When Good Things Happen to Good People -- Short Documentary Film 2010 Academy Award Nomination
One of the first things I learned as a budding filmmaker is that filmmaking is not a meritocracy. Like many industries, you move up the film world through who you know, not what you know. Pseudo-artists make it big while real artists starve. Some of the best works of art do not necessarily garner the most accolades; some of the most violent and gratituously sexually explicit independent films, in the name of art, often win many awards at both Cannes and the Independent Spirit Awards. Some films which I consider to be extraordinary don't quite make it commercially while others which I would consider to be less worthy go on to become blockbuster hits. The world of film has its particular tastes and trends, which often go against my personal aesthetics and tastes. Commercial value reigns. Artistry seems only to be noticed when the film can fill theatres and has popular appeal. Forget about social value. The broader film business is largely about entertainment and the art of making money. This is why most independent films lose, not make, money without big studio backing.
As a voting member of the Independent Spirit Awards, I do have a say in who wins and loses. I find it disturbing that the current trend in film is to glorify murder, mayhem and heinous acts. One of the fest favorites this year was "Sin Nombre," by a American Cary Fukunaga, who is of half Japanese and Swedish ancestry. While a beautifully artistic film, it had multiple highly-graphic scenes of attempted rapes and children committing acts of violence. I flinched each time. An 11-year-old kid shoots a man; the corpse is cut up into pieces and fed to the dogs. I understand the such images may be expressing the heinous realities germane to the storyline. However, I find myself deluged with so many bizarre and disturbing films being nominated for top awards. "Sin Nombre" is probably one of the first American films which provides historical insight into the Central American/Mexican immigrant experience. According to published reports, Funakaga researched his story meticulously. But did it have to be so violent? Was that violence germane to the expression of story? I think some of it was; I think some of it was commercial sensationalism packaged in an avante garde style. It was a masterful example of visual storytelling but it did not have so many graphic scenes of violence. So many of the nominated Independent Spirit Award films are violent. Last year's "Hunger" and "Gomorrah" made me numb. No surprise that Quentin Tarantino sits on the jury of Cannes and other like-minded filmmakers lavish praise of these masterful expressions of the darker sides of human nature.
What does this have to do anything with the Academy Awards? The Ohio-based documentary filmmaking couple Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert who helped me to find production crew in Dayton, have been nominated for their short documentary film "The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant." They are among the humblest and kindest in our species and among the finest docmakers in the U.S.
Their sensitive, intimate portrayal of GM workers losing their jobs and community as the last truck rolls off the assembly lines brought me to tears. It is about the impact of the recession on ordinary, working-class folks who want nothing more than to raise their family. No murder or mayhem glorified here, but the glorification of ordinary law-abiding Americans who are suffering loss. I saw portions of the film at the IFP Market and met Steven in person there for the first time, though I have been corresponding with him for the past 5 years.
And moreover, I am thrilled that good films and great humane filmmakers without giant egos get the spotlight and recognition that they deserve. I could not be happier with their nomination. As my Associate Producer Karen said "That's great. Isn't it nice when good things happen to good people? Especially in an industry where, at least in my experience, people often fail upward, or are rewarded merely for whom they know..." She worked in film for a decade before she had kids.
Steven Bognar helped me from the very beginning in 2005 when I first began shooting my film in Ohio. He didn't even know a single thing about me. I just called him up and without hesitation he assisted. He helped me to find a cameraperson who was willing to work at student rates the last time I was in Ohio in April 2009. During that same videoshoot, when 2 out of my 3 batteries went dead all of the sudden and I was unable to find a professional videostore in Dayton, Steve saved the day by calling up several of his filmmaker friends in the Dayton, OH and asked them to help me. I'm in awe of their generosity as much as I am of their achievements. Anyways, just found out that they were nominated last night and can't stop raving about them. Usually, I am complaining that such and such film got nominated when another should have been. In recent years, I've lamented the growing number of nominations, which did not deserve its place, but got there because of big studio backing. There is meritocracy in the film world after all. Justice sometimes prevails.
As a voting member of the Independent Spirit Awards, I do have a say in who wins and loses. I find it disturbing that the current trend in film is to glorify murder, mayhem and heinous acts. One of the fest favorites this year was "Sin Nombre," by a American Cary Fukunaga, who is of half Japanese and Swedish ancestry. While a beautifully artistic film, it had multiple highly-graphic scenes of attempted rapes and children committing acts of violence. I flinched each time. An 11-year-old kid shoots a man; the corpse is cut up into pieces and fed to the dogs. I understand the such images may be expressing the heinous realities germane to the storyline. However, I find myself deluged with so many bizarre and disturbing films being nominated for top awards. "Sin Nombre" is probably one of the first American films which provides historical insight into the Central American/Mexican immigrant experience. According to published reports, Funakaga researched his story meticulously. But did it have to be so violent? Was that violence germane to the expression of story? I think some of it was; I think some of it was commercial sensationalism packaged in an avante garde style. It was a masterful example of visual storytelling but it did not have so many graphic scenes of violence. So many of the nominated Independent Spirit Award films are violent. Last year's "Hunger" and "Gomorrah" made me numb. No surprise that Quentin Tarantino sits on the jury of Cannes and other like-minded filmmakers lavish praise of these masterful expressions of the darker sides of human nature.
What does this have to do anything with the Academy Awards? The Ohio-based documentary filmmaking couple Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert who helped me to find production crew in Dayton, have been nominated for their short documentary film "The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant." They are among the humblest and kindest in our species and among the finest docmakers in the U.S.
Their sensitive, intimate portrayal of GM workers losing their jobs and community as the last truck rolls off the assembly lines brought me to tears. It is about the impact of the recession on ordinary, working-class folks who want nothing more than to raise their family. No murder or mayhem glorified here, but the glorification of ordinary law-abiding Americans who are suffering loss. I saw portions of the film at the IFP Market and met Steven in person there for the first time, though I have been corresponding with him for the past 5 years.
And moreover, I am thrilled that good films and great humane filmmakers without giant egos get the spotlight and recognition that they deserve. I could not be happier with their nomination. As my Associate Producer Karen said "That's great. Isn't it nice when good things happen to good people? Especially in an industry where, at least in my experience, people often fail upward, or are rewarded merely for whom they know..." She worked in film for a decade before she had kids.
Steven Bognar helped me from the very beginning in 2005 when I first began shooting my film in Ohio. He didn't even know a single thing about me. I just called him up and without hesitation he assisted. He helped me to find a cameraperson who was willing to work at student rates the last time I was in Ohio in April 2009. During that same videoshoot, when 2 out of my 3 batteries went dead all of the sudden and I was unable to find a professional videostore in Dayton, Steve saved the day by calling up several of his filmmaker friends in the Dayton, OH and asked them to help me. I'm in awe of their generosity as much as I am of their achievements. Anyways, just found out that they were nominated last night and can't stop raving about them. Usually, I am complaining that such and such film got nominated when another should have been. In recent years, I've lamented the growing number of nominations, which did not deserve its place, but got there because of big studio backing. There is meritocracy in the film world after all. Justice sometimes prevails.
posted by Pearl Ji-hyon Park at
11:25 PM
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