>>> MY GUEST TODAY IS A NATIVE CHAMPAIGN RESIDENT,
GRADUATE OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY,
AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.
HE IS AN INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED OSCAR AND
EMMY NOMINATED FILMMAKER.
SOME OF HIS FILMS INCLUDE "JOURNEY FROM ZANSKAR,
"BOYS TO MEN," AND, OF COURSE, "HOOP DREAMS."
HIS PASSION IS REAL PEOPLE, REAL STORIES AND
REAL STRUGGLES.
I AM VERY PLEASED TO WELCOME TO ILLINOIS PIONEERS,
FREDERICK MARX.
>>THANKS VERY MUCH--
>>MY PLEASURE.
>> -- FOR BEING HERE.
NICE TO BE HOME.
>>IT IS REALLY GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE.
THERE IS SO MUCH I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, SOME
OF YOUR LIFE IN CHAMPAIGN-URBANA AND YOUR
EXPERIENCES GROWING UP AND SOME MOVIES YOU
MADE.
AS A WAY IN, AS A DOCUMENTARY MAKER, THERE
ARE CLEARLY PARTICULAR KINDS OF STORIES THAT
YOU WANT TO TELL.
WHAT STORIES DO YOU REALLY LIKE?
WHAT STORIES ARE YOU DRAWN TO?
>> SIMPLE WAY TO PUT IT, I LOVE UNDERDOG STORIES.
I JUST, FOR WHATEVER REASON, WAS BORN AND
THEN ACCULTURATED BY MY OWN FAMILY WITH A
RADAR FOR THE OPPRESSED, THE FORGOTTEN, THE
IGNORED OF THE WORLD.
SO I -- YOU KNOW, SO WHETHER IT IS PEOPLE
OF COLOR, THE POOR, YOUTH, ELDERLY, DISABLED,
WOMEN OR THOSE WHO HAVE DIFFERENT SEXUAL PREFERENCES,
I AM JUST DRAWN TO -- I JUST IDENTIFY WITH
THEM, AND I AM DRAWN TO TELLING THEIR STORY.
>>AND THAT COMES FROM YOUR PARENTS?
>> TO SOME EXTENT, YES.
I MEAN I INHERITED A LOT OF THEIR VALUES ABOUT
CARE AND CONCERN FOR ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE
WORLD AND ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE THE FORGOTTEN.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT -- STARTING WITH YOUR DAD.
HE WAS A FACULTY MEMBER AT THE U OF I.
>>RIGHT.
THAT'S WHAT BROUGHT US HERE.
I WAS BORN IN PHILADELPHIA.
WE CAME HERE WHEN I WAS FIVE.
HE GOT HIS FIRST ACADEMIC JOB AS AN ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR OF GERMAN LITERATURE.
SO, YEAH, I WAS RECOUNTING JUST LAST NIGHT
THAT WE LIVED ON BLISS DRIVE.
I JUST LOVE THAT.
(LAUGHING)
>>ONE STORY I READ, I LIKE THE STORY A LOT,
WAS YOUR PARENTS WERE INVOLVED IN LEFT-WING
POLITICS, AND THAT, IN FACT, AS A RESULT OF
THAT, YOUR DAD WAS BLACKLISTED FROM THE WORK
HE HAD BEEN DOING WHICH WAS WAITING TABLES,
AND IT ACTUALLY TURNED OUT TO BE A GOOD THING
FOR HIM, RIGHT?
>> CORRECT.
YEAH, IT IS FUNNY.
HE WAS JUST A WAITER.
HE WORKED AT A DOWNTOWN HOTEL IN PHILADELPHIA.
HE WAS CALLED UP BEFORE THE MOUSE HOUSE OF
AMERICAN ACTIVITIES TO TESTIFY ON HIS POLITICAL
ACTIVITIES.
BLESS HIS HEART, HE DIDN'T NAME NAMES OR ANYTHING.
THEY THREATENED HIM WITH REVOKING HIS CITIZENSHIP
BECAUSE HE WAS A RECENT IMMIGRANT FROM NAZI
GERMANY.
HE WAS A JEWISH REFUGEE,
ARRIVED IN LATE '39 OR EARLY '40.
AT ANY RATE, IT ALL REBOUNDED TO HIS BENEFIT
WHEN HE GOT BLACKLISTED AS A WAITER BECAUSE
HE GOT TO GO BACK TO HIS FIRST LOVE WHICH
WAS REALLY ACADEMICS, ON THE GI BILL, TO ADD
TO THE IRONY, HE GOT HIS PH.D. AND CAME HERE.
YOU WENT TO SCHOOL AT UNI.
