Documentary Filmmakers Speak

DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS SPEAK This Page Intentionally Left Blank DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS SPEAK LIZ STUBBS ALLWORTH PRESS NEW YORK © 2002 Liz Stubbs All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. 07 06 05 04 03 02 5 4 3 2 1 Published by Allworth Press An imprint of Allworth Communications 10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010 Cover design by Mary Ann Smith, New York, NY Page composition/typography by SR Desktop Services, Ridge, NY Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stubbs, Liz. Documentary filmmakers speak / Liz Stubbs. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-58115-236-1 1. Documentary films—History and criticism. 2. Documentary films—United States—History and criticism. 3. Motion picture producers and directors—United States—Interviews. I. Title. PN1995.9.D6 S853 2002 070.1'8—dc21 2002005830 Printed in Canada To my dear friends Mark and Susan Solomon and Leila Garcia, who, with their creativity, passion, and empathy, inspire me to honor my goofiness and feed my artist. To Mark and Susan Solomon, who feed my starving artist with creativity, passion, and empathy. To my parents, Ann and Irving, who provide unflinching support—the kind money can’t buy. To Ruth Leitman, whose persistence as a filmmaker gives substance to the sentiment that if you believe you can do something, you can. To James Jernigan, whose insistence on seeing possibilities instead of obstacles is a light at the end of many a dark tunnel. Thank you. This Page Intentionally Left Blank Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Chapter 1:The Road to Realism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 2: Albert Maysles Father of Direct Cinema . . . . . . . . . 3 Chapter 3: Susan Froemke Celebrating the Craft . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Chapter 4: D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus Engineering Nonfiction Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Chapter 5: Ken Burns Emotional Archaeologist . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Chapter 6: Ross McElwee Personal Journeyman . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Chapter 7: Liz Garbus Confronting Humanity . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Chapter 8: Nick Broomfield Modern Adventurer . . . . . . . . . . 127 Chapter 9: Joe Berlinger Journalist Storyteller . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Chapter 10: Bruce Sinofsky Experiential Filmmaking: Bringing Us into the Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Chapter 11: Irving Saraf Recreating Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Chapter 12: Allie Light Searching for Metaphor . . . . . . . . . . 195 Chapter 13: Barbara Kopple Through the Lens Fearlessly . . . 209 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 This Page Intentionally Left Blank Introduction Passion. The inextinguishable fire. Lives of passion are monumental in this world. They shine among us, reaching always for paths without compromise. As with everything in life, there are no guarantees. There is no promise that being true to your passion will bring success, financial or creative. And in that sense it can be a scary road to travel. Those around you may be on more traditional paths in their careers and in their personal lives. And when you look around a