Directors discussed the importance of documentaries at Docs to Watch Roundtable
Written by Madisyn Welborn. Photo by Madisyn Welborn.
This year’s Docs To Watch Directors Roundtable, which was held on Oct. 25 at the Lucas Theater, shed light on important narratives that audiences might never have heard without these filmmakers.
Hosted by Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter, the tenth anniversary of this impactful event featured nine directors from nine incredibly diverse and widely celebrated films playing at this year’s festival, including IDA Award-winning Raoul Peck visiting for “Silver Dollar Road” and Academy Award-winning Davis Guggenheim visiting for “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.”
Also featured on the panel were Maite Alberdi for “The Eternal Memory,” Mstyslav Chernov for “20 Days in Mariupol,” Madeleine Gavin for ‘Beyond Utopia,” Matthew Heineman for “American Symphony,” Laura McGann for “The Deepest Breath,” Jesse Moss for “The Mission” and D. Smith for “Kokomo City.” Roger Ross Williams for “Stamped from the Beginning” intended to come, but was unable to attend due to illness.
The panel began by addressing the significance of the featured films and how difficult it was to create them due to factors such as safety, resources and the pandemic. Gavin, whose film shares the story of a family’s escape from North Korea and a defected mother’s attempt at extracting her 17-year-old son from the regime, reminds the audience of the importance of consent when sharing such fragile and dangerous stories. “We knew going in that the only way to positively do this is to risk not being able to do it,” she said. She made sure that at any point up until two weeks before the film’s premiere at Sundance, the people shown in the film could decide that they no longer wanted the story to be shared.
For D. Smith, prejudice worked long and hard as an obstacle to making her dreams a reality. Despite assisting in the production of Lil Wayne’s Grammy-winning album and sporting many other impressive accolades, Smith’s identity as a transgender Black woman has brought her many difficulties working in the industry. These difficulties led to couch surfing, financial troubles and struggling to feel fully welcomed by all in the Black community. Pulling from her own experiences, Smith’s film takes a deep dive into the lives of four Black transgender sex workers and the relationship they have with the Black Community.
Throughout the discussion, as each director shared their intentions for their films and the realities of bringing them to life, their passion for important storytelling was undeniable, making the tenth anniversary of this panel inspiring and impactful for all.
