The Story of Ferguson through the Eyes of the People Who Lived it
By the time we wrapped our last shooting day, we had collected over 300 hours of footage. Lungs shouted for justice and moments later filled with teargas. A father baked…
“Communication Is Where a Film Lives and Dies”: Director Zoe Lister-Jones
Communication is where a film lives and dies. It is essential for efficacy, for performance, and ultimately for translating a director’s vision to the screen. To me communication is less…
Profound Communication Only Happens When There Is Persistence
I often ask myself, how does each of us weave our own responsibilities into the pattern of history? How can I tell stories about human rights and the quest for…
“A Huge Historical Project”: Editor Kim Miille on Tell Them We Are Rising
MacArthur Fellow Stanley Nelson has devoted his career to documentary explorations of the African American experience. The 65-year-old director/producer has made films on Marcus Garvey, the Freedom Riders and the…
“The Challenge Is Balancing Tone”: Director Mark Pellington
The communication challenge in executing The Last Word was thematic. With issues of aging or mortality, the challenge is balancing tone. That is achieved by communicating to everyone (cast, crew…
“We Are Living through a Divisive Time”: Director Barbara Kopple
Obviously we are living through a very divisive time, and transgender issues are among the most controversial of what people call “the culture wars.” That was something I was aware…
I Stopped Talking and Started Making the True Great Film
The first time I mentioned I was making a film about Winnie Mandela, it happened to be to a novelist, in a bar in Amsterdam. He screwed up his face…
“We Don’t Use Words to Tell a Story”: Directors Lily Baldwin
We don’t use words to tell a story. We use bodies, gestures, dance, color, music and sound as tools. Inherently with this, there is room for interpretation about what the…
“Communicating with Respect and Openness”: Director José María Cabral
Communication was the key for writing, shooting and making the movie, particularly this one. Woodpeckers explores communication and language in a very specific level. First of all the writing process…
I Want the Viewer to Feel Totally Immersed in My World
For me God’s Own Country is an investigation into authenticity of emotion and landscape. Having grown up on the same hillside where the film is set, it was critically important…