5 Questions (and Answers) From the Oxford Film Festival

Five questions from the Oxford Film Festival, link here.

Q. 2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

A: The biggest lesson I’ve taken from the making of the film is that difficult or complicated events resist simplification; but that we as humans have have a very real and understandable desire to see things simplified.

In this way, the person who does the simplifying for us is doing us a kind of favor; but in so doing, he or she is also controlling — in small or large ways — how we remember the event, the importance of the event, and the conclusions we take from the event. For events that are the most important, or events that are most heavily simplified, the distortions and errors introduced can be quite large.

The best part in getting this film — or any other film I’ve worked on — made was the opportunity to interact with and learn from dozens of people with specialized knowledge and experience. It’s edifying and humbling and fascinating and I thank my good fortune for having had the chances I’ve had to share time with these people.

(Full interview from Oxford Film Festival’s site.)