The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

118 Steve James
James: Sure. It was probably Janet Malcolm who said that in that essay she
did for The New Yorker.
I think that by and large that has been true for me—that the making of
the film has created a relationship between subjects and filmmakers that
goes on after that is very satisfying and makes the whole project that you did
together that much more rewarding. I really think of those films as partnerships
between the filmmakers and the subjects in a way. We have all the editorial
control, no question. It’s our film and I’m not trying to soft-pedal that.
In the best of circumstances, they really do feel a part of it beyond just being
the subjects of the film, and you really care about what they think, which is
one of the reasons why we show them the film before it’s done—to really let
them hear. Now, I’ve had experience, too, though, where the finished film
has created friction and ended relationships. The most immediate example,
but not the only one, would be Gene Pingatore in Hoop Dreams. We all did
have a great relationship with him as a coach while we were making the film.
And I like Gene Pingatore personally. I think there are a lot of good things
that he has done. He has a lot of good intentions. But the fact that the film
was critical of some of his actions essentially ended that relationship. But we
still showed it to him before it was done and faced the music.
So when you show them the film, do you let them know that they have any
power to alter the film or do you just say, “This is what it is; be prepared”?
James: There are two philosophies among documentary filmmakers in how
you deal with this. There are a lot of documentary filmmakers that operate
with a journalistic model in which you can’t let your subjects see the film
until it’s done because it’s your film. It’s your vision, it’s your take on it, and
you shouldn’t have the subjects weigh in on that. That’s a little different than
saying, “So-and-so said something about you. Do you want to let us do an
interview and you comment?” Most filmmakers would definitely do that
because it makes the story more interesting.
It’s different to say, “OK, I feel like this film is pretty much done. I’d like
to show it to you and you tell me what you think.” A lot of filmmakers resist
that. The folks at Kartemquin and I, in general, feel like you owe it to the
subjects to let them see it before it’s done, especially in films where you’ve
spent a considerable amount of time with the subjects. We don’t show it to