FilmClick

Tell us about your film. Why should people see it?

Wolf at the Door chronicles the struggle of local artist, Jeff Filbert, and his fight to save his art studio and school from eminent domain demolition. I teach media studies at Rutgers University-Camden. Jeff does as well, and his studio is not far from campus. Jeff sees it as part of his mission to contribute to the community as an artist. He can’t understand how the local city council cannot see that having a community art school is a positive thing. Camden has a national reputation for poverty and crime. But Jeff, and many others like him, are trying to bring positive experiences to the residents. His fight is about reviving a community.My goal in creating the documentary short is creating awareness. The more people I can get to see the picture, the more they know about the issue and the many injustices of eminent domain. I see this film as my contribution to save Jeff Filbert’s art studio/school. As filmmaker’s, and humans, we have an important tool and ethical responsibility. When we can bring the tool and the responsibility to humanity together, we have something very powerful. It can educate, sway, and help effect change.

 

Robert A. Emmons Jr. 

What led you to make this film?

I first became aware of Jeff’s problem when he invited me to an open house and art protest at the studio. He invited his neighbors, those also under the threat of eminent domain, and the city council. Of course, no one from the council showed up, but the community came out. I decided to bring my camera along to see what I could capture. On that day, when I saw the contributions Jeff was making to the community and his flare for drama, I decided I would try to help bring this story to the attention of more people.

What impact do you hope this film will have?

It’s my hope that the film has some impact on saving the studio. I think it does, and I hope in watching the picture, one can see that. We’ve played it to many in the community and outside the community. Whenever it’s seen, people are always appalled about the eminent domain situation we have in the U.S.

  

 Wolf at the Door    

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

I just finished a feature documentary called Goodwill: The Flight of Emilio Carranza. It’s an amazing bit of New Jersey history. Known as “Mexico’s Charles Lindbergh”, aviator Emilio Carranza crashed and died in the New Jersey Pine Barrens on July 12, 1928, on the return leg of a goodwill trip between New York City and Mexico City – returning the favor of Charles Lindbergh’s famed nonstop flight to Mexico City the year before. The Pine Barrens of New Jersey, also known as the Pinelands are a heavily forested area covering over a million acres of coastal plain across central New Jersey. Hidden in the scrub pines near Sandy Ridge in the Pinelands is a quiet, lonely place missed by many. Rising from the ground stands a stone monument paid for by the children of Mexico, who saved their pesos to quarry stone from the state of Coahuila, the birthplace of their hero - on one weather-worn side you can still read his name - Emilio Carranza. Each year the American Legion Post 11 keeps Capt. Carranza’s memory alive with their lasting promise to honor the fallen hero.I’ve been having great success screening the film throughout the US. A highlight was screening it as part of a recent Smithsonian Exhibition called: Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement at the New Jersey Historical Society. Right now I am working on a new feature about the well known Jersey Central Railroad train, The Blue Comet.

What are your three favorite films?

Of course, this is an ever-evolving answer, but for today I will say, Errol Morris’ Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control, Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man, and a recent film that just blew me away, was Tony Gilroy’s Michael Clayton. The photography, the pace, the acting, it was beautiful, subtle, it was sublime.

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

This is an incredibly exciting time for filmmakers. We are in a new democratic period of filmmaking. The art form has been liberated, anyone can be apart of this now. I remember at the end of the documentary Hearts of Darkness, Francis Coppola describes the future of filmmaking and the next great filmmaker as a little girl from Ohio with a video camera. Well, we are now in that time. Digital technology has democratized filmmaking! So my advice to aspiring filmmakers and people that want to make a film is to take your ideas and use what is now so cheaply available to you. We all know someone with a video camera and a computer. These are your tools. Look to the material that is closest to you, and try to find the most honest way of capturing that material to tell a story.

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

Most definitely! Continuing with digital technology as the democratization of filmmaking… We can all be our own distributors now. You Tube has been sent from the Heaven’s as a resource for filmmakers. We can all find an audience now. It’s exciting.

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

I did go to film school. It was a small school in New Jersey called Rowan University. What’s great is.. they still shoot film!! They also use digital video, but having both experiences is wonderful. What I did after that though, I recommend to many with the opportunity… I was trained in filmmaking as an undergrad, I wanted to make documentaries, and in an effort to prepare myself for that I went to graduate school for a Masters and Doctorate in cultural studies. That experience has been invaluable to me.

What are the other films you have made?

My films capture and tap into the local history and culture of New Jersey. Films include:Goodwill: The Flight of Emilio CarranzaOn Mt. PeaceYARDSALE!Smalltown, USASqueeze: A Small History of the AccordionEnthusiast: The 9th Art

Which filmmakers have most influenced your work?

This one is easy… My film heroes, and those that have the most influence on my work: Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, We Anderson, Michael Moore.

What’s you motto?

We are responsible to each other.

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

The political film festival is essential. It gives voices, and it creates dialogues. This is what it’s about. This is how we connect, educate, take care of each other. If we all look to the person next to us and say, “I am going to take care of you.”, we define humanity. That’s what a festival like We, the People does.

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?

I use a Canon XHA1 HDV camera. For this film, it was shot in HDV and reduced to SD for viewing.

How much did it cost to make the film?

The cost: Essentially nothing. Tapes. Once again: The democratization of filmmaking through digital technology. It’s a wonderful thing!

Wolf at the Door will be playing at We the People: A Documentary Film Festival on Saturday, October 18th at Self Help Graphics in Los Angeles, CA. 

For more info on We the People, visit:

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