Jerry Rothwell
-
“Each of the Remembered Hoovers Made a Different Sound”: Jerry Rothwell | The Reason I Jump
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? My object(s) would be two vacuum cleaners (hoovers) vibrantly etched in the childhood memories of Joss, an autistic teenager in the film. The hoovers don’t appear in the film, and probably no longer exist, but they’re frequently present and talked about. Their colors—one red and one black—become a verbal game that’s […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020 -
Cinematographer Ben Lichty on Shooting the Greenpeace Doc, How to Change the World
A “hippie heist movie-turned-high sea adventure” is how Sundance describes Jerry Rothwell’s Sundance award-winning documentary How to Change the World, about the early days of the Greenpeace movement. Below, cinematographer Ben Lichty describes mixing interview with archival footage, creating “visual variety” and shooting with the RED Epic. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Lichty: When I first heard about How to Change the World and the story the film would explore, I really wanted to be a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 13, 2015 -
“The Director is the Film’s Immune System”: How to Change the World | Director Jerry Rothwell
What fear — whether it’s personal, or one related to the development, financing, production or distribution of your film — did you have to confront and conquer in the making of your movie? Fear is a constant companion when filmmaking, in my experience. I’ve learned to welcome it, as a sign that I‘m pushing my own boundaries a bit, not retreating into the easiest option. The absence of that nagging background anxiety is a sign I may have settled for less than I should have. With How To Change the World the biggest fear was about the narrative: whether the complex story […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2015
