Heddy Honigmann is a director and writer who is best known for “Forever,” “The Underground Orchestra,” and “Metal and Melancholy.”
“Buddy” premiered at the 2019 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival on April 26.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
HH: As one of the characters in the film says, “Buddy” is about the deep, warm, and mysterious bond between humans and their dogs — [let’s] call it love.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
HH: I had lovely dogs while growing up, so I remember this strong feeling I got after seeing a commercial on TV about soldier returning from war who had an assistant dog helping him out. The soldier had nightmares and heavy PTSD, and I decided to research these specially trained animals, along with a colleague Monique Lesterhuis, and together we discovered a unique universe of assistant dogs. And that’s when the idea for the film came to me.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
HH: To appreciate the work of these assistance dogs. Without these special dogs, so many people would not be alive today or be able to have the kind of independence that they do.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
HH: To give the same attention to both the humans and the dogs. To fully understand their friendship and the love between them.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
HH: In the Netherlands, where I have now lived for 42 years — I was Born in Lima, Peru — we have a few film funding organizations which subsidize non-commercial documentaries.
Apart from this, “Buddy” did really well in theaters here in the Netherlands. We could have asked for more money through crowdfunding, but as a friend and colleague said to me once, “If you don’t need elephants in your film, don’t ask for money for elephants.”
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
HH: I couldn’t become a poet or a musician, so after watching the incredible beautiful films by such directors as Carl Theodor Dreyer, Luchino Visconti, Max Ophüls, Billy Wilder, and other greats, I knew my calling had to be in film, and that was the road I took.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
HH: The best advice comes from a verse by a great Spanish poet, Antonio Machado: “Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking.”
The worst advice: To want elephants when you don’t need them.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
HH: Never set out in your mind that you want to make a film for women. Remain free, develop this little dream you have in your mind, and just make a wonderful film — for men and women.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
HH: “The Gleaners and I,” by Agnès Varda. She films ordinary people and makes you, the viewer, discover they are fascinating
W&H: It’s been a little over a year since the reckoning in Hollywood and the global film industry began. What differences have you noticed since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched?
HH: The only thing that I have noticed is that all over the world — and not only in Hollywood — more women are making independent, good films. And that’s great!
