Interviews
Interviews
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“I’d Have Done This One on iMovie if They’d Asked Me To”: Editor Christopher Passig on Middletown
In the early 1990s, teenagers enrolled in Fred Isseks’ Electronic English would regularly report on the illegal dumping of toxic waste in their community, their investigation culminating in a student film at the end of the course. Now thirty years older, these former students and Isseks look back on their projects and reflect on their impact on the town’s legacy. Editor Christopher Passig delves into the process of cutting Middletown, including the insane amount of raw footage he worked with, the “extreme levels of candor” he tries to bring to every project and the sympathy he now feels for his […]
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“We Weren’t Looking To Trick the Audience”: DP Michael Latham on SALLY
The first American woman to enter space is the subject of SALLY, Cristina Costantini’s documentary about the astronaut Sally Ride. The film also delves into an aspect of the maverick’s personal life: her 27-year-long relationship with her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy and the immense burden of keeping their love hidden from the public. DP Michael Latham talks about how he came aboard the project, the team’s mission of “serving the archive” from NASA and the difficulties inherent to the film’s interview shoots. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the […]
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“Respect Goes a Long Way”: Producer Erin Williams-Weir on Never Get Busted
The docuseries Never Get Busted follows Barry Cooper, a decorated Texas narcotics officer who shifts his focus to exposing police misconduct and, in truly libertarian fashion, helping drug users avoid getting busted for possession. Screening as part of the Sundance’s episodic pilot showcase, Never Get Busted is also the first-time producing venture for Erin Williams-Weir. Below, Williams-Weir discusses the financial challenges she faced along the way and provides a glimpse at the series’ raw material. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How did you connect with this filmmaker and wind up producing the film? Williams-Weir: My background is in […]
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“It’s Wonderful to Aim for the Poetic”: Editor Julian Hart on Never Get Busted
Never Get Busted documents a decorated narcotics officer in Texas turn toward libertarianism as he aims to expose police misconduct and helps drug users slip under the radar. The docuseries, more than five years in the making, takes its name from the YouTube channel of its subject, Barry Cooper. Never Get Busted will screen at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival as part of the episodic pilot showcase. Below, editor Julian Hart extols the benefits that split screens had on his projects and shares what he has learned working for a diverse assortment of projects. See all responses to our annual Sundance […]
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“A Constant Atmosphere of Uncertainty and Caution”: DPs Anas Saeed, Ibrahim Snoopy & Phil Cox on Khartoum
Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, and Timeea Ahmed are among the 10 million+ people who have been displaced by the ongoing Sudanese Civil War. In Khartoum, they work with British director Phil Cox and five displaced Sudanese to reenact their stories. The film combines studio recreations with documentary footage shot in Sudan. Below, Snoopy, Saeed, and Cox, all of whom served as cinematographers, talk both about the logistical difficulties and the aesthetic goals of Khartoum. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were […]
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“Forgetting the Camera Was Rolling, It Hit Me”: DPs Neema Sadeghi & Nicholas Bupp on Serious People
In Serious People, a music video director hires a doppelganger to take his place at work after he learns that his wife is pregnant. The film, co-directed by Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson, is inspired by Gutierrez’s own expectant fatherhood and is a 2025 Sundance Film Festival NEXT selection. Neema Sadeghi (Noel Miller: Stop Crying) and Nicholas Bupp (Aporia, Salam) served as co-cinematographers. Below, they talk about working without a crew and contrasting a calm visual style with a mounting sense of narrative tension. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
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“The Onus Always Comes Back to Producers’ Creativity”: Producer Colleen Cassingham on Life After
Life After is an investigation into the whereabouts of Elizabeth Bouvia, whose request for medically assisted in dying in 1983 kicked off a debate that still rages today. The film is Reid Davenport’s follow-up to the 2022 Sundance film I Didn’t See You There and screens as part of the festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition. The film is also the first producer credit for Colleen Cassingham. Below, she talks about being challenged by her film’s subject matter, navigating conundrums of documentary ethics, and the overlapping crises in the industry. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How […]
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“Bringing Light to Darkness Does Motivate My Choice”: Editor Don Bernier, Life After
Reid Davenport’s follow-up to I Didn’t See You There probes the intersection between disability rights and medical assistance in dying in relation to the case of Elizabeth Bouvia, who started a national conversation about the issue in 1983 that persists to this day. The film screens in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition. Don Bernier (Athlete A, An Inconvenient Sequel) served as the film’s editor. Below, he explains how working on Life After altered his view on the subject and connects the fine arts and experimental film that sparked his interest in film with documentary editing. See all responses to our […]
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“Sudden Twists and Turns Are What Support the Core Idea”: Producers Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni on Cutting Through Rocks
Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni directed, shot, edited and produced their debut feature, Cutting Through Rocks, about an Iranian councilwoman who uses her position to advocate for the rights of women and girls in her village. The film screens as part of the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Below, Khaki and Eyni respond in their capacity as producers about the process of finding funding while sticking with their subjects. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How did you connect with this filmmaker and wind up producing the film? Khaki & Eyni: […]
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“We Were the First Audience for Our Editing Work”: Editors Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni on Cutting Through Rocks
In Cutting Through Rocks, directors Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki follow Iranian councilwoman Sarah Shahverdi, who teaches girls to ride motorcycles and uses her position to try to end child marriages. Cutting Through Rocks screens as part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Documentary Competition. Eyni and Khaki, besides directing, also served as the film’s editors. Below, they explain their method for editing in parallel and how they combed through 200 hours of footage. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were […]
