Doe," which is currently playing in a limited theatrical release.   "Baby Doe" tells the story of Gail Ritchey who, 30 years ago, as a young woman from a conservative Christian community in rural Ohio, gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods.   Now a moth...

Director Alison Ellwood, whose latest music documentary is “Boy George & Culture Club”—which is now streaming on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video, joins host Michael Azevedo on this episode.   Alison’s documentary serves up an intimate and unfiltered look at Boy George’s meteoric rise to fame, the cultural impact of Culture Club, and the personal and professional challenges that shaped one of t...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Steve Humble, the chief content officer for VPM—Virginia’s home for the public media.    Steve is also the executive producer of “Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War,” a new documentary that will premiere on PBS on June 29.   When the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, the Founders – many of whom were slaveholde...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Paul Wagner and Ellen Casey Wagner, the filmmaking team behind “Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light," a feature length documentary that is now available on all VOD streaming services.   Narrated by Hugh Dancy and featuring Claire Danes as the voice of Georgia O’Keeffe, "The Brightness of Light" illuminates the extraordinary life and lasting in...

The original promise of the internet—creating community and a world where people enduring solitary personal struggles might feel less alone—was in full bloom back in 2006 when one friend, Renee, told another friend, Jamie, about a mental health crisis she was going through.    Jamie went on to write about the five days he spent with Renee before she entered a treatment center, and he sold T-shirts...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is director Theo Rigby to discuss his documentary "If I Could Stay," which will be premiere on PBS on June 1 and remain available to stream on PBS.org  and via the PBS app for 90 days thereafter.   Set in Colorado, If I Could Stay/Si Pudiera Quedarme follows two undocumented mothers, Jeanette and Ingrid, as they face deportation and the threat of being...

Although it may be hard to detect, a quiet revolution is underway:   As the real-world consequences of social media come into focus, and AI’s invasion into every aspect of our lives feels imminent, a new generation of parents and teens are stepping forward to challenge the systems shaping their lives and fight for a different future, one where Big Tech doesn’t get to define the terms of human conn...

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Suzannah Herbert and Darcy McKinnon, the director and producer of the award-winning documentary " Natchez ," which will air on PBS on May 11 as part of the Independent Lens Series.   The film is also currently available for VOD streaming on multiple platforms including Apple TV, Prime Video, and YouTube TV.   Winner of the best documentary feature a...