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More than 100 people joining ethics discussion on Stevie! Impressive turnout.
Important to have a safe space to talk about ethics and docu making. Stevie is particularly emblematic of that.
@GordonQuinnKTQ is here.
For those familiar with @Kartemquin history, Peter Kuttner is here too
Stevie the topic for tonight. An incredibly challenging film. If you haven’t seen it, you should. More info: https://kartemquin.com/films/stevie
A central ethical dilemma: Should the film have even been made?
132 people in the meeting. Nice turnout!
There are some great questions in the chat about regrets, voiceover, critics’ accusations, rolls of film, and keeping in touch now.
The potential harm was making a film about Stevie, according to Steve James.
Easy to make a film that vilifies people like Stevie; that happens too often.
SJ didn’t anticipate the negative reactions to Stevie’s family.
Here’s the NYT review: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/28/movies/film-review-in-rural-illinois-chronicling-one-man-s-slow-fall.html
They shot the film in Super 16.
SJ says they shot about 75 hours… and that was without funding.
They didn’t shoot everything in the nightclub scene because they had only one roll of film.
GQ shares a quick story where he ran out of film in the church and kept filming anyway.
The club scene… hard to watch.
Dana Kupper really filmed that scene well.
Docu cinematographers really need more respect.
Seattle Weekly review https://www.seattleweekly.com/film/stevie-good-intentions-cant-save-the-man/
SJ has heard from more people about this film (Stevie) than any other film he has done, including Hoop Dreams. The comments come from people who knew people like Stevie.
Dana Kupper mentions the club scene when Stevie tries to force Tanya to dance with him and she didn’t want to. She says that scene made her sick to her stomach.
How hard would it be to stand by and keep filming?
GQ has a great reminder about power and how it flows among the people in the scene. In Stevie, there is a scene where a participant is just messing with them.
Clearly, that person messing about has the power in that moment.
SJ paraphrase: If it had to be honest about the family, then it had to be honest about him as the filmmaker too.
GQ: If Hollywood made a film about Stevie, it would be a buddy film about Stevie and Steve James.
(Which is NOT the point. Would just reinforce the Springeresque representations of people like Stevie in other media.)
