TV Documentary panel: ‘Brats,' ‘Chef's Table,' and ‘Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band'

Yahoo

28-05-2025

Gold Derby recently gathered together four top TV documentary filmmakers to discuss their passion for nonfiction storytelling, the art of translating someone else's life to the screen, and what films and TV shows inspired them to embark on careers in Hollywood. Joining our Meet the Experts: TV Documentary and Nonfiction roundtable panel are Brats director Andrew McCarthy, Chef's Table directors David Gelb and Brian McGinn, and Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band director Thom Zimny.
Watch the full roundtable above. Click each person's name to watch an individual discussion.
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"You just don't know what the hell is going to happen," says McCarthy, reflecting on the unpredictable nature of documentary filmmaking. He emphasizes the importance of adapting to unfolding realities. "I thought I would know where I wanted to go. Then, being able to see what is actually happening versus what I wanted to have happen — things were most successful when I was able to recognize that and pivot."
McCarthy compares the documentary process to narrative filmmaking: "In narrative, you're running out of time, so you have to throw out your shot list and do it as a oner or something. In documentary, it was [finding the truth] and following that, but also bringing it back to the story you know you want to tell. There are a lot of interesting rabbit holes that have nothing to do with the story you're telling."
Both Gelb and McGinn started out as aspiring fiction filmmakers. "When we started making Chef's Table, it was the beginning of this era where a cinematic approach — not that different from the narrative universe — could be brought to these subjects that are right outside our door," McGinn says. "One of the great parts of documentary filmmaking is how much you can learn as a filmmaker about yourself and about how other creative people operate. Inspirational role models exist in all walks of life and everyone has something to offer."
Echoing McGinn's sentiments, Gelb shares the unique approach Chef's Table takes with its subjects: "Each episode is a life lesson. We've often found that the chefs don't actually know what the lesson is. We sort of disarm them with this four or five hour interview process. Through that, it becomes like a therapy session. There has to be a purpose behind what we're doing, and the chefs are searching for that as well. That synthesis is really meaningful. Every director on the show forms a bond with the chefs they're working with. We've been through this emotional journey together. That's what sets our show apart — the ability to go so deep, build that relationship, and then reflect it on the screen."
For Zimny, his journey into documentary filmmaking — particularly projects focused on music — was influenced by his dyslexia and a deep connection to music. "Andrew mentioned letting go of the idea of control, and [Gelb] mentioned five-hour interviews. I relate deeply to that. You're unpacking things, you're in the moment. In the cutting room you're hoping you're not going to have this moment of, 'What did I get?' In the moment, it's five hours of association, being present, and listening."
Zimny's background as an editor played a key role in shaping his filmmaking style. "I started as an editor. That was my deep connection with the musical rhythms of both language and cutting — and then just having a true love of music history."
After sharing reflections on their creative processes, the filmmakers exchanged questions and complimented each other's work. They then revealed which TV shows or movies inspired them to become filmmakers.
"Gilligan's Island," McCarthy quickly remarks. "I used to watch when I was a little kid and then I would go outside and pretend that there were cameras everywhere. My life was a television show. I remember being in my front yard thinking, 'There's a camera behind that tree over there.' It didn't last long, but it was certainly a moment a lightbulb went off."
McGinn cites Apocalypse Now as the movie that first inspired him to make him films, but says Errol Morris influenced both him and Gelb the most as documentarians: "Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control and later Tabloid, because I love the way that people, through interview, almost by accident, would reveal the truth about themselves in his films."
Gelb says Star Wars also had a huge impact on him, perhaps more so because of the toys associated with the film than the movie itself. "You could make up your own stories in your own little off-shoots and act them out," he explains.
Zimny reveals he was obsessed with classic "Warner Bros. noir" films like Angels With Dirty Faces. "It had a narrative of good and bad," he explains. "I took my cassette player, recorded it against the TV, and would rewind it and listen, and listen — I was editing it in my mind's eye. That was the start of believing in a narrative so much that you feel like you're dropping into it. I was living in my own movie."
Brats is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Chef's Table is streaming on Netflix.
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
This article and videos are presented by Disney, Hulu, and Netflix.
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