Tia Lessin was nominated for an Academy Award for her work as a director and producer of the Hurricane Katrina survival story “Trouble the Water,” winner of the 2008 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the Gotham Independent Film Award. She directed and produced “Citizen Koch,” about the rise of the Tea Party in the Midwest, which also premiered at Sundance and was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2014. “The Janes” is the third feature-length documentary that Lessin has directed.
Emmy-nominated Emmy-nominated producer Emma Pildes is a filmmaker and producer. As one of Pentimento Productions’ principal producers, Pildes produced “Spielberg,” “Jane Fonda in Five Acts,” and “Very Ralph,” all for HBO Documentary Films. At PBS’ “American Masters,” Pildes helped to produce the Emmy and Peabody-award winning “LennoNYC,” Emmy-award winning “Inventing David Geffen,” as well as “American Masters: Billie Jean King.” “The Janes” is Pilde’s directorial debut.
“The Janes” is screening at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, which is running online from January 20-30. More information can be found on the fest’s website.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
EP: “The Janes” is a cautionary tale. This story is both our past and our future.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
TL: I was immediately struck by the drama of the Jane story — a group of ordinary women turned outlaws, risking arrest and a lifetime in prison to help women in need. As a filmmaker, I’m drawn to telling stories about resistance, particularly women’s resistance – the stories are so damn compelling, and too many have been erased from history.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
EP: I don’t have any one expectation for what people ShouldThink about what you’ll do after you have seen this film. Or any film really. Documentaries are for people who want to experience the world and have the chance to see it. We wanted to tell this story, and put people in this historic moment in an effort drive the discussion about reproductive rights in America. To understand the implications. They decide where they go from here.
TL:Emma, I agree. And when the credits roll, I don’t want audiences to be thinking. I want them to be feeling – exhilarated, angry, inspired, engaged.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
TL&EP: The pandemic was a huge challenge in making “The Janes.” While we were fortunate to have filmed more than half of the interviews before February 2020, we had to postpone key interviews with our older subjects for six months and we had to put the edit room on ice.
But we persevered. Covid was very disappointed when we were able to finish the film and were invited at Sundance. We never imagined that the pandemic would still be going strong in 2022 and that the world premiere of “The Janes” would be a virtual one.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Please share your insights on how you got the film made.
EP:There is no shortage of talent, determination, or stories to tell in the world. Funding is the most important reason for a great movie not to be made. HBO joined us in the very beginning stages of making this film.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
TL:Rejection from film school
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
TL: The best filmmaking advice I’ve ever received is from documentary cinematographer and director Joan Churchill: “Point the camera at what interests you.” It’s really that simple.
EP: Jerry Temaner, one of the founding members of Kartemquin, told me very early on, “Making documentaries is a group sport, but take the time to be knowledgeable about all of it. Understand everyone’s contribution and then you can come back to the parts you love most.”
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
EP: Hire other women
TL: Find people who will support you and your vision. Don’t tolerate mansplaining. Also, don’t forget to hydrate and feed your crew.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
TL: Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning film “Harlan County, USA”It is a masterpiece. Barbara was brave in making it. She kept her cameras rolling despite threats of violence and death. It is riveting to see and has brought me to tears many times.
EP: I’m no good at picking favorites but Tia and Carl Deal’s film “Trouble The Water” It comes to my mind immediately. That film excited and inspired me in new ways, which is always the itch I’m trying to scratch with documentaries.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Is creativity something you do?
EP: This film was made during a global pandemic. It was difficult. It was also a gift. This beautiful constant was a constant in our lives and for which I am so grateful. We were able to hunker down with our work – You can read, watch, listen, and absorb.. This story was a great source of strength for me.
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 are your suggestions for making it more inclusive?
TL: The film industry must heed the many calls for systemic change and radical accountability – that goes for independent production companies as well as distributors, studios, funders, talent agencies, unions and guilds, film schools, and festivals. All structural barriers preventing entry, visibility, and just compensation for artists of color must be removed, as detailed in Sahar Driver’s Beyond Inclusion report.
I am also a member the documentary branch and would like to see. The inclusion and representation standardsThe Oscars have extended eligibility for the best film category to the documentary feature, short film and documentary feature categories.
Source: Women And Hollywood
