Beyond The Lens Presented by Diesel Films

Eric Newman’s journey to the top of Showtime basketball was one of hard work and dedication. An accomplished basketball coach on the Nike circuit, Newman used an experience he had with Kobe Bryant at Rucker Park to springboard himself into the world of sports media. After grinding on the freelance market, Newman took his skills to Bleacher Report and then eventually to Showtime basketball where he helped create the mega popular podcast All The Smoke and directed the film we’ll talk about toda...

Steve James needs no introduction. In my opinion, the most prolific sports documentarian of all time. He took his vision from the Cabrini Greens playground in Chicago to what became Hoop Dreams, the most successful sports doc of all time, the film that paved the way for the proliferation of Sports Films on HBO Sports, 30 for 30, and Netflix. James has since gone on to produce and direct a variety of films from Prefontaine to America to Me, an award winning docuseries on the education system i...

Self taught and self-made, Rudy Valdez is a shooting star in the world of documentary filmmaking. After his sister was incarcerated for 15 years and separated from her 3 children for a first time, non-violent offense, Rudy Valdez picked up a camera & went on a 10 year journey documenting his family’s fight for her clemency and return back to her family. The culmination ended up being “The Sentence” a documentary which won the Audience Choice award at Sundance and was picked up by HB...

After a chance meeting with super producer Seth Gordon on his first film set as a production assistant, Clay Tweel quickly packed his bags and moved from Virginia to Los Angeles. In LA, Tweel honed his craft as a jack of all trades, he learned to edit and shoot, and Gordon quickly put him to work on what is now a cult classic, The King of Kong. Tweel took that experience, what he considers his masters degree in documentary filmmaking, and became a director himself. In 2014, a sizzle about Ste...

After winning a BAFTA nomination for their first documentary, McQueen, a Greek tragedy about fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen, Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhote turned their attention to another powerful subject, the Paralympics, its history, its challenges, and its awe inspiring athletes. Ettedgui, with his masterful writing and Bonhote with his dynamic visuals, made Rising Phoenix1 more than just a documentary but rather a cinematic masterpiece that cast the athletes not as disabled but ...

Not because it rhymes with his name, but John Dahl has literally done IT ALL at ESPN. Getting his first byline as a senior in high school at the Charlotte News, Dahl has been on a road to success since his teenage years on Tobacco Road. From Sports Century to The Last Dance, Dahl has had his hand in hundreds of documentary projects at ESPN, and today he will take us down memory lane. John’s experience and unique insight comes shining through in this latest edition of Beyond the Lens pres...