Kathryn Ferguson
Talk Art
Russell Tovey and Robert Diament c/o Independent Talent
4.6 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2026
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Robert meets Belfast-born Kathryn Ferguson, an Emmy and BAFTA nominated, BIFA and IFTA winning director whose innovative and boundary-pushing documentary work has screened globally. We explore art as activism and how film has the power to reveal, and amplify, untold stories. Kathryn studied at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, and in 2022 was awarded the inaugural BFI & Chanel Award for Creative Audacity.
In 2018, Kathryn's short documentary Taking the Waters about Margate’s open water swimming premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest, and was long-listed for a BAFTA. Then, in 2021, Kathryn worked with Passion Pictures on the short Space to Be for The Guardian's acclaimed documentary series.
After a decade of short-form work centred on identity, gender politics, and community, Kathryn recently completed her debut feature documentary Nothing Compares - which takes as its subject Sinéad O'Connor's artistry and activism. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2022 then toured the international festival circuit, where it picked up multiple awards, before hitting cinemas in October 2022. It has received over thirty award nominations internationally, including Emmy, Critics Choice, IDA, and PGA Awards, and was awarded winner of Best Feature Documentary at BIFA 2022 and IFTA 2023. Nothing Compares is now available to watch on Showtime and Sky.
Her second feature, Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes (Universal), was released in US cinemas in 2024.
In 2024 she also co-founded Tara Films with producer Eleanor Emptage; their latest, Blue Road - The Edna O'Brien Story, premiered at TIFF 2024, and the company is currently developing a slate of non-fiction and drama projects. Alongside her film work, Ferguson has directed campaigns for Nike, Selfridges, Amnesty International, and Air France, and collaborated with artists such as Lady Gaga and Neneh Cherry.
Nostalgie, Kathryn's first drama short starring Aiden Gillen, about a faded 80's pop star, has recently been nominated for a BAFTA and won Best Short Film at the IFTAs 2026. The film is available to watch on Channel 4.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Good afternoon, good morning, good evening, wherever you are in the world. I am Robert |
| 0:07.6 | Diamant and you're listening to Talk Art. Welcome to Talk Art. Now today I am meditating on a thought, |
| 0:15.5 | which is one of art being activism. And I've been thinking a lot lately about the power of film in particular |
| 0:23.5 | and how often we think of film as entertainment or, you know, like Hollywood or going to the cinema, |
| 0:30.1 | all that kind of stuff. But I actually connect with film, well, I have been connecting with film |
| 0:34.4 | over the last few years in a kind of different way. Like obviously I've just interviewed Sir Isaac Julian and I was thinking about exhibition making |
| 0:41.3 | and creating film as activism in terms of an art context. But there's a film that I saw a few years |
| 0:48.2 | ago, which was produced and directed by today's guest, Nothing Compares was the biography of Sheneid O'Connor, |
| 0:56.8 | who was such an incredible artist, and it was actually the film that made me realize her |
| 1:02.7 | artistry beyond just the music, and really how music was a means to her, to tell her story, |
| 1:09.7 | and to kind of highlight the plight of others through an |
| 1:13.7 | artistic platform. But I feel like she could have actually been a painter or she could have |
| 1:17.3 | been a writer or, you know, it didn't really matter necessarily the medium that she chose. |
| 1:24.3 | It was really about what she had to say. And I feel like that about today's |
| 1:28.1 | guest, because I feel like she has been making such fascinating films. And each time, they're |
| 1:34.3 | very, very different. So I was initially introduced to her work through the amazing friend, |
| 1:39.5 | mutual friend we have called Emma Reeves. Emma has worked in the photography world for a long time |
| 1:44.8 | and was also at Rolling Stone and was actually part of that incredible Collier Shaw shoot |
| 1:50.3 | with Christian Stewart that we talked about at depth recently in Collier's episode on this same |
| 1:54.9 | season. So if you're listening to this now, go and check that out too. Emma's an extraordinary |
| 1:58.9 | person who sort of brings people together. And when I was moving to Margate, she told me about today's guest's film, |
| 2:04.7 | taking the water, which was just the most amazing, again, documentary about women and a |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 15 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Russell Tovey and Robert Diament c/o Independent Talent, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Russell Tovey and Robert Diament c/o Independent Talent and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.