FilmClick

“Black women are dying for love.” Through city streets, suburban cul-de-sacs, and country roads a new millennial incarnation of an old illness has become the leading killer of African American women aged 25-34.  Black women who are dying from sexually transmitted infections has reached epidemic proportions. Seen, But Not Heard: AIDS and the Untold War against Black Women tells the story of the African American women who have become the newest faces of HIV/AIDS.

“In 2006, AIDS in America is a black disease,” said Phill Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that about 1.1 million Americans are infected with HIV, with blacks making up 47 percent of them. Of new AIDS diagnoses by race and ethnicity, 67% of the women are Black. In major cities around the country, Black women have the highest infection rates of HIV/AIDS.

One of the greatest advantages of television is that, in the privacy of their own homes, viewers can learn the facts about HIV/AIDS and can see the psychosocial impact on people infected and affected by the disease. This opportunity, however, does carry responsibilities, including the duty to provide information that is factually accurate, nonjudgmental and culturally sensitive. The final result is that the knowledge that is provided about HIV and AIDS not only heightens awareness of how to avert infection, but it also lowers fear of, and discrimination against, people with HIV/AIDS. Therefore, the broadcast and distribution of this documentary serves several purposes. Most importantly as an educational tool to be used for discussions, workshop and forums. A video that will help friends, family members, health care providers, community organizations and faith based institutions explore their anxieties, fears and concerns about AIDS and related issues.

What led you to make this film?

As an artist, my work examines disenfranchised communities and environments. I am interested in producing narratives and documentaries involving issues mainstream media usually ignores. As a media activist/educator, I believe it is important to put the media into the hands of those, who have limited or no access to these tools of representation. The viewing public needs to critically examine who controls the media and encourage a greater responsiveness to our needs. We can then use this medium to empower ourselves.

The concept of this project as for many of projects I’ve produced grew out of my community media work. As a media educator, I was part of the team for “Seeing thru AIDS”, a project of the defunct non-profit, Media Network. Created by Lillian Jimenez, “Seeing Through AIDS” were media literacy workshops conducted at various health organizations, community based groups and AIDS organizations throughout New York City. This pioneering media literacy project offered training to thousands of health care providers to incorporate media into their AIDS counseling, prevention, and support work. This experience led to a commitment to AIDS awareness and prevention as well as a pledge to work with several AIDS organizations such as LifeBeat, The Women’s Institute of GMHC, Living Beyond Belief, Incarnation Children’s Center and most recently, Iris House.  In my work with several of these organizations, especially those dealing with women, it became obvious that there was a lack of materials, programs and media that addressed the specific concerns and issues of women of color with AIDS. Research for this project began around 2000, since then thousands of articles, books, research materials and videos have been collected, reviewed and archived. In 2006, with a small grant from the Paul Robeson Fund, pre-production and minor shooting began.

What were some of the greatest challenges you faced in making this film?

One of the two greatest challenges I faced making this film is fundraising. Many feel that because technology has made filmmaking more affordable that it should be easier and less expensive to make films. But the equipment is one aspect of the filmmaking process. Having a good crew and the resources to do the necessary research, is vital to a documentary. It’s has been and continues to be extremely difficult to raise funds through grants and events especially during these very questionable economic times.

Another challenge is the issue itself. AIDS is not the hot button issue it was the late 80’s/early 90’s. The funding, interest and support has nearly disappeared since AIDS has become more and more a disease of Black and people of color.  It’s a long and tedious process convincing funders and as well as members within the Black community, that AIDS has evolved to the point that it has moved from an epidemic to a pandemic.  The lack of public outrage as well as media attention has fueled this disease. Therefore, this project has become increasingly vital, despite the challenges, frustrations and lack of funding.

What impact do you hope this film will have?

The overall goal of this project is to reach the largest possible audience in an effort to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. But the specific target audience for this program will be the African American community, especially middle to working class black women of all sexual orientations between the ages of 25yrs. to 44yrs. The goal will be achieved through a possible broadcast, community screenings and integrated and interactive marketing and outreach plan

What are you working on now, or next, and how do you find documentary projects?

Currently, my focus is on completing this documentary. Although, the trailer has been very effective as a short, there are many more issues and concerns that can be addressed in a longer form.

What are your three favorite films?

It’s hard to narrow my favorite films to just three choices but some of my top picks are two documentaries, Spike Lee’s Four Little Girls and Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones and Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.

Many of our users are just starting out; what advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?

There are several ways that an aspiring filmmaker can start out. One way is to intern or serve as an apprentice on a film. Working with someone who you are familiar with their work, can be a very rewarding educational experience.

