Susan Gluth was born in Hamburg. After practical training as a forest ranger, cook, and veterinarian, she studied business and commerce, followed by film at the University of Television & Film in Munich. Active as a freelance filmmaker, producer, and director of photography, her films include “L’amour chez Tati” (1999), “A Refugee Childhood” (2006), “Soap and Water” (2008), and “Playing Hooky” (2014). (Press materials)
“Urmila: My Memory Is Power” will premiere at the 2016 Hot Docs Film Festival on April 29.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
SG: There’s no genre for this film. It’s an intimate portrait of a young woman who draws the strength to make a stand against injustice from the memories of her time as a slave. It’s a film about freedom, coping with your demons, and the power of women who change the world.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
SG: When you look at my other films, you see that I was always interested in underdogs — people who have no chance in life, but they try to make the best out of it. But most of these stories haven’t been encouraging. When I met Urmila, I felt that she had the potential to be a hero of a film. She could turn a very sad story into something hopeful. Her story has both sides: the dark and the bright. I thought she could encourage and give hope to people, not only in Nepal, and that challenged me.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
SG: Go have a beer and feel whatever the film brought out in you.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
SG: [Some challenges were] to talk about the past without being too explicit, to respectfully handle the girls’ demons, which are with them all time, and the fact that we didn’t ask for a permit to make the film. We had one foot in prison the whole time.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
SG: I started on my own. Then I got some additional development money from the Filmfoundation in Hamburg, my hometown. They’ve supported my projects for many years Then the Kuratorium foundation came onboard for the development. Since I am also the producer, I had to invest own money. That is the system in Germany.
After my research trips to Nepal, Norway, and New York, I finally finished a short video and the script for the film and applied for production money. I had a co-producer on board who helped a lot with financing. And we were supported quite greatly by different foundations and an NGO. But don’t ask for my salary — sometimes you can’t even count it. Filmmaking for me is not about getting rich, but about your projects.
W&H: What’s the biggest misconception about you and your work?
SG: People who are not in our business never see how much work making a film is — that it takes years to complete projects. And when they finally understand the impact of time, money, and health, they don’t understand why I do it if it’s not for money.
The very popular term “storytelling” in documentaries has made the genre more respected on the market over the past years. Editors and producers really like it. This is actually not what I like about my work.
I never stage my films. I have no real script. I circle around ideas. The films follow their own way. The heart of a documentary is still “to document” — to watch and to listen, not to follow a fixed idea you create at your desk, far away from the action. And if the so-called “story” has some quirks, if it is not perfectly told, then that’s reality.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
SG: [The worst advice was] “Don’t touch the camera. You’re a woman. I don’t know if you can handle this.” This was told to me while I was working as a camera-assistant in Hamburg, about 25 years ago. It was a man’s world.
[The best advice is] “Trust yourself. Follow your instinct.” This was told to me by photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, while shooting with him in Paris, probably 18 years ago.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
SG: Don’t think about it too much.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
SG: I am very bad with idols. In photography there are some women I admire. But in film, it’s not as obvious.
When it comes to women there’s always Agnès Varda, specifically her attitude, her eye, her sensitivity. Female-directed films I’ve noted recently [include] Phyllida Lloyd’s “Mamma Mia!” [which has] good humor and entertainment for a big audience — never “cheap” or too simple, Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” [has a] great mood and simplicity, and Maren Ade’s “The Forest for the Trees” [which is] honest, radical, and humorous on a very sad level.
