I had to reevaluate who she was, too …While she had fears and a desire to control me, it was for a good reason; certainly, I’ve lived a lot of the things that she was afraid of. Often older women try to protect young girls, but in the protection, they also imprison them—and it’s not exactly their fault because we live in a dangerous world.
What happened in the film and in my life was a rebalancing of the image: to see my dad as a real person both good and bad and to see my mom as a real person both good and bad—and to allow myself to identify with her …
Q. Did you have female role models professionally?
A. My first role model as a filmmaker was Lina Wertmuller, a protégé of Fellini ... She was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen. She was the only director I ever idolized …When I decided to make films, I thought I’d make fiction; [documentaries] were accidental … It’s perfect that my first film was a documentary because I do think documentaries are actually suited for women because they’re so intimate, you can get involved in so many tasks … I’ve always loved to shoot and direct and produce … ironically, I’m preparing a fiction film now. Flying is as close to fiction as I’ve ever made—and I feel like it’s time to explore that next language.
Q. What does your executive producing entail?
A. Mostly for me, it’s about believing in a first time filmmaker ... It’s very hard to get your first film made … If I love something, I’ll try to raise money for it. I do give some artistic, editing, and producing guidance, but also a lot of it is saying, “I’ll add my name and let’s look for money” …
Q. Tell me about Flyingconfessions.com.
A. You can see different women’s stories (some are in the film, but some are not) … it’s a visual representation of the web of women. You can zoom into different women’s stories and their video clips … Eventually women will be able to submit their own videos of passing the camera.
