Anne de Mare is a documentary filmmaker and playwright with work supported by MacArthur Foundation and Sundance Institute. Her prior film credits include “The Homestretch,” which won a 2015 Independent Lens Emmy Award, and “Asparagus! Stalking the American Life.” Her original plays have been presented in Chicago, London, and New York.
“Capturing the Flag” will premiere at the 2018 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival on April 8.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
ADM: “Capturing The Flag” is the story of a group of close friends who travel to North Carolina to do voter protection work at the polls in 2016. The film is an intimate glimpse into their journeys as citizens of conscience. Through their eyes and their efforts — and the hundreds of voters they work to assist — we watch stories unfold about the strength and fragility of American democracy that are rarely heard inside the current media storm.
There are enormous challenges to our democracy right now, with fierce battles over election laws being waged in legislatures and courts all around the country. The film is about those challenges, but it’s also a more personal and emotional story about the power of citizen action and the fact that we don’t need to feel hopeless in the face of those challenges.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
ADM: Like a lot of people, I was really disheartened during the lead-up to the last Presidential election. But here were these everyday citizens, Laverne, Steve, Claire, and Trista, who were rising above all the noise and distraction and doing something active to try and make the process of democracy better. For everyone. And I still find that really inspiring.
I wanted to tell a different kind of story — one that cut through all the anger and opinion and talked about what was happening at a granular level on the ground.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
ADM: Everything about our political reality begins at the polls. I want people to understand how much modern voter suppression is out there, and that it looks really different than voter suppression in the past.
I want audiences to be inspired to take better care of our democratic process, to think about their own role as a citizen and about how they can participate more.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
ADM: The biggest challenge was simply time. I tend to work slowly — my last film took over five years to make — but with this subject matter, there was such an urgency to finish in time to inspire action around the midterm elections. I’ve never worked on a film that was so tied to current events before, and it gave me a huge amount of respect for the filmmakers and journalists who do this everyday.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
ADM: Funding was complicated by the fact that we didn’t intend on making a feature film on Election Day. We set out to make a 10–15 minute short piece about civic engagement and participation in democracy. But the experiences we captured on that day resonated so deeply that we found ourselves making a much bigger, more complex, and emotional film.
Documentaries are often forced to move forward faster than their funding, and this was especially true with this project. I am forever grateful to our producer, Elizabeth Hemmerdinger, for having the vision and courage to take on the enormous task of raising the funds for a feature on short notice — and we’re still raising that money.
We didn’t have a major institution behind this piece — no public television or film foundations. Like democracy itself, it’s been a lot of individual voices supporting this film.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Full Frame?
ADM: It’s amazing. We’re so thrilled and honored. My very first film showed here way back in 2006, and as both a filmmaker and moviegoer, it remains my favorite festival to attend.
Because of the subject matter, it’s important that “Capturing The Flag” premiere in North Carolina, and that we start the conversation here. We often say that ours is a national story that takes place in North Carolina.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
ADM: Best advice: The best advice comes from Kartemquin Films’ Gordon Quinn when we were working on “The Homestretch” and we were really struggling with clarifying the data and facts about youth homelessness. He told us to remember that film is actually really bad at conveying information, amd what it’s really good at is conveying emotion. It really freed us from the obligation of statistics and allowed us to tell the bigger story through the personal journeys of our characters.
Worst advice: Someone insisting once that audiences wanted to be told what to think.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
ADM: Make the film you want to watch yourself, don’t worry that other people may or may not like it, and definitely don’t wait for anyone’s permission. Make the film that fascinates you.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
ADM: I really love Barbara Kopple’s “Shut Up And Sing” for its deeply complex portrayal of women speaking up in society, which I think resonates even more today.
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?
ADM: This kind of seismic shift around these issues is imperative if we’re going to continue moving towards a world where there is less abuse and where assault and harassment are unacceptable anywhere, including the workplace. But its painful at times to watch society grappling with it, and to realize how much anger exists. We have a tendency to oversimplify, and there is so much complexity here. We have so many more conversations to have.
