Nathan Fielder’s Secret Documentary Debuts at Telluride

Nathan Fielder and filmmaker Lance Oppenheim unveiled their previously secret documentary You Can See Everything at the Telluride Film Festival. The A24 project follows Elizabeth Holmes during the 34 days before her prison reporting date and was developed over three years, with a theatrical release planned for October.

Key Takeaways

• Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim co-directed You Can See Everything.
• The documentary premiered as a surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival.
• The film follows Elizabeth Holmes before she reported to prison.
• A24 released a teaser for the documentary alongside its Telluride unveiling.
• The film is scheduled for theatrical release in October.

Nathan Fielder Documentary Debuts at Telluride

The secret screening at the Telluride Film Festival revealed You Can See Everything, a documentary directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. The project had been made largely in secret and was presented to festival audiences without a conventional advance announcement.

The film centers on Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos founder, during the 34 days before she was due to report to prison. Fielder and Oppenheim’s cameras document Holmes during that period as she prepared for incarceration.

The documentary was developed over three years rather than remaining limited to the period immediately before Holmes entered prison. Its production therefore extends beyond the initial access that established the film’s premise.

A24 is releasing the documentary theatrically in October. The studio also released a teaser in connection with the Telluride premiere, giving audiences the first public footage from the project.

The Telluride screening served as the public unveiling of a film that had remained largely undisclosed during production. Its appearance on the festival schedule was treated as a secret screening, with the documentary revealed to audiences at the event.

Lance Oppenheim Co-Directs the A24 Documentary

Oppenheim joined Fielder as co-director on the documentary, bringing a documentary filmmaking background to the project. The two filmmakers worked together on a production that remained confidential for much of its three-year development.

Fielder is known for creating Nathan For You and The Rehearsal, while Oppenheim directed the documentaries Some Kind of Heaven and Primetime. Their collaboration places the project between Fielder’s established television work and Oppenheim’s documentary filmmaking.

The documentary’s focus on nonfiction filmmaking also connects with recent documentary storytelling work examining the responsibilities involved in presenting real-world subjects on screen.

The directors gained access to Holmes and her family before her imprisonment. The film’s opening period follows Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans, during the weeks before she reports to prison.

The filmmakers were given access to Holmes’ home and daily life during that period. The resulting footage forms the starting point for a documentary that extends beyond a straightforward account of the days immediately preceding her incarceration.

The three-year production also allowed the filmmakers to continue developing the project after its initial period of access. That extended production timeline is part of the film’s official description and distinguishes the project from a documentary confined to a single event or short filming period.

Film Follows Elizabeth Holmes Before Prison

The documentary begins 34 days before Holmes was scheduled to report to federal prison. During that period, she invited the film crew to document her life, creating the access that forms the basis of the project.

Holmes’ conversations with Fielder appear in the teaser released by A24. The footage shows Fielder directly engaging with Holmes as the two discuss whether she is being candid with the filmmakers.

The documentary also includes Holmes’ partner, Billy Evans, and their young children. The filmmakers followed the family during the period leading up to Holmes’ imprisonment.

That access gives the film material from a private setting rather than relying exclusively on previously recorded interviews or archival footage. The cameras were present as Holmes prepared for the transition from life outside prison to incarceration.

The project later developed beyond its initial setup. The filmmakers continued working on the documentary for three years, expanding the film beyond a short portrait of Holmes immediately before her prison sentence.

The resulting feature runs close to three hours. Its length reflects the extended production process and the amount of material gathered during the filmmaking period.

The approach differs from documentary projects built around a single recovered source or historical recording. For example, a separate documentary built around archival audio uses a lost Billy Joel interview as the central material for its film.

A24 Releases Teaser for You Can See Everything

A24 released the first teaser when the documentary was unveiled at Telluride. The footage features Fielder and Holmes in a direct exchange about whether Holmes is being honest with him.

Holmes tells Fielder that she has nothing to deceive him about and says she is engaging with him as a person. Fielder responds by asking whether she is being genuine, continuing the exchange captured in the teaser.

The footage provides the first public look at the relationship between the filmmaker and documentary subject. It also establishes the direct access Fielder had during production.

A24’s teaser release accompanied the secret festival screening rather than preceding a conventional marketing campaign. The studio had not publicly presented the documentary as a standard upcoming release before the Telluride unveiling.

The film’s official description identifies Holmes’ invitation to a skeptical film crew as the starting point for the project. It then describes the production as a three-year documentary journey involving Fielder and Oppenheim.

The teaser therefore introduces both the central subject and the filmmakers without revealing the full development of the documentary. The Telluride screening provided audiences with the first opportunity to see the completed film.

The Documentary Sets an October Theatrical Release

A24 has scheduled You Can See Everything for theatrical release in October. The studio has not limited the project to a festival screening, giving the documentary a planned cinema release following its Telluride premiere.

The October release will bring the film beyond the festival audience that first saw the completed documentary. A24’s involvement also places the project within the distributor’s theatrical film slate.

The documentary’s public rollout now includes the Telluride premiere, the teaser release and the planned theatrical opening. Those steps reveal a project that had remained largely secret through production.

Fielder and Oppenheim’s film is built around access to Holmes beginning 34 days before her prison reporting date, but its production continued for three years. The final documentary consequently covers a substantially longer filmmaking process than its initial premise suggests.

The Telluride debut also established the film’s title, directors and distributor publicly. Audiences now have access to the teaser ahead of the October theatrical release.

The project remains centered on Holmes and the filmmakers who documented her life around the period before imprisonment. Its release will allow audiences outside the festival to view the completed documentary in theaters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Nathan Fielder’s new documentary called?

Nathan Fielder’s documentary is titled You Can See Everything. He co-directed the film with documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim.

Who directed You Can See Everything?

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim co-directed the documentary. The project was filmed largely in secret over a three-year period.

What is You Can See Everything about?

The documentary follows Elizabeth Holmes beginning 34 days before she was due to report to prison. It documents Holmes and her family and develops into a three-year filmmaking project.

Where did Nathan Fielder’s documentary premiere?

You Can See Everything premiered as a secret screening at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. The festival screening publicly unveiled the previously secret project.

When will You Can See Everything be released?

A24 plans to release You Can See Everything theatrically in October. The studio released a teaser alongside the documentary’s Telluride unveiling.