>>CORRECT.
>>UNI HIGH?
AT SOME POINT, BEING ON THE CAMPUS, THERE
WAS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO SEE MOVIES.
YES.
YOU SEEMED TO GET DRAWN INTO, AT LEAST AT
THE BEGINNING, WATCHING A LOT OF MOVIES.
>>NO QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, MY DAD WAS ONE OF THE TWO PEOPLE
THAT FOUNDED THE SO-CALLED FOREIGN CINEMA
CLUB ON CAMPUS.
THEY USED TO SHOW MOVIES AT THE AUDITORIUM.
I JUST INHERITED THAT LOVE OF MOVIES THAT
MY DAD HAD SOMEHOW.
I REMEMBER AS A 15 YEAR OLD SING INGRID BERGMAN'S
FILM "PERSONA" AS PART OF THE FILM CLUB.
I HAD NO CLUE WHAT IT MEANT AND WHAT I HAD
JUST SEEN.
I WALKED OUT OF THERE STUNNED.
I WAS SO TAKEN BY SOME EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD.
SO ANYWAY, WHEN I WAS IN UNDERGRAD AT YOU
U OF I.
I STARTED TAKING FILM COURSE, EVEN THOUGH
MY DECLARED MAJOR WAS POLI SCI.
I BARELY SQUEAKED THROUGH WITH REQUIRED MINIMUM
OF HOUSE FOR POLI SCI.
>>I GATHER YOU WERE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE BECAUSE
THERE WAS SOME THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE A LAWYER
TO DO GOOD WORK TO BE A SOCIAL JUSTICE LAWYER
WHICH WAS SOMETHING THAT YOUR MOM REALLY WOULD
HAVE LIKED TO SEE YOU DO.
>>CORRECT.
AND ALSO MY MOM'S DAD--
I CAN STILL HEAR HIS VOICE IN MY EARS.
HE WAS A JEWISH IMMIGRANT FROM RUSSIA, AND
HE INHERITED A LOT OF THE VALUES.
EVERY TIME YOU SAW HIM IT WAS LIKE "FREDDY,
WHO NEEDS PICTURES?
YOU COULD BE A DOCTOR OR LAWYER, WHO WILL
TAKE CARE OF YOUR MOTHER IN HER OLD AGE?"
IT IS REALLY SAD BECAUSE HE NEVER LIVED TO
SEE THE SUCCESS I HAD WITH "HOOP DREAMS."
I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE SHARED THAT WITH
HIM.
>>I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF YOUR FILM WORK
AND STARTING WITH THE THING THAT YOU WILL
BE AND MAYBE ALWAYS ARE AND MAYBE ALWAYS WILL
BE BEST KNOWN FOR WHICH IS "HOOP DREAMS,"
A DOCUMENTARY FROM 1994 WHERE YOU FOLLOWED
TWO YOUNG MEN, TWO YOUNG AFRICAN AMERICAN
MEN ALL WAY THROUGH THEIR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS
AND THEY WERE BASKETBALL PLAYERS, AND THEY
WERE GUYS WHO SEEMED TO HAVE THE POTENTIAL
TO GO ON AND PLAY PROFESSIONALLY.
IT LOOKS AT WHAT IS FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE A
BIG DREAM, BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE.
>> UH-HUH.
THIS WAS SOMETHING I GUESS A PROJECT THAT
GREW OVER TIME FROM SOMETHING SORT OF SMALLER
TO SOMETHING THAT IT CAME TO BE.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED INTO WHAT BECAME "HOOP
DREAMS"?
>> MY BEST FRIEND IN GRADUATE SCHOOL WAS STEVE
JAMES.
STEVE AND I WERE CORRESPONDING WHEN I WAS
LIVING IN CHINA.
HE BASICALLY BROACHED THE SUBJECT OF FORMING
A CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP WHERE WE WOULD WORK
TOGETHER AND MAKE MULTIPLE FILMS, BOTH FICTION
AND DOCUMENTARY FILMS.
IN GRAD SCHOOL, WE USED TO TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT
PROJECTS THAT WE WANTED TO DO.
IN FACT, WE USED TO ALSO PICK UP BASKETBALL
TOGETHER, HE AND I, HE HAD HIS HOOP DREAMS
JUST AS I DID WHEN I WAS A KID.
WE STARTED THAT PROJECT, IN FACT, THE FIRST
FORMAL MEETING WE HAD WAS AT MY MOTHER'S HOUSE
IN CHAMPAIGN.
I JUST BUSTED UP MY KNEE FROM PLAYING BASKETBALL.
