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Documentary First

The craft and business of documentary filmmaking, from people who actually do it.

Documentary First is a weekly podcast for working and aspiring documentary filmmakers who want honest, in-depth conversations about how documentaries get funded, made, and seen. Listen Notes ranks the show in the top 5 percent of all podcasts worldwide.

Hosted by Christian Taylor, award-winning director of The Girl Who Wore Freedom (25+ international awards, distributed through Virgil Films, Swank, and Canal+), the show draws on 295+ conversations with documentary filmmakers, editors, producers, distributors, and composers across HBO, Netflix, PBS, and the independent doc world. Past guests include Ken Burns, PBS American Masters creator Susan Lacy, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning editor Charles Olivier (HBO’s The Jinx, The Redeem Team), and Emmy-nominated director Nick Bruckman (Netflix’s Minted).

Every week, Documentary First delivers two formats in one feed. The main show is a long-form interview about how filmmakers approach their craft, handle distribution, and build a career that lasts. On alternating weeks, Documentary First: The Deep Dive takes a single insight from a recent guest conversation and goes further, drawing on psychology, philosophy, and hard-won experience to find the lesson underneath the work.

Christian hosts from inside the work, not from the sidelines. She has films in production right now, so she asks the questions a working documentary filmmaker actually needs answered, because she needs them answered too.

Topics include: documentary directing, documentary producing, documentary distribution, film festival strategy, fundraising for documentaries, storytelling craft, documentary cinematography, documentary editing, film music and scoring, sound design for film, entertainment law for filmmakers, archival footage and rights clearance, and building a sustainable career in nonfiction filmmaking.

New episodes every week. Subscribe and leave a review.

Instagram: @documentaryfirst | Facebook: @documentaryfirst | X: @Doc_First | TikTok: @documentaryfirst | YouTube: @DocumentaryFirst | LinkedIn: documentaryfirst | documentaryfirst.com

Copyright: © Documentary First, all rights reserved.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 111 | Translation Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

Today we're joined by Michelle Coupey. But first, we need an update about the Film. Christian fill us in on some interesting goings on in Wyoming, and Christian won another award, this time from a monthly film competition.

Christian fills us in on new film festivals THIS WEEK, so be sure to listen in and see if you can attend.

We talk through the light and dark of a distribution deal.

Then, we talk through the hurdles of overcoming dual language film, particularly when you don't speak one of them. Michelle recalls how she met Christian and how she came to work on the film as a co-producer and French translator. Christian explains the different translations methods they tried, and failed, and the system they ended up using.

Episode 110 | Festival Directing Apr 15, 2021

Show notes

We're joined by Ron Tucker, director for the Beaufort Film Festival of which The Girl Who Wore Freedom was a part of last February. He has stories galore about the film world and expert advice about making it in the film business.

Episode 109 | Deliverables - Part 2 Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

*Note: Please excuse the few seconds that got clipped in the beginning, we're adjusting to our new recording software, Zencaster, thanks for understanding!

Today we have no guest! Which, feels a little weird. It's just Christian, Josh and Jason this week.

In this episode, we talk about the announcement on social media of the TGWWF distribution deal, as well as the release announcement strategy and the people behind the announcement plan.

We discuss recent viewership of the film, including how it was received during the free screening weekend (through the Normandie-WWII and Thin Line Film Festivals) by the French people, and in 26 other countries. We talk through the importance of story and film criticism.

Christian gives her thoughts about how to hook your audience, what 'The Chosen' gets right, and we discuss grabbing your audience using what they can easily relate to and by the their emotions and compelling them to support your project.

We talk through distribution plans, participating in the marketing for The Girl Who Wore Freedom, and being an active participant in helping the film make money.

After that, we go back to deliverables!

Episode 108 | Alex Maier Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

Today we're joined by Alex Maier, a filmmaker Christian met at the Flathead Lake Film Festival.

Alex tells us about his history in hiking/backpacking, how he started making films.

We talk through the technical hurdles of being an outdoor filmmaker, the advent of digital cinema, and how it changed the game. Alex tells us about Splitboarding, how he got into it, and the growing movement toward splitboarding.

We talk about self distribution, the day job, and what life is like as an outdoor filmmaker.

Episode 107 | Electric Jesus Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

What's a “faith based” movie? What about a “faith laced” movie?

Chris White, Director, Writer, Producer, and Actor, of the film, “Electric Jesus” joins us to dig into portraying a subculture without parodying or denigrating it, and talks casting and song writing.

We talk charisma, how to hook people with an idea, and Chris shares what he's learned from making films.

Episode 106 | Tim Gray Mar 17, 2021

Show notes

This week we talk with Tim Gray. Tim is an accomplished award-winning filmmaker with nearly 30 documentary films under his belt. He's won 5 regional Emmys. He is the founder and president of the WWII Foundation, as well as the WWII Film Festival that takes place in Normandy each year.

Episode 105 | Deliverables - Part 1 Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

This week we hear about website optimization and film deliverables! I swear, it’s more interesting than it sounds!

Check out the updated “watch” page for The Girl Who Wore Freedom here: https://thegirlwhoworefreedom.com/festivals/

Then, Christian’s headed to Iowa! The film has been accepted to YET ANOTHER Festival. With a CASH prize? We dig into the financial aspect of film festivals.

Then we talk about Deliverables. What are they? How do they work? What sorts of things do you need to plan ahead for?

Episode 104 | Festival Lessons Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

We get an update on how the film festivals went, awards won, and then we get into some facts about The Girl Who Wore Freedom’s Festival run.

Christian walks us through the process of entering film festivals. There are many stages, confusing titles, and work arounds.

Christian recounts theater experiences, how important and rewarding it is to see/hear how your film impacts people, and how that’s missing during the pandemic. Then we hear about how important film festivals are for local economies.

Episode 103 | Behind the Strings Feb 24, 2021

Show notes

We get an update about the film, film festivals, and we hear from Jason and Josh, who were not at all prepared for this. Christian talks us through some of the other films at the festival.

Then we are joined by Michael Peroff, a filmmaker who’s film Behind the Strings dives deep into Chamber Music and the Shanghai Quartet.

Michael fills us in on how he discovered Chamber Music, his history, and gives us a synopsis of the film and how it’s effected him.

Episode 102 | Witness Underground Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

Scott Homon will be the guest for this episode. Here is the link to his website if you would like to check out some of his work. https://www.bananaislandfilms.com/#1

If you would like to take a look at his film you can see it here: https://vimeo.com/467400311

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