Laura Fairrie is an award-winning documentary director with a background as a current affairs journalist and producer. At the beginning of her career she worked in the UK, Northern Ireland, China, and the United States making special reports and documentaries for BBC “Newsnight,” BBC 2, Channel 4 News, and Channel 4. She then went on to focus on directing feature documentaries. Her credits include “The Battle for Barking,” an observational film which followed the 2010 UK General Election campaign fight between the controversial far right BNP and Labour Party, and “Taking on the Tabloids,” an exploration of Hugh Grant’s Hacked Off campaign against the British Press.

“Spiral” will premiere at the 2017 DOC NYC film festival on November 14.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

LF: “Spiral” is a film about intolerance and fear told through the prism of resurging antisemitism in Europe and following the stories of people caught up in waves of hatred in France and Israel/Palestine.

The film holds a mirror up to the uncertain times we are living in and captures the atmosphere of growing political division and social distrust that seems to be affecting us all.

My intention is that the film plays like a psychological thriller — interconnected stories unfold and the film captures the inner thoughts of our characters as they wrestle with how they should respond to dangerous times.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

LF: The subject of the film felt urgent and important. The project started as an investigation into widespread reports of rising attacks and abuse against Jewish people in Europe. At the time it seemed that antisemitism was rearing its ugly head again and I wanted to understand why.

During the course of filming it quickly became apparent that this was also about something bigger and that antisemitism was the tip of the iceberg –the cracks in the surface started broadening out. All types of racism and hatred of the “other” increased, and we experienced the shock of terrorist attacks, Brexit, and then the election of Trump.

Whilst these are all separate events and issues I saw them as in some way interconnected and felt strongly that I wanted to make a film that reflected the fear and emotions affecting all of us from the starting point of contemporary antisemitism.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

LF: I would hope that the film allows us all to reflect on how we react to hugely unstable times and how we need to check our own instinctive fears of the “other” and try not to retreat, separate, or turn against each other.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

LF: The film was challenging for a number of reasons.

Firstly, journalistically the film was made during a time of huge political upheaval in Europe and staying true to the essential story was challenging.

Secondly, antisemitism as a subject matter is in its nature divisive. I was warned at the start of this film that I was entering a “viper’s nest,” and in many ways that proved to be true. Contemporary antisemitism is different to historical antisemitism, although at its heart the tropes and lies about Jews are the same. There was also a huge amount of fear about history repeating itself that sometimes made getting to the truth of the current story difficult.

Thirdly, on a practical level I found making the film with people whose language I didn’t speak difficult because at the heart of being a documentary filmmaker is communication and genuine connection. I eventually found a way around this by working closely with a brilliant French AP but having to make the bridge was a new experience for me.

I think the film has a slightly detached quality about it because of this — but in the end that has fed into the overall atmosphere of the film which is slightly haunting and which ultimately has hopefully worked in its favor.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

LF: Producer John Battsek approached me to look at the subject of resurging anti-semitism in Europe. After a lengthy research period I wrote a detailed document outlining the journalism at the heart of the film and my creative vision.

Once they had signed off on the idea the producers — John, Daniel Battsek, and Charles Cohen were incredibly supportive and the film was then fully funded by Cohen Media.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at DOC NYC?

LF: I am thrilled to have my film open in New York at DOC NYC. It means a huge amount to be showing “Spiral” alongside so many other films made by such brilliant filmmakers.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

LF: The best advice for documentary filmmaking that I always follow is to keep asking yourself “what’s the story?” It may seem obvious but when you’re making observational documentaries with real and complex human stories unfolding as you film them, you have to know what the story is at the heart of it and have a sense of what you want to say even though where it’s going is always completely unpredictable.

The worst advice: “You shouldn’t make documentaries — how can you? You have a baby.”

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

LF: Don’t give up. We need the female perspective and the female voice in filmmaking.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

LF: I have quite a few so I will have to go for two!

My favorite documentary is “Divorce Iranian Style” by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini. It inspired me to get out there and shoot my own films and immerse myself in worlds that were alien to me. The film reveals shocking truths with a gentle humanity and great sense of humor. As with all of Longinotto’s films it combines incredible access with a real purity of filmmaking and it’s about women!

My favorite narrative film is “Winter’s Bone” by Debra Granik. It has a documentary quality about it and there’s a strange beauty in the film despite the dark atmosphere and violence. And the central character is a strong, brave woman — a survivor — played by Jennifer Lawrence.

And all of Jane Campion’s work is a huge inspiration to me.

W&H: There have been significant conversations over the last couple of years about increasing the amount of opportunities for women directors yet the numbers have not increased. Are you optimistic about the possibilities for change? Share any thoughts you might have on this topic.

LF: I want to be optimistic but I know we have a long way to go. My personal experience has been that I have had to fight to keep making films. As a female director and a mother of three children I have been told it’s impossible for me to make documentaries and I’ve had to hide the fact I was pregnant at meetings in order to keep making films.

We need women filmmakers. I would like women to be supported to make the ambitious and tough films and not to be typecast as an other who can only make films about fluffy subjects or told to stay in the office to handle the admin whilst the men go out and shoot!