I JUST HAD SURGERY, AND I WAS SITTING WITH
MY LEG UP, AND WE WERE SITTING THERE TALKING
ABOUT HOW WE WERE GOING TO MAKE THIS FILM.
>>SO THIS WAS A REMARKABLE UNDERTAKING BECAUSE
YOU SHOT OVER FOUR YEARS.
SO YOU FOLLOWED THESE YOUNG MEN ALL THE WAY
THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL.
THEN A COUPLE YEARS OF EDITING, AND THEN EVERYTHING
INVOLVED IN TRYING TO GET DISTRIBUTION.
HOW LONG DID THAT ACTUALLY TAKE, DO YOU THINK,
START TO FINISH?
>> ROUGHLY EIGHT YEARS.
>>EIGHT YEARS.
>>YEAH.
STARTING FROM THAT MOMENT IN CHAMPAIGN WAS
MOSTLY DEDICATED TO RESEARCH AND FUNDRAISING.
AFTER A WHOLE YEAR OF WORK, WE HAD RAISED
$2,500 (LAUGHING) SO WE DECIDED, HECK, WE
WILL START ANYWAY.
SO WE DID.
AND, YEAH, IT TOOK FOUR TO FOUR AND A HALF
YEARS OF SHOOTING AND TWO TO TWO AND A HALF
YEARS OF EDITING AND ABOUT A YEAR AFTER WE
PREMIERED IT AT SUNDANCE TO BLOW IT UP TO
FROM 45-MILLIMETER TO 16 TO GET READY FOR
THEATERS.
>>HOW DO YOU PERSEVERE ON PROJECTS THAT TAKE
THAT LONG?
>>EASY, YOU GET WORK ELSEWHERE!
(LAUGHING) ONE OF THE BEAUTIES -- WE BECAME
A THREE-HEADED MONSTER.
WE TOOK ON A THIRD PARTNER, PETER GILBERT.
ONE OF THE BEAUTIES WAS WHILE ONE AND TWO
OF US WERE OFF MAKING A LIVING BECAUSE GOD
KNOWS WE COULDN'T PAY OURSELVES TO WORK ON
"HOOP DREAMS," THE OTHER ONE OR TWO COULD
KEEP THINGS GOING FORWARD.
THAT'S HOW WE MADE IT WORK.
>>TITLE WORKS ON SOME NUMBER OF LEVELS AND
PARTLY CLEARLY HAS TO DO WITH THE NUMBER OF
HOOPS THAT ONE HAS TO JUMP THROUGH, AND NOT
JUST THE ONES THAT YOU SHOOT.
>>EXACTLY.
>>THIS MOVIE ENJOYED -- I THINK SURPRISING
COMMERCIAL SUCCESS.
IT WAS VERY, VERY WELL-REVIEWED, AND I THINK
TWO OF OUR LOCAL HEROES, AT LEAST IN THE STATE
OF ILLINOIS AND ONE GUY FROM HERE, SISKEL
AND EBERT HAD A LOT OF PROMOTING THE MOVIE,
THEY SAW IT, AND SAID IT WAS REALLY GOOD HELPED
PROMOTE IT.
DID IT SURPRISE YOU AT ALL IT BECAME AS BIG
AS IT HAS?
>> AH, YES, ABSOLUTELY!
AS YOU ALLUDED TO, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED IT,
WE WERE MAKING A LITTLE HALF HOUR PROGRAM
THAT WE HOPED AND PRAYED THAT PBS MIGHT BROADCAST.
AND THEN IT JUST BECAME THIS BEHEMOTH THAT
GREW AND GREW AND GREW.
PART OF THE REASON WHY IT GREW PARADOXICALLY
BECAUSE WE HAD NO MONEY.
AS LONG AS WE -- WE COULD BASICALLY SHOOT
INDEFINITELY FOR FREE, BUT ONCE WE STOPPED
AND SAID OKAY NOW WE HAVE IT GOING TO POST,
AND WE HAVE TO EDIT AND DO MUSIC, ETCETERA,
WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY MONEY FOR ANY OF THAT.
WE COULD SHOOT -- PETER WAS WORKING FOR NOTHING.
KARTEMQUIN FILMS GAVE US NO OVERHEAD.
THAT WAS THE IRONY OF THE PRODUCTION.
>>HOW MUCH DID IT COST TO MAKE?
>> I THINK WE FINISHED IT AT ABOUT $450,000
TO THE 16-MILLIMETER PRINT WE PROMOTED AT
SUNDANCE, AND WE SPENT ADDITIONAL $250,000
TO BLOW UP TO 35-MILLIMETER TO PAY ALL THE
MUSIC RIGHTS, ETCETERA, TO GET READY FOR THEATERS.
