Hello, and thanks for tuning in to another episode of The Directors Cut, a podcast by

the Directors Guild of America, featuring today's top directors sharing behind-the-scenes

stories of their latest films and insights into the craft of directing. Please take a second

to subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode takes us behind the scenes of director Eric Nelson's new documentary, The Cold Blue. The film uses newly restored 4K footage and outtakes from DGA and Oscar-winning

director William Weiler's 1944 documentary about the European Air War during World War II,

The Memphis Bell, a story of a flying fortress,

as well as narration from surviving B-17 pilots

to pay tribute to both Weiler and the men of the 8th Air Force.

The Cold Blue was screened as part of the DGA's documentary series, which aims to spotlight

groundbreaking non-fiction films for DGA members and guests by presenting screenings of documentaries,

as well as conversations with their directors.

In addition to the Cold Blue, Mr. Nelson's filmography includes the documentary features

a gray state, Dinotasia, filmography includes the documentary features, A Gray State, Dino Tasia,

JFK, The Final Hours, Scrapbooks from Hell, the Auschwitz albums, and Dreams with Sharp Teeth,

the movie for television, Anne Frank's Holocaust, and episodes of the series Pearl Harbor

Declassified, Journal of the Unknown, and Secrets and Mysteries.

Following the documentary series screening of the film at the DGA Theater in New York,

Mr. Nelson spoke with director Sandra LaCow about filming the cold blue.

During their conversation, Mr. Nelson discusses his collaboration with composer Richard

Thompson to score the film, his desire to remove the barriers from the past by using color footage

and shooting the interviews with the surviving veterans from the 8th Air Force.

...