Ondi Timoner and her filmmaker panelists talk the art of documentary filmmaking at the 2019 Sidewalk Film Festival.

WeTalk — Docs in a New Spotlight

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Phyllis Toben Bancroft is a writer, director and producer whose films explore women, identity, memory, longing and transformation. Her work includes SPENT, which won a $100,000 award from Johnson &amp; Johnson and aired on BET; Burned; and the award-winning …with salt, which screened at more than 30 film festivals internationally. Her latest release, Echoes: Four Stories of Becoming, now available on Amazon Prime Video, brings together four of her films. An alumna of the AFI Conservatory, Bancroft is currently developing her feature film Hide and Seek. (Photo by Amina Touray.)

Phyllis Toben Bancroft

Film

The Things That Echo: What Four Films Taught Me About Becoming

Alison Star Locke earned a B.F.A. in Filmic Writing from USC, where she won the Jack Nicholson Screenwriting Award. She began her career as a reality TV Story Producer and writing, directing and producing numerous shorts. After staying home to advocate and care for her daughter, who has autism, she returned to work to write and direct The Apology, her first feature, a psychological thriller starring Anna Gunn, Linus Roache and Janeane Garofalo and is available on Shudder, AMC+, Blu-Ray and VOD. Her comedy horror short, Pick Up Time, was laureled up at fests, including Nightmares, Renegade, etc. She recently produced the zombie horror/relationship drama short, Until the End. She lives with her husband and daughter in the LA area. Her work focuses mainly on motherhood, gender disparity, disability and having fun getting your rage out. You can find her on socials at @alisonstarlocke.

Alison Star Locke

Feeding the Babadook in the Basement

<div>As a filmmaker, writer and educator, Tony Gault explores the confluence of personal history and cultural memory.  He is currently writing a memoir about his adventures with addiction, recovery and the mind-manifesting nature of cinema.  His experimental and documentary films have screened at festivals around the world including Edinburgh International, Sundance, Tribeca, NY Underground, Montreal International, Chicago Underground, San Francisco International and have won awards at Black Maria, Ann Arbor, Big Muddy and New Orleans.</div>

Tony Gault

“Noble, Upstanding, Nauseating Liquids”: On The Lost Weekend

Julia Marchese is a filmmaker, writer, actor, podcaster, film programmer, VHS Vixen &amp; film critic. She’s known for directing the award-winning feature documentary Out of Print, an acclaimed exploration of repertory cinema culture and film preservation. She also adapted Stephen King’s short story I Know What You Need into an award-winning short film. Julia co-hosts the podcasts Horror Movie Survival Guide, The Loser’s Club and JodoWOWsky, reviews a VHS from her rainbow wall every day on her social media channels and writes about cinema for Talkhouse. Her work frequently explores nostalgia, genre cinema, physical media culture, and the communal power of moviegoing. She is @juliacmarchese on all platforms.

Julia Marchese

Richies & Rebels: On Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Pretty in Pink at 40

Nick Dawson talks with filmmakers, musicians and comedians whose work he loves, avoiding the mundane, predictable questions they&#8217;ve heard numerous times and instead asking substantive, thoughtful questions that get to the heart of who they are.

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Avalon Fast

Tamara Yajia is an Argentine writer, comedian and former child star who is the author of the memoir <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/cry-for-me-argentina-9781639733910/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cry for Me, Argentina</a>, which is out now in paperback through Bloomsbury. She has written for ClickHole, Funny Or Die, and several TV series, including Acapulco, This Fool and the upcoming Netflix animated series Strip Law. Tamara has performed on The Moth and was featured on NPR&#8217;s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and her dog, Odie.

Tamara Yajia

Evita, Ballet and How I Became “The Girl Who Broke Her Pussy”

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Talkhouse

Mal Not Bad is the solo project of LA-based musician Mal Hauser. Their record Sophomore will be out September 9, 2026.

Mal Not Bad

Music

Mal Not Bad and Jon Gries Have a Great Time

Podcast

987. – Chris & Jason

827: Marion Nestle on Fibermaxxing, RFK Jr, and Collecting Cereal Boxes

MOVING TO PORTLAND III

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore with Katey Rich

826: Korean Drinking Culture Got the Book It Deserved with Irene Yoo

Producer/director&nbsp;Ondi Timoner has the rare distinction of winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Her 2004 doc, <a href="http://www.interloperfilms.com/portfolio/dig/">Dig!</a>, explores the star-crossed rivalry of the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, while her 2009 top prize-winner, <a href="http://www.interloperfilms.com/portfolio/we-live-in-public/">We Live in Public</a>, examines privacy in the virtual age through Internet visionary Josh Harris&#8217; social experiments. Her company <a href="http://atotaldisruption.com">A Total Disruption</a>&nbsp;releases weekly short docs about thought leaders and doers who are transforming our lives through technology.

Ondi Timoner

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Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Nicolas Winding Refn