>>IT MADE CLOSE TO $12 MILLION WORLDWIDE?
>> ACTUALLY, I THINK -- OH, WORLDWIDE, MAYBE.
YEAH, WORLDWIDE MAYBE.
>>ONE THING ABOUT "HOOP DREAMS" THAT I AM
SURE YOU MUST HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT WAS
A RISK IS IT IS LONG.
>> UH-HUH.
IT IS ALMOST THREE HOURS LONG.
UH-HUH.
DID ANYONE ALONG THE LINES SAY, "YOU CAN'T
HAVE THREE HOUR DOCUMENTARY.
YOU GOT TO CUT"?
>>PBS WAS ADAMANT ABOUT US TRYING TO GET IT
DOWN TO TWO HOURS.
WE JUST SAID, SORRY, NO CAN DO.
BUT, YOU KNOW, AT ONE POINT I THOUGHT -- I
WAS THINKING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
I WAS THINKING WE HAD 250 HOURS OF FOOTAGE.
THERE IS A LOT OF WONDERFUL FOOTAGE ON THE
FLOOR, CUTTING ROOM FLOOR.
I THOUGHT ABOUT MAYBE WE COULD STRETCH THIS
THING INTO A FIVE PART MINI SERIES THAT EACH
PART WOULD BE AS MUCH AS TWO HOURS, BUT AT
LEAST AN HOUR AND JUST DO IT IN SUCCESSIVE
NIGHTS.
BUT AT ANY RATE, WE CANNED THAT IDEA AND WENT
FOR ONE FINISHED PROGRAM.
DIP INTO THE PERSONAL AGAIN, YOU ARE A BUDDHIST,
PRACTICING BUDDHIST MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
>>YEAH, ABOUT 25.
>>SO WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP, YOU WERE A
KID, WAS RELIGION PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT?
>> NO, NOT AT ALL.
(LAUGHING) IN FACT, MAYBE THAT'S PARTLY WHY
I CONSIDER MYSELF A BUDDHIST NOW.
I HAD THAT INQUIRY THAT LIVED QUITE STRONG
THIS ME FROM THE TIME I WAS PROBABLY 13, 14.
I STARTED PICKING UP BOOKS OF EASTERN PHILOSOPHY,
ANYTHING I COULD GET MY HANDS-ON THAT WOULD
TRY TO EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF LIFE TO ME.
LIKE A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE, I THINK THAT QUESTION
BURNS QUITE STRONGLY.
SO, YOU KNOW, I READ SOME BOOKS BY ALLEN WATTS
IN PARTICULAR, AND THEN IN 1973, I THINK IT
CAME OUT, RAM DASS" BREAKTHROUGH NOW" THAT
TRANSLATES EASTERN IDEAS INTO THE WESTERN
MIND.
AND ANYWAY, YOU KNOW, IF I COULD HAVE, IN
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, SOMEBODY HAD TAKEN ME BY
THE HAND AND SAID, "THIS IS HOW YOU PRACTICE
BUDDHISM," I WOULD HAVE COME VERY WILLINGLY.
THERE WASN'T.
IT WAS MANY YEARS LATER WHEN I WAS LIVING
IN NEW YORK CITY, SOMEBODY MADE THAT OFFER
TO ME.
"HAVE YOU EVER BEEN INTERESTED IN PRACTICING
BUDDHISM?"
I SAID, "YOU BET," AND HE INTRODUCED ME TO
THE PRACTICE.
>>THIS IS VERY CLEARLY CONNECTED WITH THE
KIND OF WORK THAT YOU DO, OR MAYBE MORE SPECIFICALLY
WITH THE KIND OF STORIES THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED
IN TELLING.
>>YEAH, MAYBE SO.
I MEAN IT CERTAINLY IMPACTS THE WAY I WORK
WITH SUBJECTS, AND THE WAY THAT I APPROACH
FILMMAKING IN GENERAL.
TO ME, THE PROCESS IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE
PRODUCT.
AND I USE THE FILMMAKING PROCESS, ESPECIALLY
NOW AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MENTOR YOUNGER FILMMAKERS,
AND NEVER, EVER DOES -- YOU KNOW, THE MEANS
HAVE TO BE CONGRUENT WITH THE ENDS, EVERY
STEP OF THE WAY.
SO I HAVE P-A'ED AND WORKED ON OTHER FILMS
WHERE THAT WASN'T THE CASE.
I SAW LIVES ENDANGERED AND PEOPLE TREATED
BRUTALLY, AND I THOUGHT, "THAT'S NOT ME."
