Dana Nachman is an award-winning filmmaker of both fiction and documentary films. Nachman’s 2018 feature documentary, “Pick of the Litter,” was sold within 48 hours of its premiere at the Slamdance Film festival. Her films “Batkid Begins,” “Witch Hunt,” “The Human Experiment,” and “Love Hate Love” have won dozens of awards and been seen by millions of people around the world.
“Pick of the Litter” opens in NY and LA today, August 31. For other screenings, visit the film’s official site. “Pick of the Litter” was co-directed by Don Hardy.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
DN: “Pick of the Litter” is competition documentary about a litter of puppies that we follow from the day they are born until they make the cut to become Guide Dogs for the Blind — or get cut from the program.
We followed the dogs for 22 months. It was a roller coaster ride, and we never knew what was going to happen. We were always on pins and needles when we were out shooting, and just praying that at least one dog would eventually make it. It was stressful!
Our goal was to make the film as dramatic as we felt the reality of the situation was as we were shooting. Based on the audience reactions I’ve seen, it seems that we achieved our goal. There are a lot of cheers, sniffles, oohs, and aahs along the way, so we are thrilled with the outcome.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
DN: My partner, Don Hardy, and I had done numerous stories on Guide Dogs for the Blind when we worked together at NBC in the San Francisco Bay Area. There was never a dry eye in the house when we would cover their graduations! We knew there was so much more there than what we could cover in our three-minute news stories.
Meanwhile, my mom was a journalist in New York and she did a newspaper series about one litter from a school there. She followed a litter, beginning to end. So essentially, we stole from the best — my mom.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
DN: I hope people feel that they went on a fun and entertaining journey — a journey that takes them out of the drudgery and craziness of our world today. That’s number one. Also, I hope they got to know Ron and Janet, who are two of the visually impaired people we meet in the film.
I realized while making this that whenever I see someone with a cane, I practically jump out of the way because I don’t want to be in their way. But this has an unintended byproduct: we further alienate visually impaired people.
These dogs, in addition to helping visually impaired people get to where they need to go, they are great ambassadors into the world of the blind. The dogs invite people to talk to these people about their dogs and about themselves. It’s awesome!
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
DN: Our biggest problem or war story on this film was the constant rain. It was the rainiest winter California had seen in many years, and of course most of our shoots were outside. This made for some tense times. We tried to keep the cameras dry and the lenses clean but after one day where we didn’t get any usable footage after several hours we decided we were not going to try shooting in the rain anymore. We would sit in the car until we got a window to shoot or we would beg Guide Dogs to switch their training around so that we could shoot on days without rain.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
DN: This film was paid for by one investor. I had always heard that these kinds of people existed but thought it was a film urban legend. This investor had also invested in my previous film, “Batkid Begins,” and after that film was sold, he was keen to get in on another film.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
DN: The best advice I’ve ever been given was from a woman in the first Film Fatales meeting that I ever went to. For those who don’t know, Film Fatales is a group of female directors who meet once a month. There are chapters now all over the world. We go around and talk about what we are working on and people give you advice. When it was my turn I talked about “Pick of the Litter” because we were shooting at the time. And then I had mentioned that I wrote a narrative short, a romantic comedy, that I wanted to direct but I was paralyzed about doing it because I had no clue how to make a fiction piece. A woman basically told me to stop whining — in the nicest of ways, of course– and just encouraged me to [go the] DIY [route] and go make it! Weirdly that’s all I needed. I needed to stop thinking about it and just do it. Now it’s been in more than 30 festivals, and I love it and am so happy I listened to her.
The worst advice I’ve been given is to forget about raising little bits of money and just work at raising a million or two at a time. Believe it or not, I have gotten this advice more than once. I think it’s exceedingly difficult to raise $25K let alone a million dollars, and I don’t think people who have given this advice have ever successfully raised money for independent film.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
DN: First and foremost, join Film Fatales or any other groups for women filmmakers that you can find in your area. I have gained so much by being part of Film Fatales. I really didn’t know a ton of filmmakers at all before I joined and now I feel like I have a community behind me and that’s a great feeling.
Two other pieces of advice that I have I think would be for men and women: just keep making films, and if this is something you really want to do, don’t give up, which is another way of saying don’t give in to the rejection. We all get rejected all the time. Sometimes daily. It’s because there are so many people out there who do or want to do what we are doing. The odds of getting into festivals, telling the story you want, and securing distribution are so low that you have to be doing this because you have to be. It’s like a compulsion. If this is the case for you, see it through and don’t let someone be your gatekeeper — be your own gatekeeper.
I would also encourage people to make shorts. I have only come to this more recently. I’ve found that making shorts is another way to meet great filmmakers and expand your community. It also allows you to be on the film festival circuit more frequently, you also are using your filmmaking skills more frequently, and they are much cheaper to make!
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
DN: I love “The Hurt Locker” by Kathryn Bigelow for its intensity. The tension in it is amazing. I love that it might not come across as a film that was directed by a woman and I think that’s good. Men have been directing films about men and women in every genre since the beginning and I think now it is time that women are allowed to do the same.
W&H: Hollywood and the global film industry are in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women — and some men — in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences being assaulted and harassed. What are your thoughts on the #TimesUp movement and the push for equality in the film business?
DN: As a former rape counselor, filmmaker, woman, and mom, I am all for #TimesUp! The thought of what many of these women had to go through is horrifying.
I just started working in fiction filmmaking and I’m really starting to understand how vulnerable actors are just by virtue of what they are doing, which is going deep into themselves to pull out the rawest of emotions. The thought of producers and directors taking advantage of their vulnerability is egregious. They should be doing just the opposite and protecting these women — the people that end up being the heart and soul of your film.
When I work with actors I can’t help but flex a lot of the same muscles that I use in parenting. The more nurturing and empathetic I can be, the better the performance seems to be. The more I can listen and understand them, the better the outcome. I can only imagine that the more women that are allowed into the directing club that is usually kept to men only, the quicker this issue will dissolve. With women at the helm, our sets will be different and our industry will be different — and better.