Again, since technology has made some aspects of filmmaking more accessible and affordable. One should just pick up a camera and start shooting. There are many how to books that can be purchased that provide a fairly good overview of the filmmaking process. Assuming this is your passion, you will learn and develop your style and skills through a trail and error experience.

The last way, which is the most common way of leaning filmmaking is to go to school. Film schools and media programs have become as competitive as most good medical school programs. Although, this is probably the most expensive way of learning one’s craft.

Have you placed your films online and do you think it’s a good outlet for young filmmakers to get exposure?

No, I haven’t placed any of my films in its entirety or as small clips online. I think the trick is how to figure out how much of your work you want online, how you want or need it to benefit you and how to market/promote what you have placed online.

Did you go to film school?  If yes, where and what did you think of the experience?

I have a BFA in Film from Syracuse University and a MA from The New School University.

What are the other films you have made?

Working in film and video, I’ve collaborated on various documentaries that have aired on PBS, TNT and the BBC. I was also the co-founder of Black Planet Productions, which produced the award winning grassroots series Not Channel Zero- the revolution, televised. As a member of this collective, I co-produced a number of critically acclaimed documentaries including, “Black Womyn, Sexual Politics and the Revolution.” I also produced and directed a number of documentaries and community-oriented programs dealing with issues such as AIDS, homophobia, sexism and racism, such as Healthcare in Jamaica, Respect is Due

Which filmmakers have most influenced your work?

Spike Lee, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scoresee, Julie Dash, Stanley Nelson,

What do you think film festivals like We the People offer to the dialogue about issues facing our society?

I believe film festivals like We the People, provide a forum for  filmmakers and audiences of like minds to dialogue about issues that general don’t get discussed in mainstream media. As we see in this upcoming Presidential election, the issues that concerns the average person rarely gets addressed.

What format (film, video, hi-def) and camera did you use and why did you choose the format and camera?  If you had a choice, would you use that camera again?

Some of the b-roll was shoot on mini dv but the majority of the footage and all of the interviews was shot in 24p.

What other festivals is your film appearing in?

So far, the film has screened at the
Arizona Black Film Festival,
Hollywood Black Film Festival, Los Angeles
Women of Color Film Festival in Atlanta,
Black Women Art and Film Festival in Philadelphia
The DC Shorts Film Festival, Washington D.C.
Urbanworld Film Festival, NYC
Baltimore Women’s Film Festival

What was your goal when you decided to make the film?

The main goal of this project is to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and to keep this topic “front and center” in the nation’s consciousness.  One of the most effective methods of achieving this goal is to partner with community based organizations. Several community based organizations and non-profit groups in New York City and other major cities will serve as media contacts and regional coordinators for the screening of the documentary. For communities just beginning to deal with the impact of HIV and AIDS, the documentary will provide the needed catalyst for meaningful dialogue among community-based organizations, state and local government officials, health department representatives, AIDS service organizations and key community leaders.

How much did it cost to make the film?

With a $7,000 grant awarded from the Paul Robeson Film Fund, production began in New York City during the summer of 2006. In the summer of 2007, the short was completed. Currently, we have outstanding grants with Gilead/Iris House with a commitment of $5,000, $20,000 committed by the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS of NYC and $2,000 recently awarded from the NY/Urban Arts Initiative.

“Seen But Not Heard” will be playing October 17 at We the People: A Documentary Film Festival at the Echo Park Film Center 1200 N. Alvarado St., Los Angeles, CA

For more info on We the People, visit:
http://www.tradeandrow.org/wethepeople/index.html

What led you to make a film about the world of truck drivers? I think we were interested in what it is to like live inside of your car.  A lot of the open road is the loneliness that comes with it. Everything like that. When we really got into the truck with these people and actually traveled with them, we were there for the calls and we heard stories about their wives and their relationships and how it effected that.  And we became more attached to that side of it.  It definitely covers a lot of subjects all at once, I don’t know if there’s really one message that we’re trying to send out.   It’s a  commentary on the society that we’re living in currently.

Little America

Your film It’s Magic is what you call non-fiction fiction, tell me about that.
Jessie: We started writing in school we came up with this idea of non-fiction screenwriting.  Basically, we would just get together and tell each other stories and base our shorts off of that and that’s basically what we’re doing.  Brittany and I have a very fluid and organic way of communicating and we’re able to get a very individual vision.  We try to bring that into our films.  We share everything and are openly communicating.  We really love playing with that line of reality.  The difference between reality and entertainment.  How something happens, something happens to me and I tell it to Brittany and then she tells it back to me, and then we write about it, and we’re acting, and what happens to the actual story throughout all of those processes and all of those different ways of communicating.