>>THE FILM "JOURNEY TO ZANSKAR" THE GENERAL
THEME OF IT IS THE THREAT OF LOSS OF CULTURE
OF INDIGENOUS CULTURE,
WORKING TO TRY TO PRESERVE THAT CULTURE BY
EDUCATING CHILDREN INTO TIBETAN AND RELIGION
AND CULTURE.
I DON'T WANT TO DO THE SYNOPSIS MYSELF.
WHAT IS "JOURNEY FROM ZANSKAR" ALL ABOUT?
>> BASICALLY IT IS A STORY ABOUT TWO TIBETAN
MONKS, CALLED JAMMU AND KASHMIR.
AND HIGH HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS, HISTORICALLY,
THEY ARE PART OF TIBET, EVER SINCE THE BRITISH
THROUGH THE BORDERS OF 1948, THEY SUDDENLY
FOUND THEMSELVES IN THIS COUNTRY CALLED INDIA.
THEY GET NO FEDERAL AND STATE SUPPORT FOR
INDIGENOUS WAYS.
THEY TRY TO SAVE THE DYING TIBETAN CULTURE.
THEY ARE BUILDING A SCHOOL AT THEIR MONASTERY
WHICH IS A THOUSAND YEARS OLD, TO INCORPORATE
WESTERN PRACTICES, WITH HISTORY, LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE.
IN THE MEANTIME, THEY TAKE 17 YOUNG CHILDREN,
AND THIS WAS THE STORY WE FILMED, SOME AS
YOUNG AS FOUR, ALL OF WHOM, ONCE THEY LEAVE
HOME MAY NEVER, EVER RETURN AGAIN, TO WALK
OVER THESE HIGH MOUNTAINS TO GET THEM INTO
SCHOOLS AND MONASTERIES IN LOWER INDIA.
BASICALLY THE CULTURE IS THE BACKDROP TO THE
STORY WHICH IS ADVENTURE STORY, A ROAD TALE.
>>THIS IS A REALLY REMARKABLE STORY.
YOU HAVE THE TWO MONKS TAKING THESE CHILDREN
ON A TREK ACROSS THE HIMALAYANS TO STUDY AND
SO FORTH.
THE HARDSHIP, YOU CAN'T UNDERESTIMATE HOW
ROUGH IT IS IN TERMS OF THE DEMANDS ON THE
PHYSICAL, COLD, THE CHALLENGES THAT COME WITH
BEING AT HIGH ALTITUDE.
THIS WAS NO SMALL THING, AND WE ARE NOT JUST
TALKING ABOUT ADULTS HERE.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CHILDREN.
YEAH.
YEAH!
WELL, NOT ONLY THAT, I MEAN THESE ARE -- ZANSKAR
IS A VERY POOR REGION AND POOR FAMILIES.
MONKS CHOSE THE POOREST OF THE POOR BECAUSE
THEY WANTED TO NOT ONLY TRY TO SAVE THE CULTURE,
TIBETAN CULTURE, BUT ALSO TO GIVE THESE FAMILIES
A LEG UP, SOCIOECONOMICALLY BY HAVING THEM
HAVE ONE OF THEIR CHILDREN BE EDUCATED ABROAD,
AND THEN HOPEFULLY SOME OF THESE KIDS WILL
RETURN BACK TO ZANSKAR AND BE DOCTORS AND
BE LAWYERS AND BE TEACHERS TO HELP THEIR COMMUNITIES,
NOT ONLY CULTURALLY BUT ECONOMICALLY.
>>YOU HAD A CREW OF TWO.
IT WAS YOU AND CAMERA GUY, JUST THE TWO OF
YOU.
>>CORRECT.
I LOST THE CAMERA GUY WHEN WE GOT DELAYED.
SO WE GOT TO A CERTAIN POINT IN THE STORY,
AND BECAUSE OF HARDSHIPS ALONG THE WAY, HE
HAD TO GET BACK TO LA FOR ANOTHER FILM SHOOT.
THEN I BECAME A ONE MAN CREW.
>>HAVE YOU EVER DONE ANYTHING THIS PHYSICALLY
DEMANDING BEFORE?
HOW WAS IT FOR YOU AND HIM?
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO OVERESTIMATE
-- I MEAN IT WASN'T EASY, BUT -- AND PEOPLE
SOMETIMES ASK ME, DID YOU EVER THINK YOU WERE
GOING TO DIE?
AND THE ANSWER IS YES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.
I JUST -- PUT IT THIS WAY, MY WIFE, WHEN SHE
FIRST SAW THE ROUGH CUT OF THE FILM, I HAD
PURPOSEFULLY NOT TOLD HER WHAT HAPPENED BOTH
BEFORE AND AFTER I GOT BACK.
