The series Rialto Presenters continues on Wednesday evenings throughout April, and this month Judy Bailey, one of New Zealand’s most respected journalists and presenters, introduces a diverse collection of human-interest documentaries.

The series begins with the charming Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago, where filmmaker Lydia Smith follows a group of individuals attempting to trek the Camino, an ancient pilgrim path from France to the shrine of St. James in Galicia, Spain. It’s an extraordinary 800 km journey filled with many emotional, mental and physical challenges, and yet it will have you throwing on some sneakers and thinking about your own pilgrimage.

This journey of self-discovery is followed by Burn, a fascinating film that looks at the tragic affect the demise of the Detroit motor industry has had on the city through the eyes of its firefighters.

The series then moves on to something different again with the true crime mystery Who Took Johnny, a respectfully made documentary that examines an infamous thirty-year-old cold case, the disappearance of Iowa paperboy Johnny Gosch. Directed by David Beilinson, Suki Hawley, and Michael Galinsky (whose previous features include Battle for Brooklyn and Horns and Halos), The Hollywood Reporter called Who Took Johnny, “Timely, shocking and relentlessly compelling”.

Wrapping up April’s Rialto Presenters is the brash, up front documentary The War On Kids, that looks at public education in America and explores the origin and effect of it’s zero tolerance policy on children today.

It’s a thought provoking collection of documentaries curated by Judy Bailey, who kindly took the time to have a quick chat about her love of the genre, and why these films resonated with her.