Academy Award-nominated director/producer Liz Garbus co-founded Moxie Firecracker, Inc., an independent documentary production company, with filmmaker Rory Kennedy in 1998. Her directorial credits include The Farm: Angola, USA, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won two Emmys and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize; The Execution of Wanda Jean, The Nazi Officer’s Wife; Girlhood; and Xiara’s Song. (Cinedigm)
What Happened, Miss Simone? will premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 23 and will be available later this year on Netflix.
W&H: Please give us your description of the film playing.
LG: It is a film about the amazing life and music of Nina Simone. Nina Simone was a musical genius who never fully got her due, with a little-understood path to fame and a personal life strained by the exigencies of extraordinary times and her own nascent mental illness. But the film is a celebration of her genius and tenacity, without apology. It is structured as a musical; every song is intrinsically intertwined with the narrative.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
LG: Everything! I have always been a fan of Nina’s music — its passion, its theatre, its romance, and its strength. She was a woman who embodied all of these characteristics in a life filled with suffering and triumph.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
LG: Thematically: Nina was so complex. It was about being honest in exploring the contradictions that she lived, never glossing over them, always diving into the deep with her. Practically: Gathering and negotiating for all the archival footage. But I didn’t do that alone. I had wonderful producers: Amy Hobby, Justin Wilkes, and Jayson Jackson.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theatre?
LG: Oh my. I want them to be singing. I want them to want to go listen to more Nina music. I want them to expect artists today to be as engaged in the world as Nina was.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
LG: I read an interview once with Alicia Van Couvering. She said, “Act like you’re the boss, and people will treat you like you’re the boss.” I like that. I’d like to repeat it here.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
LG: This film was like magic. RadicalMedia approached me with the story and rights. We took it to Netflix. It was a “you had me at hello” situation.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
LG: Selma by Ava Duvernay, because it is brave, beautiful, complicated, powerful. Harlan County by Barbara Kopple because she is brave for doing it first and right, and this film is a masterpiece. Fast Times at Ridgemont High by Amy Heckerling because — c’mon!