SHE WATCHED THE FIRST ROUGH CUT AND SAID "ARE
YOU KIDDING ME?"
SHE KNEW NONE OF THAT.
I SAID, YEAH, BUT I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO WORRY.
THE OTHER THING, I THINK IS REALLY REMARKABLE
ABOUT THIS, APPARENTLY THERE ARE VERY FEW
PEOPLE IN THE WORLD THAT CAN SPEAK ZANSKARI
AND ENGLISH.
>>TRUE.
>>TRANSLATION WAS A BIG CHALLENGE.
BUT BOTTOM LINE, AS YOU WERE GOING ALONG WITH
THESE FOLKS, AND FILMING, YOU WERE FILMING
STUFF, AND PEOPLE WERE TALKING, AND YOU HAD
NO IDEA WHAT THEY WERE SAYING.
>>CORRECT.
(LAUGHING)
>>IT WASN'T UNTIL LATER WHEN YOU GOT SOMEONE
TO DO THE TRANSLATION, YOU ACTUALLY KNEW REALLY
WHAT YOU HAD SHOT.
>>YES, I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS AS A WAY TO
GO FORWARD FOR THE YOUNG FILMMAKERS OUT THERE!
(LAUGHING) YES, IT IS TRUE.
IT PUTS YOU ON THE FRONTIER OF YOUR RESOURCES
AS A FILMMAKER WHICH ARE REALLY YOUR RADAR,
YOUR OPEN HEART AND YOUR INSTINCTS.
>>ONE OF THE MONKS, THE MONKS YOU TRAVELED
WITH COULD SPEAK ENGLISH?
>> YES, THEY BOTH SPOKE BROKEN ENGLISH.
>>YOU COULD TALK TO THEM.
>>YES.
>>IT WASN'T LIKE YOU COULDN'T TALK TO ANYBODY.
WHEN THEY WERE TALKING TO THE KIDS AND ANY
OF THAT KIND OF STUFF, YOU WERE FILMING.
YOU PROBABLY HAD SOME IDEA WHAT WAS GOING
ON, BUT SPECIFICALLY WHAT THEY WERE TALKING
ABOUT, YOU HAD NO IDEA?
>> EXACTLY.
WHAT I WOULD DO AS A PRACTICE, TRY TO TORAL
GESHI, OUR MAIN MONK, FIND OUT FROM HIM WHAT
WAS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE COMING SCENES,
AND THEN -- SO I HAD A BROAD SENSE, AND AS
SOON AS IT WAS OVER, I WOULD GRAB HIM AGAIN,
AND SAY, "OKAY, TELL ME HAPPENED."
>>THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I ALSO WANT TO MAKE
SURE WE TALK ABOUT BECAUSE IT LINKS UP SOMETHING
THAT YOU FEEL PERSONALLY WITH THE KIND OF
STORIES THAT YOU WANT TO TRY TO TELL.
I THINK IT IS TRUE ADOLESCENTS IS A RELATIVELY
RECENT INVENTION, AND THAT IN TRADITIONAL
SOCIETIES FOR A VERY LONG TIME PEOPLE WERE
CHILDREN AND THEN THEY WERE ADULTS.
>>RIGHT.
>>AND THERE WAS SOME WAY THAT THEY HAD TO
MARK THAT TRANSITION AND PERHAPS ALSO TO IN
THE RUN UP TO TRY TO TRAIN PEOPLE IN THE ADULT
ROLE.
>>UH-HUH.
>>SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T -- WE REALLY DON'T
KNOW EITHER OF THOSE THINGS.
>>UH-HUH.
>>CLEARLY YOU SEEM TO FEEL WE ARE WORSE OFF
BECAUSE WE DON'T.
>>ABSOLUTELY.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT GOES BACK TO YOUR
QUESTION ABOUT WHAT WAS MY LIFE LIKE WITH
THE LOSS OF MY FATHER.
YOU KNOW, I DESPERATELY NEEDED SOME KIND OF
INITIATION WHEN I WAS A TEEN, AND I DIDN'T
GET IT.
THERE IS A PROVERB THAT COMES FROM AFRICA,
I WILL PUT A RESEARCHER ON IT TO FIND OUT
EXACTLY WHERE, BUT THAT SAYS IF WE DO NOT
INITIATE THE YOUNG, THEY WILL BURN DOWN THE
VILLAGE TO FEEL THE HEAT.
