Well, it’s time for the contestants to show the judges what they’re made of…

On Wednesday night, sixth episode of Pursuit of the Truth featured the contestants heading back to TheBlaze’s NYC studios to present their two-minute sizzle reels to the judges, who held nothing back in their critiques.

While their competitors watched backstage, four contestants showed off their work and faced tough questions from Chalfen, Billingsley, and Hatkoff.

First up was Chris Bell and his reel for “Prescription Thugs”, a documentary that exposes a deadly epidemic of prescription drug abuse.

In his original pitch, Chris Bell said he was going to focus on the average person suffering from addiction and FDA’s use of undercover stings. But in his reel, Bell stayed in his “comfort zone” of interviewing athletes and professional wrestlers, an area which he had previously covered in his documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Chalfen and Billingsley wondered why he didn’t go outside the box, and Bell shifted the blame to his financial resources, something that didn’t sit well with the judges who had all worked on innovative projects on tight budgets.

Once the inquisition was over, Bell headed to the backroom and warned his fellow competitors to be preparing to face difficult questioning.

Things certainly didn’t get any easier for the other filmmakers. Kelvin Owens was taken to task for the lack of original footage. His documentary, “An American Intervention”, would be a deconstruction of The Federal Reserve. The judges didn’t think that the sizzle reel showed off what the documentary would be, and the lack of new interviews was very worrying.

The judges were impressed by Joshua Ligairi’s reel for “Plan 241”, but wondered if he would be able to meet the deadlines they set forth for the winner and whether if he could land the key interviews needed to tell his story.

Last up this week was David Rufful, whose “The Dartmouth Review Pleads Innocent” would expose the liberal elite at a premiere American university and the conservative counter-culture that started to fight back. A first time filmmaker, Rufful had a hard time answering the judges questions and appeared nervous when defending his lack of technical experience.

Next week, the final two contestants make their case.