Errol Morris Election Special

The Film Comment Podcast

Photography is by nature bittersweet: a warm moment with a loved one is captured forever, a reminder of an instant in time that can never be repeated. These conflicting feelings are deftly explored in Errol Morris’s latest documentary, The B-Side, which traces the career of Elsa Dorfman. Never seeking fame, Dorman forged lifelong friendships with counter-culture giants like Alan Ginsberg, and shot everyone from Bob Dylan to Jonathan Richman. A perfect expression of the challenges female artists have faced without overstating them, the film is a significant departure from Morris’s other work. However, when Film Comment Digital Editor Violet Lucca spoke with him the day after the second presidential debate, many of the themes that have run throughout his work—namely, the nature of truth—naturally arose. The director also talks about his upcoming Netflix series, documentary technique, and a few of his dream collaborations with heads of state.