AND, TO ME, THAT SAYS IT ALL BECAUSE, YOU
KNOW, THERE IS SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE WHO -- THERE
IS ALL THIS ENERGY, AND THERE IS ALL THIS
VITALITY, AND IF WE DON'T FIND WAYS TO HOLD
IT AND THEN TO HELP THEM UNCOVER WHAT POSITIVE
ENDS THEY CAN PUT ALL THAT ENERGY TO, IT WILL
GO IN A NEGATIVE DIRECTION, AND THEY ARE GOING
TO START DRINKING AND DRIVING AND SETTING
FIRES AND BEATING EACH OTHER UP AND SHOOTING
IN SCHOOLS AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER THINGS.
SO TO MY WAY OF THINKING, IT IS HEARTBREAKING
THAT -- AND I PUT IT IN THE LAST TWO TO THREE
HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL
SOCIETY AND SO FORTH, THAT A LOT OF THESE
PRACTICES HAVE BROKEN DOWN.
MY MISSION, IF YOU WILL, IS TO RECREATE THEM.
ACTUALLY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO RECREATE THEM,
BUT TO JUST BRING THEM BACK INTO THE FOREFRONT
OF THE DOMINANT CULTURE.
>>RIGHTS OF PASSAGE, THAT'S AT LEAST WHAT
YOU WERE TRYING TO EXPLORE WITH THAT.
>>ABSOLUTELY.
YEAH.
AND THERE IS, YOU KNOW, THERE IS WONDERFUL
PRACTICES THAT HAVE SURVIVED, YOU KNOW, FROM
THE FEW INDIGENOUS CULTURES THAT HAVE MADE
IT THROUGH TO THIS DAY AND AGE.
I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE.
I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE NEW CONTEMPORARY
HYBRIDS, LIKE THE WEEKEND WORKSHOP I DID WITH
THE MANKIND PROJECT AND OTHERS THAT ARE SORT
OF IN BETWEEN, A MIX OF BOTH.
BECAUSE THEY ARE OUT THERE.
>> I SAW A LITTLE CLIP -- I THINK IT WAS ON
YOUR WEB SITE, ON WARRIOR FILMS WEB SITE WHERE
YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT YOUR WORK WHERE YOU
SAY -- AND IT STRUCK ME ENOUGH SO I ACTUALLY
TOOK IT DOWN.
YOU SAID YOU WERE INTERESTED IN STORIES THAT
CHANGE LIVES, THE LIVES OF PEOPLE THAT YOU
FILMED AND THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE WHO WATCH
THE FILM.
DO YOU THINK THAT THERE ARE IMPORTANT WAYS
YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN CHANGED BECAUSE OF THE
MOVIES THAT YOU HAVE MADE?
>>THAT'S FUNNY BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE
GOING TO SAY BECAUSE OF THE MOVIES YOU HAVE
SEEN!
(LAUGHING)
>>NO, I AM THINKING AS A RESULT -- BECAUSE
YOU HOPE YOU WILL CHANGE THE LIVES OF THE
PEOPLE WHO WATCH YOUR MOVIES.
BUT I AM WONDERING HOW YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN
CHANGED AS A RESULT OF MAKING THE MOVIES.
>>YEAH.
YEAH.
NO, ABSOLUTELY IT HAS.
THERE IS NO QUESTION.
I MEAN I WILL TELL YOU WHAT COMES TO MIND,
AND I WILL TRY TO SAY IT WITHOUT WEEPING BECAUSE
IT JUST PIERCES MY HEART AND STILL DOES WHEN
I RECOUNT IT.
I MADE THE FILM "BOYS TO MEN" IN JERSEY IN
2000, AND 2001, THERE WAS AFRICAN AMERICAN
MOTHER OF A FAMILY THAT FILMED THE TEEN, ALFRED
RAM BUI.
AT ONE POINT, SHE SAID "FREDERICK, YOUR FILMING
HAS MADE ME UNDERSTAND MY OWN SON BETTER,
AND I BELIEVE HE UNDERSTANDS ME BETTER BECAUSE
OF YOU."
IT IS BECAUSE I WOULD COME AROUND, AND I WOULD
ASK HER -- I WOULD DO INTERVIEWS WITH HER,
"I THINK YOUR SON IS FEELING THIS," AND DA,
DA, DA.
I WOULD TALK TO HIM AND SAY, "BUT YOUR MOTHER
IS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS."
ANYWAY, THAT MEANT A LOT TO ME.
WE ARE COMING TO THE POINT WHERE I WANT TO
FINISH UP.
MAYBE A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE THING WHAT I WAS GOING FOR WITH MENTIONING
"HOOP DREAMS" WAS THAT SOME PEOPLE I AM SURE
LOOKED AT THE SUCCESS OF "HOOP DREAMS" AND
SAID YOU CAN BE SUCCESSFUL MAKING DOCUMENTARIES.
