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. 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 270+ interviews 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 features long-form interviews exploring how filmmakers approach their craft, navigate distribution, and build sustainable careers. 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 real-world experience to uncover the deeper lessons behind the work. Documentary First is the only podcast in the documentary filmmaking space hosted by a working filmmaker with active projects in production and an archive of 270+ conversations spanning every corner of the industry. If you make documentaries or want to, this is your show. 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

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Episode 44 | Picture Lock

Thanks to the many focus groups in 2019 Christian Taylor has accumulated a long list of things to fix and improve in The Girl Who Wore Freedom. The goal is to be "picture locked" by February 6th so th...

10 Jan 202014min

Episode 43 | Rights & Clearances

When you're making a film, remember to take notes about the archival footage, usage rights, and sources for everything added to the film. Learn from our first time filmmaker, Christian Taylor as she t...

3 Jan 202022min

Episode 42 | Birthday in TN

Christian Taylor visits her family in Tennessee and (surprise, surprise), she screens the film. While she was there she hears new stories that make her start thinking about her next film. (Is there so...

27 Dec 201921min

Episode 41 | Coast to Coast

In this episode, co-host and Director Christian Taylor recap focus groups events from one coast to the other: The Villages, Florida to Phelan, California. These two focus groups were on different ends...

20 Dec 201922min

Episode 40 | Branson

In this episode, co-host and Director Christian Taylor recaps her experience running two of the most impactful focus groups so far at the Branson Military Film Festival. Hear how the original girl who...

13 Dec 201914min

Episode 39 | Collaborators

Collaboration on a project as large as a film like The Girl Who Wore Freedom is difficult. Films take years to produce and it's natural for our priorities or goals to shift along the way. In this epis...

6 Dec 201917min

Episode 38 | Blessings

In this special Thanksgiving episode, first-time filmmaker Christian Taylor looks back over the last year and shares the many things for which she's thankful. Want to help us make the film? We need vo...

29 Nov 201915min

Episode 37 | Networking

In the heat of the moment, you can feel very low when you feel like a meeting or focus group goes poorly. But it's impossible to know how a single conversation will lead to more opportunities and ulti...

22 Nov 201916min