Brittany:  We started as best friends first, so when we first started, we started with these exercises where she would first tell me something that happened to her and I would write about it.  Or, I would tell her something and she would write about it.  So that we would have that difference, but we were close enough to do that.  With “It’s Magic”, which is the latest thing we did, Jessie wrote it and I acted it as her, so that was kind of cool.

So, that was something that actually happened to you?
Jessie: Something like that, we take creative liberties very seriously.  I mean, we write what we know.  It’s pretty hard to fake it.  Anytime I’ve tried to not write what I know it sounds pretty shitty, so everything is pretty real.

What are your three favorite films?
Brittany: 8 1/2, Fellini films, the Weatherman, Batman, documentaries…Little America’s pretty good…

Little America

Have you placed your films online and do you think it’s a good outlet for young filmmakers to get exposure?
Brittany:  When we first started doing Little America, we were in college, so we had to make it seem like it was for a class, I was in a pop culture class and Jessie had this independent study, and for class whatever we did was to put it online.  I wasn’t really into it, I’m not really a computer person, so it was kind of a weird experience, but it was actually really cool because we got a lot of feedback, a lot of instant feedback right away, which was kind of a cool way of doing it.
Jessie:  I’m completely pro internet, I think it’s something great.  Especially with something like an art film, or Little America, it spans so many different themes, and cities, and it’s all about this big world, big country.  I mean these festivals are great, but the ajority of people are going to see it online.  I think it’s amazing.
Brittany:  That whole internet thing, I approve of it.

Do you hope to make money from your film?
Brittany:  I don’t really think we’re at the level where that matters.  Sure, we would love to make money off of our films, but right now, I mean we just made this movie for 200 bucks, but we both work full time to do it.
Jessie: We do it because we love it, and if we can put it online and people see it, then that’s pretty cool.

Jessie, you work in TV, what do you do?
Jessie: I work on the show Intervention, and I’m a PA minion.  I’m starting on a film next week, a feature working in the AD Department.  It’s a great opportunity.  I want to eventually write/direct and produce everything that we do so the more I can learn from the ground up the better.  I’m writing something right now, and I know I won’t pick it up until the movie wraps, which is February, but it’s what you have to do.

Did either of you go to film school?
Jessie: No.  There was absolutely no film department where we went.  We had to borrow and teach ourselves, it turned out better I think, because I learned how to be a lot more self sufficient, Just do it, instead of sitting in a classroom and talking about it.  I don’t think I would’ve had the idea to make Little America unless I was sitting in a sociology class learning about class and jobs and how identity is related to your work.  I don’t think that the idea of looking at truck drivers would’ve struck me; i wouldn’t have taken a class like that in film school.

What’s your motto?
Nec Metu

Any final words?
Brittany:  We the People sounds like a great festival, and we’re very excited to be part of it.  We’re excited to have people see the film besides our mothers.

“Little America” will be playing October 16 at We the People: A Documentary Film Festival at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.

For more info on We the People, visit:
http://www.tradeandrow.org/wethepeople/index.html

To see more of Jessie Kahnweiler & Brittany Johnston’s films go to:
http://www.jbkpictures.com/jbk/
or
http://ca.youtube.com/user/jbkpictures1

images courtesy of jbkpictures.com

“This American Gothic” is a documentary on a famous American painting, and the small town of Eldon, Iowa, that inspired it.  The film follows four local women over two years as they work towards their dream of building a Gothic House Visitor Center to revive their fading rural community. This American Gothic explores the poignant irony of a rural America abandoned to economic hardship trying to rebuild itself through tourism that glorifies a happier, if largely imaginary, country past.

This American Gothic

This quirky film weaves together history and art history with a compelling vision of rural America today.  It appeals to a wide cross-section of film loving audiences, including those interested in stories from rural America that are not often seen outside the heartland, those interested in architecture and art history, viewers with a passion for stories about the struggles and triumphs of small towns and stories of strong, determined women working at the grassroots level to improve their communities.   “This American Gothic” sheds light on an enduring icon of our shared cultural heritage, yet is a film about a painting in which we never see the original, only the translations, parodies and permutations it
inspires; a cinematic portrait of a painted portrait that periodically looks back at the viewer in a manner that echoes the
unsettling gaze of the painting itself.  Like “American Gothic,” which has been viewed at different moments in its history as satire, reactionary nationalism, as art and as kitsch, the film “This American Gothic” withholds judgment, leaving the final interpretation up to the spectator.

