https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypMz9WVC24o

I really enjoyed Dimitri Villard’s visit to class. His insight into Hollywood filmmaking was particularly interesting. His stories about the troubles of shooting in Hollywood and how he was harassed on shoots by a contractor reminded me just how cutthroat this business can be. It was interesting that he recommended that people starting off should offer their services for free until they become indispensable. He said they could then tell the person they’re working for that they have an offer at a paying gig. It’s a clever strategy that I’m willing to try. Another thing that stood out to me is that he mentioned that he and his industry peers appreciated young people who were very aggressive.

Watching Hooligan Sparrow with Nanfu Wang and getting to speak with her was definitely a highlight of the semester for me. To see her emotion when watching the film and talking about her experience was inspirational. It was amazing to see someone take so much risk to tell a story. To tell this story, Nanfu had to make a decision that may ultimately prevent her from returning to China to see her family again. That’s passion. Her amazing camera work, even when the camera was hidden, brought forth compelling and often haunting images. Many times during the film Nanfu’s terror was captured by a camera aimed at nothing. Watching films like Hooligan Sparrow and meeting filmmakers like Nanfu Wang, really inspires me to pursue a documentary story that will affect change. To see people out in the world bringing light to injustices is powerful and moving. I realized after watching this film that many of my favorite documentaries have the documentary filmmaker in the film. This is certainly the case for interesting personalities such as Werner Herzog. It brings an added element to the piece. It may be that the filmmaker’s presence in the film grounds the material with a given perspective that is not merely implied by the images or interviews. One thing it does is draw your attention to the fact that you’re watching a film. This can give your story either more or less credibility. In the case of Hooligan Sparrow, I believe it gave it more credibility.