Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film Pure Nonfiction

"The Contestant" takes us back to the early days of reality TV in Japan. An aspiring comedian named nicknamed Nasubi ("eggplant") auditions for the hit show Denpa Shonen, known for real people performing crazy stunts. The show’s producer Toshio Tsuchiya brings Nasubi to a room and tells him to get undressed. The room contains a rack of magazines and little else. Toshio informs Nasubi that he needs to fill out magazine sweepstakes coupons to win his food and clothing. He can’t leave the room until he’s reached one million yen of prizes. It sounds crazy, but Nasubi lived by the terms of this concept for over a year, not realizing that his life was being turned into a weekly TV program with millions of viewers.Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews first time filmmaker Clair Titley about how she pulled off the film with the help of her producer Megumi Inman and the production company Misfits. "The Contestant" is now streaming on Hulu.

On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

The non-profit Just Vision has a long history of covering Israel-Palestine in documentary films such as "Encounter Point," and "Budrus." Currently all their films are available for free at justvision.org. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers speaks with the group's creative director Julia Bacha and executive director Suhad Babaa about their latest film "Boycott" and how their work changed with the recent escalation of violence.

On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Growing up in Kolkata, Sreemoyee Singh fell in love with Iranian cinema and poetry. She pursued that passion by moving to Iran, learning Persian and capturing her journey in her debut documentary "And, Towards Happy Alleys." The title comes from a poem by Forough Farrokhzad who was a major inspiration for Sreemoyee. During her trip, she meets with filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Shirvani, actress Aida Mohammadkhani ("The White Balloon"), and human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.

The film has been on a festival run including Berlin, CPH:DOX and Sheffield. On April 18, Pure Nonfiction will host a screening with Sreemoyee at New York’s IFC Center, co-presented by Bitchitra Collective and Scroll.in. Click here for tickets.

On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Mila Turajlić has spent over 20 years exploring the legacy of Yugoslavia. Now she has two new films that draw upon the extraordinary archive of cameraman Stevan Labudovic who traveled the world in the 1950s and 60s capturing the anti-colonial fight for independence across Africa and Asia. The films are "Non-Aligned" and "Ciné-Guerillas" both subtitled "Scenes from the Labudovic Reels."

On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"The Mother of All Lies" won the Cannes Film Festival directing prize for Un Certain Regard and was Morocco's official submission for the Oscars. First time filmmaker Asmae El Moudir discusses how she overcame obstacles in the eight year experience of making the film.

Host Thom Powers interviewed Asmae in front of a live audience at the CPH:DOX festival. Watch the film's trailer.

On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

"In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon" covers the highs and lows of the musician's career as he goes into the studio to create his most recent album "Seven Psalms" that was released in 2023 to critical acclaim. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed filmmaker Alex Gibney live at the CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen.