Click here to learn more about A Slim Peace and to view clips of the movie
Q: How did you get your start in filmmaking?
A: I started in media at first. I was a television news producer and journalist. I quickly realized I didn’t like hard news stories, but preferred features. I first started doing internships at CNN when I was in college, and then my first job was in Jerusalem …
Q: What drew you to documentary filmmaking?
A: I was interested in news and reality … I’m interested in storytelling and I have a real desire to tell something …
Q: Many of the women immediately tell you the dieting group is political just by the nature of their identities. Did you know this going into it?
A: Yes. I had to choose or cast the women, as I would cast a fictional film. I had to choose women that would represent part of the conflict. I also had to choose women who were real people who were willing to share their lives and stories and I’m very grateful to the women who did. In terms of the dynamic and who would get along … that was out of my control. Once I chose the women, I was very careful to make sure that whatever happened, happened, so that it was real for the audience—and real in terms of the stories they told. After that, they were on their own!
Q: How did you find these women?
A: We created the group ourselves ... a lot of research went into it.
Q: I read that your inspiration for the film was that you were trying to lose weight in 2000 when the peace process broke down and the idea came together. Is this true?
A: That’s true … I think it’s hard for anyone in this day and age to feel good about your body, considering all the images we have which aren’t real … I don’t have one woman friend or male friend [who doesn’t feel the same] … I was losing weight at the time and I was working with Israelis and Palestinians at the time … I just connected the two … I’m passionate about peace in the Middle East and I wanted to bring together women who normally never meet.
All women struggle with it [body image] … The body is not arbitrary. Bodies can evoke so many emotions: it means victory, failure, and pain … It’s very loaded and so human … that was the impetus. We wanted to connect something that intimate and loaded with something as painful, like conflict …
Q: Did you find yourself relating to certain women more than others, in terms of personality?
A: Sure! I’m human … But in my job as a director on the film, my biggest concern and priority was to remain neutral—and I really wanted to make a film that was balanced and that expressed people as they are, with no manipulation, no agenda …
Q: What surprised you about some of the women?
A: Lots of things … Because of the reality of the Middle East, things change all the time, on a weekly basis. Within the time we were there, Hamas was elected, Ariel Sharon went into the hospital, etc. … So, within even the span of the program, the whole political reality changed. So, there’s that and then how people react to it … what was surprising and what comes out in the film is how the women then react to Hamas being elected … that’s when people have a real fight, argue, and really let out their differences … The other thing that was surprising and heart wrenching is to see how quickly people can get along. Peace is totally possible. You put people in a room together and they find things in common …
Q: What risks, if any, do you think you were taking in making a film like this?