You can also view a trailer at http://www.room135.com.

What led you to make this film?

The film was  inspired by the best-selling book “American Gothic: A Life of America’s Most Famous Painting” by Harvard professor Steven Biel.  Initially, I imagined sticking fairly close to the book in the sense that I wanted to focus the film on the art historical aspects of the creation and reception of Grant Wood’s painting “American Gothic.”  However, once I journeyed to Eldon, Iowa, site of the home in the background of the painting, I found a rich, contemporary story of a town whose fortunes had waned considerably since the Rock Island Railroad went bankrupt in 1980.  A number of admirable women residents of Eldon were quite impressive in their dedication to rebuild the town through tourism, although aware that the image presented by Grant Wood was itself, even in 1930 when it was first created, a kind of historical fiction.

Also in “This American Gothic” I follow up on the themes of community and economic development in rural America that I first explored in “Razing Appalachia,” an hour-long documentary on a grassroots effort to stop the expansion of a huge mountaintop strip mine in Blair, West Virginia which aired on the award-winning PBS series “Independent
Lens” in 2003. I am inspired by my earliest mentor in documentary, Barbara Kopple, two time Academy Award-winner for her documentaries “Harlan County U.S.A.” and “American Dream,” in my passion for stories from people not usually attended to by the media, such as rural Americans, women and everyday members of America’s vast middle
class.

What were some of the greatest challenges you faced in making this film?

The greatest challenge I faced was simply carving out enough time over the weeks and months it took to complete it, particularly during the editing phase which lasted nearly a year.  I was working with about 40 hours of material in film and video, and since the documentary has two distinct narrative strands - the history of the painting and the modern story of the town - it was a challenge to successfully weave them together in a way that flowed organically.  I teach full-time at the University of Iowa, and I have two young children, age 1 and 4, so really time is a very precious commodity for me.  The up side is, because I am committed to a personal, truly independent cinema and I do not make a living as a documentary producer primarily, I am not under pressure to deliver a ‘product’ for broadcast according to someone else’s deadline.  I can muddle along at my leisure!

What impact do you hope this film will have?

“Impact” is a hard one… as an artist, I am interested in exploring cinematic forms, pushing the boundaries of non-fiction expression, but in a way that is still accessible to a general audience.  As a media educator, I am very interested in the question of audience reception, meaning: in what broader social, political and personal contexts audiences view media, and what they then do with that knowledge.
In May 2008, I had the opportunity to discuss “This American Gothic” with a group of writing students at Western Washington University using video conferencing technology.  The most intriguing question came from a timid Freshman: “The people in your movie are just, like, totally normal. Why make a film about them?”  This simple question really motivates me, because although much has been made of our golden age of documentaries with claims that Reality TV  and YouTube have expanded the popular appetite for real-life stories, I do feel that  the increasingly formulaic casting of ‘characters’ in documentary as easily identifiable social types such as The Jock, The Hippie or The Nerd, has troubling cultural and political reverberations.  The unspoken subtext of the student’s question was: “the people in your film are not aspiring supermodels, neither eating bugs nor competing for cash; not celebrities (or former celebrities).  Why should I want to hear their stories?”  So I hope the effect, if not the impact of “This American Gothic” is that the film opens up a space for contemplation of both the poignant, satirical nature of Wood’s painting, and the questions of self- presentation and representation of the rural heartland.  My focus on ordinary people throughout my work provides an alternative to our celebrity-obsessed and stereotype-driven media culture.

How much did it cost to make the film?

The cash budget was about $65,000.  If I include in-kind labor and equipment, the true budget is closer to $150.000.

What are you working on now, or next, and how do you find  documentary projects?

Documentary ideas are everywhere!  I have loads of half-baked ideas - old newspaper articles, notes to myself - overflowing a file somewhere in the darkest reaches of my office.  But because I work slowly, I need to know I can commit to a feature-length project over a few years.  (My non-fiction experimental shorts are a different matter - they are not less work per se, but the are less psychically exhausting, so I often work on them alongside bigger projects). Currently, I am in early production on “Vanya ‘79,” a feature documentary about a performance of the play Uncle Vanya at the Symphony Space theater in New York City by a group of public school 5th and 6th graders in 1979. Directed by the writer Philip Lopate and immortalized in his essay “Chekhov for Children,” the production was a mad folly and remarkable success, captured in its entirely on black-and-white video.   The film “Vanya ‘79″ revisits these now middle-aged children and meditates upon noble self-delusion; misspent youth, unrequited love – the great themes Chekhov explores throughout his work. The film is also about the very nature of character as it is expressed in childhood versus adulthood, the very nature of childhood itself, and life at middle-age. It’s about the free-wheeling New York of the late 1970s, and about a time when public school arts education really mattered and, quite possibly, made a difference.