IT SEEMED WE HAD A MINI GOLDEN AGE FOR DOCUMENTARIES.
BUT I THINK I HAVE SEEN SOME OF THE THINGS
YOU HAVE SAID THAT SUGGEST THAT MAYBE YOU
THINK ACTUALLY THAT WAS -- THAT PEAK HAD PASSED.
>>OH, DEFINITELY IT ALREADY PASSED.
YEAH.
YEAH.
YEAH.
THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME, IN THE WAKE OF
MICHAEL MOORE'S SUCCESS IN "MARCH OF THE PENGUINS,"
THERE WAS A RELATIVE LOT OF MONEY BEING THROWN
TO DOCUMENTARIANS.
BUT IT ONLY LASTED THREE OR FOUR YEARS.
THEN A LOT OF THOSE FILMS COULD NEVER BE SOLD,
NEVER MAKE BACK THE MONEY THAT WAS PUT INTO
THEM.
EVEN TO THIS DAY, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A LOT,
I SUPPOSE, FEWER HIGH BUDGET DOCUMENTARIES
BEING MADE, THERE IS STILL A GLUT OF PRODUCT
IN THE MARKETPLACE FRANKLY.
THERE ARE SO MANY DOCS BEING MADE THAT IT
IS REALLY, REALLY HARD, EVEN WITH MY REPUTATION
AND I THINK I DO REASONABLY GOOD WORK TO GET
DISTRIBUTION.
I STRUGGLED TO GET "JOURNEY TO ZANSKAR" FRENCH
BLEW IT UP AND GOT IT IN THEATERS IN FRANCE,
AND I CAN'T GET IT ON TELEVISION IN THE UNITED
STATES.
>>NOT ONLY BIG ENOUGH CHALLENGE TO GET THE
MONEY TO MAKE THE MOVIE.
BUT ONCE YOU GET IT MADE, CAN YOU GET TO WHERE
EVERYBODY CAN SEE IT?
>> EXACTLY.
IT DRIVES ME CRAZY, IT IS IRONIC, I SUPPOSE
BECAUSE I STARTED AS DISTRIBUTOR, WAY, WAY
BACK WHEN.
BUT I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ADAMANT, I DON'T WANT
TO BE DOING DISTRIBUTION.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE THE THINGS.
>>SO WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR YOU?
WHAT DO YOU STILL WANT TO DO?
>> OH, I HAVE A SHELF OF UNFINISHED PROJECTS,
BOTH FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY.
I AM ON -- IF I AM LUCKY A TWO FILM A DECADE
PACE.
IT IS JUST TOO SLOW FOR ME.
I LIKE TO BE MAKING A FILM AT LEAST EVERY
OTHER YEAR.
SO THE RIGHTS OF PASSAGE ONE IS THE NEXT FILM
UP.
THEN I'D LIKE TO ACTUALLY MAKE ANOTHER FICTION
FILM, BECAUSE THAT'S MY TREAT TO MYSELF FOR
DOING MORE SOCIAL SERVICE, IF YOU WILL.
>>IF ONE LOOKED AT YOUR FILMS, WOULD SOME
SORT OF PERSONAL STATEMENT A SET OF BELIEFS
EMERGE, AND SAY THIS IS WHAT I SORT OF BELIEVE?
>> IT IS HARD TO SAY OVER MY 30 YEARS OF FILMMAKING,
ONE SINGLE MESSAGE R BUT CERTAINLY IN THE
LAST TEN YEARS OR SO I HAVE BEEN CLEAR ABOUT
-- I AM REALLY INTERESTED IN CAPTURING HUMAN
TRANSFORMATION AND HUMAN TRANSFORMATION THAT
EXISTS IN THE WAKE OF VASTLY DOMINANT SOCIOECONOMIC
BARRIERS.
SO HOW DO THESE UNDERDOGS FACE ALL OF THE
DIFFERENT BARRIERS THAT EXIST IN THEIR LIVES
AND STILL FIND WAYS TO TRANSFORM THEIR LIFE
FOR THE BETTER?
THAT'S WHAT FASCINATES ME.
>>THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD PLACE TO STOP, AND
STOP WE MUST.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
MY PLEASURE.
WE APPRECIATE IT, FREDERICK MARX.
I WANT TO SAY THANKS TO YOU AND ALSO THANKS
TO YOU FOR WATCHING.
WE HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US AGAIN FOR ANOTHER
EDITION OF "ILLINOIS PIONEERS."
