Welcome back to Moment of Truth, Movieline's weekly showcase of up-and-coming nonfiction cinema. Usually each installment features one new film and filmmaker, but hey: It's Oscars Weekend! This calls for an exception. As such, Movieline reached out to this year's nominees for Best Documentary Feature, hosting a virtual roundtable including:
· Rebecca Cammisa (Which Way Home, about Latin American child migrants to the U.S.)
· Judith Erlich and Rick Goldsmith (The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, about the famous Vietnam War-era whistleblower)
· Robert Kenner (Food Inc., about the grave implications of U.S. food production)
· Anders Østergaard (Burma VJ, about citizen journalists documenting uprisings in Burma)
· Louie Psihoyos (The Cove, about the secret slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan)
Congrats to them! But now we have some questions. Take a moment to get to know them, their stories, their takes on the race, and, of course, their respective Oscar-night dates.
So in a matter of days, you're taking your film to the Academy Awards. Has it sunk in? How are you feeling about it right now?
Goldsmith: Yes, and very proud.
Erlich: Anxious about getting tickets for my crew to the awards ceremony and hundreds of little details I ordinarily ignore in life -- like gowns and jewels. My dress has actually become a community project of artist friends in Berkeley. I feel like Cinderella with a crew of mice stitching for me. That has been fun.
Psihoyos: It has sunk in. I feel that all the docs have won by being nominated -- winning a little gold man is a great opportunity to get your message out to the world a little bit further. I'm feeling like I love being in a wonderful fraternity of people who are using the most powerful medium in the world to make a difference.
Cammisa: It has sunk in a bit, but it will definitely feel more real once we are on the red carpet. I am really thrilled that a documentary about unaccompanied child migrants is being so celebrated. This child welfare issue is so important, so grave, that I am happy to know that Which Way Home is achieving such acclaim.
Kenner: This is a total honor. It is all very exciting. I have been so busy traveling, and talking about Food Inc. that I have not had much time to fully take it all in.
This year's documentary nominees have a relatively activist edge. In what ways do you think this nomination has helped influence change or bring awareness to your subject specifically?
Cammisa: When our film received this nomination we definitely felt how strongly an Oscar nod resonated with the public and those institutions we are trying to work with to bring about change. However, we are just starting our outreach campaign, so we have yet to see how the nomination opens doors and/or impacts our efforts.
Goldsmith: The buzz contributes to nationwide discussion about important themes: choosing conscience over career, speaking out against war and militarism, and demanding more from our elected officials, to name a few.
Kenner: The nomination helps shine the spotlight on the issues. It helps get the word out. That said, I think films should be nominated for their merit, not because of the important issues.
Østergaard: One of the most delightful things about this nomination is how it has boosted morale inside Burma. I am told that the Burmese public is very excited about the nomination and is following the film closely. It means so much to the Burmese not to be forgotten by the rest of the world, and they see this is something that could really help.
Erlich: The nomination just shines a big light on the issues of this film -- freedom of the press, the inevitability of war, the need for transparency in government and the rights of whistleblowers. We have been amazed by the response to this film particularly in audiences of young people and veterans. This film strikes a number of chords for people, but primarily it calls into question acting on conscience and the possibility of transformation from war making to peacemaking as individuals and as a nation. We are working with a number of anti-war and truth-telling organizations to move that agenda forward, but we have just begun that effort.
Psihoyos: I wanted our film to inspire a legion of activists. In our film I say, "You're either an activist or an inactivist," and audiences that see the film are now becoming activists in droves for many issues -- not just dolphin-related ones. People are finding the film hopeful and empowering, and all around the world people are becoming involved. My mailbox is full of people who were touched and inspired by the film. The film motivated health officials in Japan to investigate the town where dolphins are captured, Taiji, and discovered a huge epidemic of mercury poisoning there from eating too much dolphin meat and the wrong kinds of fish. Just a few days ago, I heard the cove is shut down and an artificial cove has been placed in pens at sea. It's too early to say that this is permanent but it shows their world is coming under fire and change is afoot. People said we would never get distribution for the film in Japan and now we do - it comes out next month.
Even more specifically, there's a citizen-journalist theme in several films. How has the access to light cameras, digital video and other new media impacted how you make documentaries and the stories you decide to tell?
Cammisa: Well, the digital revolution definitely changed my life. I started documentary filmmaking in 1998, when smaller digital cameras were widely available. Also at that time, the first version of Final Cut Pro was marketed, so I was able to cross over to filmmaking and work in a much more affordable way. Filming Which Way Home could be quite arduous at times, so working with lighter and smaller cameras was an absolute godsend.
