Havana Marking is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker known for filming in dangerous locations and getting on the inside of criminal or subculture groups. She wrote and directed “Smash & Grab,” which told the story of the Pink Panthers, infamous Balkan diamond thieves. Her debut feature, “Afghan Star,” won Best Director and Audience Awards at Sundance, as well as the Prix Italia and Grierson Awards. As part of Roast Beef Productions, she was an executive producer of “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer,” and the Oscar-nominated film “Hell and Back Again.” She is currently working with Nutopia Productions in London to bring her feature documentary sensibilities to mainstream TV.
“The Kleptocrats” will premiere at the 2018 DOC NYC film festival on November 9. The film is co-directed by Sam Hobkinson.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
HM: While normal Malaysian people struggle, a wealthy prime minister goes on a spending spree across the U.S. With little to go on, dogged investigative reporters from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Hollywood Reporter retrace this dirty money via real estate deals and movie financing including “The Wolf of Wall Street,” all the way back to the top echelons of the Malaysian government. Armed with this information, the Malaysian people can fight back.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
HM: It is extraordinary that in this day and age people can act with such impunity, seemingly aided and abetted by the financial establishment. I wanted to tell a morality tale of global capitalism.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
HM: I think it’s important that everyone tries to discover where money comes from. Whenever anyone accepts money from crooks, it gives them respectability, credibility, and the appearance of respectability, making it much harder for activists to stop the kleptocrats.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
HM: While Najib Razik was still the prime minister of Malaysia, it was illegal for us to film there. We traveled incognito, were followed by the Malaysian Special Branch, and had to ensure the safety of our sources. It was quite frightening. When a colleague’s computer was hacked, it created an atmosphere of paranoia that I didn’t enjoy at all.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
HM: My film was funded through private philanthropy, which was a new experience for me. It is very important to have all of your terms set in stone before any filmmaking is undertaken. You must take due diligence to the people you work with, especially if they are unknown in the industry.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
HM: A need to understand humanity, in all of its flaws.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
HM: The best was to always read the contract. The worst was that I would never work again. Never think that the industry is so small that speaking out will damage your career. It won’t. If you are good there will always be a different path.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
HM: Right now, I am a mother to a seven-year-old child. It has obviously changed what I can do in filmmaking and how I do it: I can’t take off to go live in Afghanistan anymore, and I need a regular income. But this has not curtailed my creativity. Once I embraced the change, I actually think I became more creative and a lot happier.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
HM: My favorite drama is “The Piano” by Jane Campion, with all of its nuance, complexity, and contradictions. My favorite documentary is “The Arbor” by Clio Barnard. It’s a completely new and utterly spellbinding way to tell a story. It tells the story of a woman who would have been forgotten to history due to her gender and class.
W&H: Hollywood and the global film industry are in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. What differences have you noticed since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched?
HM: I now work for a large factual TV production company called Nutopia. We had a huge company-wide discussion about this issue, and a lot of new procedures were put in place. It was incredible to think that before then, we all knew where the first aid kit was, but no one knew what on earth to do if they were harassed.
