DOCUMENTARY maker Louis Theroux has been announced as one of the headline acts at the Edinburgh International Television Festival next month.
The Bafta-winning filmmaker, journalist and broadcaster will join writer and journalist, Dawn O’Porter in discussion about his pioneering career-to-date at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC)
Those wishing to attend the session will have to get up early – it’s scheduled for 9.30am in the Lennox suite of the EICC.
Theroux has made more than 60 documentaries over the last 20 years and some of them have become classics, with moments that provoke laughter as well as serious concern, including his memorable film about neo-Nazis in the USA which featured 10-year-old twins singing pro-Hitler songs.
READ MORE: Gerry Hassan: What kind of capital city does Edinburgh want to be?
“It’s been 18 years since I was at Edinburgh TV Festival,” said Theroux yesterday. “I’m thrilled to be coming back and talking to Dawn about my favourite films and shows and opening up about my own process.”
In the session entitled When Dawn Met Louis, O’Porter asks Theroux to reflect back on a career that has spanned two decades at the forefront of documentary making.
He will consider the genre of authored documentaries from Michael Moore, Nick Broomfield and Ruby Wax alongside works fronted by popular figures such as Stacey Dooley and Reggie Yates, through to the new wave of self-publishers on platforms such as YouTube. As part of the session, Theroux will reveal a selection of his current favourite clips.
As long-term friend and interviewer, O’Porter has a unique ability to push the right buttons to hear how Theroux approaches access, how he chooses his subjects and who he thinks is the “new Louis Theroux”.
READ MORE: Rory Stewart booked for Edinburgh International Book Festival
O’Porter said: “So excited for this. Louis continues to be the master of factual TV and I have endless questions to ask him about it all.”
Delegates will also gain an insight into what motivates Theroux and the diverse people he has met along the way, from his Weird Weekends series, following black nationalists, white supremacists and porn stars, to When Louis met and his experience and subsequent revelations regarding Jimmy Savile. The session will also look at his more recent Bafta-winning Altered States documentaries and his BBC Two doc which revisits the Westboro Baptist Church in Surviving America’s Most Hated Family.
Louis Theroux and Dawn O’Porter were booked by Ian Lamarra, the festival’s head of talent and creative director at Alaska TV. Lamarra will executive produce the session with development executive Toby Smith producing.
Lisa Campbell, chief executive and director of the festival said: “Louis Theroux is a hero to many in TV. He consistently tops our Talent Schemes’ poll of names who’ve inspired them to enter the industry.
“His name is synonymous with high quality, globally-renowned and ground-breaking documentary-making.
“With Dawn’s journalistic questioning and good humour, When Dawn Met Louis promises to be both enlightening and entertaining.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here