Maisie Crow is a documentary film director, cinematographer, and photographer. “Jackson,” Crow’s documentary exploring both sides of the reproductive health care debate in the Deep South, received a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary in 2018. Crow’s “The Last Clinic,” a short-film and multimedia collaboration with The Atavist Magazine about Mississippi’s last abortion clinic, was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy and a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2014.

“At the Ready” is screening at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which is taking place online and in person via Satellite Screens January 28-February 3.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

MC: Horizon High School, just outside of El Paso, Texas, is home to one of the largest law enforcement education programs in the region. Students are trained to become police officers and Border Patrol agents.

This film follows three Mexican-American students as they embark on such a career path and begin to discover that the realities of their dream jobs may be at odds with the truths and people they hold most dear.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

MC: The fact that I didn’t know there were law enforcement training programs in public high schools in Texas is what first grabbed my interest, but really, it was meeting the different students and learning more about their stories.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

MC: To me, one of the most exciting things about documentary is the opportunity to bring people into a world they may not know.

My hope is that they always leave the film with questions and curiosity. There are very few things that are clear-cut, or black-and-white. I like asking people to get out of their comfort zones and sit in the gray.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

MC: Early on, one challenge was zeroing in on which characters to follow, as there were so many kids with compelling stories. Then in post-production, ultimately having to cut one of the student’s storylines to allow us to go more in depth with three of the characters.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

MC: I studied journalism in college and then worked at newspapers as a photojournalist. I think documentary filmmaking was a natural evolution for me as I grew as a storyteller. Documentary movies take storytelling to a whole other level that you aren’t able to achieve through still photography.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

MC: The worst advice I ever received was from a photo editor who told me to be okay with less than what I expected from myself and to take myself less seriously. I felt like that was very dismissive, and I think it ended up making me work harder.

The best advice I ever received was my ninth grade English teacher who always said, “Patience is a virtue,” which annoyed me at the time. But it’s true — you have to wait for the right moments in documentary.

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?

MC: Remain confident and hold your ground.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

MC: I find myself naturally drawn more towards films that are women-directed. For me, Alma Har’el’s “Bombay Beach” really was eye-opening. It was beautiful, but it also made me realize that the boundaries of documentary could always be pushed.

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how? 

MC: Thankfully, we were in post-production when the pandemic started, so I’ve been able to remain in the creative process of finishing this film. The next few months will be interesting for me as we remain in a pandemic and I find myself ready to work on my next film.

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make Hollywood and/or the doc world more inclusive?

MC: We all need to be held accountable for and work towards making sure our industries focus on becoming more equitable and inclusive. We need to always be open to learning more and to listening to how we can do better.

Documentary filmmaking is an important medium for elevating voices that are not often heard. Behind the scenes, I think it’s an obvious choice to hire local crew for many reasons, but something that can’t be replaced is the local crew’s own experience and understanding of the story.

We made a conscious decision to work with crew who either lived in or were from the El Paso/Juárez area for “At the Ready,” and I think that brought much deeper insight to the project.