DOC NYC 2016 Women Directors: Meet Carrie Lozano and Charlotte Lagarde — “The Ballad of Fred Hersch”
Carrie Lozano is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist. She is currently a consultant for independent documentary filmmakers, the Bay Area Video Coalition, and U.C. Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program. Among other work, she produced the Academy Award nominee “The Weather Underground,” which premiered at Sundance and aired on PBS’ “Independent Lens.” Lozano produced and directed the Student Academy Award-winning film “Reporter Zero,” which aired on MTV LOGO and premiered at Berlin.
Charlotte Lagarde’s producing credits include Deann Borshay Liem’s “In The Matter of Cha Jung Hee” (PBS/POV) and Lozano’s Academy Award-winning “Reporter Zero.” The feature-length documentary she directed about the Hawaiian surfing legend and breast cancer survivor Rell Sunn, “Heart of the Sea,” won numerous awards. She is a Sundance and BAVC fellow and is on the Steering Committee of New Day Films.
“The Ballad of Fred Hersch” will premiere at the 2016 DOC NYC film festival on November 12.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
CL&CL: “The Ballad of Fred Hersch” is an intimate portrait of one of the foremost pianists of our time. His touching story as an AIDS and coma survivor punctuate his musical mastery as we watch him take on his next challenge.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
Lagarde: Carrie’s husband met Fred on a plane, and we met him soon after. He was on the heels of his rehearsals for “My Coma Dreams.” We were captivated by him and his story and wanted to document the production. The film took on a life of its own when we quickly realized how much deeper his story and artistry were.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
CL&CL: We’re more interested in how people feel leaving the theater. We want them to feel joy, to feel inspired. We want them to feel touched by the power of Fred’s music, and if they must think, to think about the relationship between music and human resilience.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
CL&CL: It’s almost cliché, but it was hard to fund a portrait of an artists in today’s funding climate. We had major support from the Logan Foundation and from the Catapult Fund, both of whom came in at critical moments.
Artistically, we learned that filming music is challenging. We worked with Fred’s sound recordists whenever possible, and with each shoot honed in on how best to film the music.
It was also challenging storytelling — how to fit in the making of the production with his larger story.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
CL&CL: We are grateful to a number of individual donors who made significant contributions to the film. We found that asking for funds from individuals who were invested in Fred’s story and music to be a successful strategy.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at DOC NYC?
CL&CL: Fred Hersch is a New York institution. He’s one of the last remaining jazz musicians who learned in the aural tradition and he learned from some of the giants of jazz. Our NYC premiere at DOC NYC is significant for the film and the audience the festival serves.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
CL&CL: The worst advice we received, and we received it more than once, was to try to make it a social issue film — to focus on the AIDS and the coma in a big way. The film started to find its voice and to fall into place the moment that we decided to follow our own instincts to create a portrait of an elite artist and his music.
The best advice we received came from within our own community and was largely technical. Filming one musician, let alone eleven, is incredibly challenging. We got a lot of great advice from our colleagues about how to set up complicated shoots.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
CL&CL: Ask for what you want. Men easily ask for what they need and want. We tend to try to justify our requests and to apologize when no apology is needed. We need to stand firm in our convictions and stop ourselves from asking for any less than what we want and need.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
Lozano: That’s honestly impossible. There are so many women filmmakers that I admire: Kirsten Johnson, Dawn Porter, Laura Poitras. But if I have to choose: Lourdes Portillo, [and particularly her film] “Senorita Extraviada.” It has had so much influence on my thinking of what documentary film can do and what it can be. She removed all the borders for me.
Lagarde: I can still remember watching Lourdes Portillo’s “The Devil Never Sleeps” for the first time and feeling like she completely changed the rules of storytelling. And there is always Agnes Varda’s “The Gleaners and I.” I always go back to that film to be inspired. Her curiosity, empathy, humor, and artistry are the four pillars of a good narrative.
W&H: Have you seen opportunities for women filmmakers increase over the last year due to the increased attention paid to the issue? If someone asked you what you thought needed to be done to get women more opportunities to direct, what would be your answer?
Lozano: It’s hard for me to say. I feel fortunate to have a sustainable career through the variety of work I do.
I will say that doors open when people in power are committed to opening them. I know that a lot of opportunities that come my way come through individuals who are making a deliberate decision to ask a women of color to get involved in what they’re doing. We need people like that in power — people who are committed to diversity on all levels. If the decision makers are invested in equity, it will happen.