I am also working on an experimental short that mixes 16mm, and HD, and includes images of outdoor vernacular furniture, my sister Nell, the blogosphere and “Peter Pan.”  The tentative title is “Iowa Winter: Strategies for Overcoming Deflated Motivation.”

What are your three favorite films?

Right now they are:

God’s Country by Louis Malle

Daguerrotypes by Agnes Varda

Letter from Siberia by Chris Marker

Have you placed your films online and do you think it’s a good outlet for young filmmakers to get exposure?

I am in a holding pattern in regards to online film distribution in terms of my own work.  I have trailers for my longer films online, but I have not posted my feature or short films in their entirety… it seems, in theory, like a good place for young filmmakers to get exposure, as long as they are not allowing others to monetize their work and control it without safeguards for intellectual property.
I’m a big believer in non-exclusive, artist-controlled, “creative commons”-type protections, but how these will integrate with our emergent media landscape online remains t be seen.

http://creativecommons.org/

Did you go to film school?  If yes, where and what did you think of the experience?

After studying photography as an undergraduate, I received my MFA in Film & Media at Temple University which provided a broad education in the theory and practice of film and media.  It was not “film school” in the classic sense per se, but definitely very valuable for the time and freedom those three years allowed me to experiment and explore - and fail! - outside the pressures of the marketplace.

What are the other films you have made?

“Whipped,” (1998), 63:00, a feature documentary in 16mm that is a portrait of three New York City dominatrixes.

“This Existence is Material” (2003) 10:00, a 16mm experimental collage that  tells a story other of a poet who flies solo to Rome to incite an uprising against fascism in the 1930s.

“Her Heart is Washed in Water and Then Weighed” (2006) 13:00.  A 16mm experimental meditation on motherhood, monuments and mortality that takes its title from a procedure in the autopsying of a human corpse.

These 3 films are screening together in a program titled “Immodest Objects & Fetish Subjects: Films by Sasha Waters Freyer” at the Film Studies Center at the University of Chicago on the evening of Sat., November 1, 2008.

Other films included “The Waiting Time” and “Razing Appalachia.

Which filmmakers have most influenced your work?

Agnes Varda, Chris Marker, Barbara Kopple, Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, Louis Malle, Franklin Miller, Marcel Ophuls, George Stoney, Su Friedrich, Chick Strand, Gunvor Nelson, Jill Godmilow, Vanalyne Green…not necessarily in that order.

What’s you motto?

“Remember, never take no cutoffs and hurry along as fast as you can.”  - Virginia Reed, survivor of the Donner party.

What do you think film festivals like We the People offer to the
dialogue about issues facing our society?

Film Festivals are crucial to creating and inviting dialogue on a wide range of issues, both in terms of bringing together audiences, and in offering perspectives outside the dominant, corporate media. They create a true public space, like a park or a playground of the mind and spirit, that allows for interaction and play, argument and experience, as well as the freedom of personal reflection.

What format (film, video, hi-def) and camera did you use and why did you choose the format and camera?  If you had a choice, would you use that camera again?

“This American Gothic” is blends 16mm Kodak film shot on my beloved wind-up Bolex (transferred to DV) and standard-def DVCam shot on a Sony PD 150, an excellent camera (although more than five years old) which has unfortunately been discontinued.  I am slowly moving towards hi-def because I think it is becoming *the* accepted
professional standard, but personally, I prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio of standard-def to the 16:9 of HD.   I hope never to give up 16mm entirely!

What other festivals is your film appearing in?

“This American Gothic” has screened (or will soon screen) in fifteen U.S. states, with upcoming shows in Illinois, Michigan, California, Maryland, Utah and Texas.  The film screens at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago on November .  Also upcoming are screenings at Detroit Docs, the Rockport Film Festival in Rockport, Texas, and the Utopia Film Festival in Greenbelt, MD, plus the film is under curatorial review at a number of museums, including the Des Moines Art Center.    The most up-to-date list of screenings can be seen here:

http://www.room135.com/

“This American Gothic” will be playing October 17 at We the People: A Documentary Film Festival at the Echo Park Film Center, 1200 N. Alvarado St., Los Angeles, CA.

For more info on We the People, visit:

http://www.tradeandrow.org/wethepeople/index.html