Psihoyos: I've been a journalist for 35 years, and having the gear used to be the greatest barrier to entry along with the long expensive learning curve to becoming a professional. I took a three-day crash course on how to use a video camera along with my crew of friends before we went to the cove. Putting a video camera in your hands does not make you a Laszlo Kovacs, just like giving someone a typewriter does not make them Hemingway. However, the digital medium helps you see your mistakes much quicker than film, just as a word processor allows you to move, delete and change your words around effortlessly. And so you can become a filmmaker or a writer easier, if you are tenacious, dedicated, and, in my case, surround yourself with people more talented than you, then you can grow quite quickly.
Goldsmith: Less than you might think. Story and character development are still key.
How comfortable are you with the competitive culture around the Oscars? Particularly with the campaign/short-list stage that can get a little ruthless, even for the relatively civil world of documentaries?
Østergaard: All five films represent worthy causes, and it makes no sense to compare the importance of the issues. But it's fair game to compete on the craft and the filmmaking, and that represents our professional pride and legitimate ambitions as filmmakers. So I don't really mind if there is a little competition in that way. It only makes us better at what we do.
Goldsmith: Not if you don't let yourself get caught up in it. Every one of the nominated docs is worthy of the nomination and of a win.
Erlich: I missed that ruthlessness -- maybe because we are not in L.A. and we are in a very supportive community of colleagues in Berkeley. I found it a bit mysterious and confusing and rule-ridden, but not ruthless. We were just constantly drilled about not breaking any rules, were dutiful about doing so while other films seemed to be ignoring the rules. That's life.
Psihoyos: I was never competitive with my art as a photographer, except with myself. I've always been fascinated with other people's work in all fields of art, and I have a healthy respect for other points of view. I believe a good director tries to bring out the best in other people's work for their film. In a larger context of the whole field, I believe all successful filmmakers should try to nurture the craft of others.
Kenner: I wish it wasn't a contest. I went to a party recently for the short-listed films, and it was great to spend time with these other filmmakers who are doing such great work, too. I want to hang out with my fellow documentary filmmakers, not compete against them!
Your film has the backing of a conventional distributor, but more and more documentary filmmakers are choosing to self-distribute. What's your take on the advantages/disadvantages of doing it yourself?
Psihoyos: There's nothing like the power of a big machine working for you. It's hard enough to make a film, I cannot imagine the added burden of trying to market one.
Erlich: Our distributor is giving the film a smart and very strategic national release, but being an independent -- like us -- has limited resources to invest. We're are the only film in the doc category that is not being distributed by a major studio so we have gained our edge mainly by means of very sharp media outreach. We have worked with Peter Broderick to separate rights to the film and dole them out carefully.
Goldsmith: We have a small but aggressive theatrical distributor, First Run Features. Our educational distributor is New Day Films, a filmmakers' social action co-op I've been a part of for 14 years, which combines the best of self-distribution with collective experience, branding and group innovation. International distribution is getting expert handling from Films Transit. Self-distribution keeps you close to the action and connected to your film, but it is time-consuming. And there is no substitute for expertise and experience.
Kenner: It is really hard getting documentaries out into the world. Food Inc. came out at a great time. It really became part of a growing food movement, that helped us tremendously. The press was drawn to the subject. Even with a distributor it takes a tremendous amount of time, and without one I think it may be even more difficult. I have seen so many good and deserving films that are not finding a home.
Who is accompanying you to the Oscars?
Kenner: My beautiful wife, Marguerite. She will actually be wearing an organic dress to the Awards.
Goldsmith: My girlfriend Lauren, my daughter Emma and a few colleagues from the production. And of course, Dan and Patricia Ellsberg.
Erlich: Daniel and Patricia Ellsberg, my husband Nick Bertoni (who is my sound recordist and prop master for the film) and my son Aleksis, a freshman at UC Santa Cruz who worked as a PA on the film.
Østergaard: Lise [Lense-Møller], the producer, and I will be accompanied by U Gawsitha, one of the monk leaders who frequently appears in the film and also Aye Chan Naing who is director of the DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] and represents all of the VJs.
Psihoyos: The star of our film, Ric O'Barry -- my wife Viki is in the balcony -- God bless her. The friends with money that made this film happen were selfless in giving up their seats to the people that built the film.
Cammisa: My Mother. Throughout my life, she has supported me in every way possible. She deserves that walk down the red carpet!
How do you follow this? What's your next project?
Kenner: I always like doing new and different types of projects. As far as my next film, I hope to make a small, personal film with political undertones.
Psihoyos: I'm working on it now, and I'm more excited about this one than The Cove because now I have better ideas on how to tackle a bigger, more difficult subject. The Cove was our (Oceanic Preservation Society's) first film, but the awards to me are the collateral in trying to solve the issue. The real reward will come when we see real change in humanity from making our films.
Erlich: I have a folder with 10 ideas and no time to begin that process. When the dust settles I'll figure it out. It will be a social-issue doc and perhaps more verite style. I'd like to experiment with that approach.
Goldsmith: That, my friend, is a very good question.