HRW: Traveling Film Festival: Film Guide: Deadline

Deadline

For background on the film, on the subjects of the film and on the filmmakers, you can download the Deadline Press kit – (PDF file, 13 pages, 223 Kb)
To learn more about the death penalty in your state and what you can do, please visit DEADLINE’s Get Involved page at http://deadlinethemovie.com/get_involved/take_action.php
You can also contact the filmmakers, send comments and give feedback on the film by visiting the film’s Web site at http://deadlinethemovie.com/index.php and using their Talk Back section
To learn more about Human Rights Watch’s work on the Death Penalty in the United States and what you can do to help, please visit http://hrw.org/campaigns/deathpenalty
Consider hosting a screening in conjunction with a local death penalty group, organizing a screening followed by a discussion with a lawyer and/or academic who focuses on the death penalty, or getting in touch with the Big Mouth Productions to organize your screening and obtain additional support materials at http://www.deadlinethemovie.com/about_the_film/contact_us.php

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Interview with the Director

What is the history of the film? How did you come to this story and what inspired you to make the film?

Initially, we were interested in making a film about the 1972 Furman v. Georgia Supreme Court case that ruled 5-4 that the death penalty was “cruel and unusual punishment”. This decision resulted in the commutations of the sentences – from death to life with the possibility of parole – for more than 600 people on death row in 40 states around the country. Once we began shooting, a friend informed us that the clemency hearings in Illinois were open to the press. We took a trip out there to film them and immediately it became clear that Governor Ryan’s decision and what was happening in Illinois was the story we should follow. We were interested in making a film that would tell a story that was riveting to watch while at the same time shedding light on some of the pressing problems in today's criminal justice system.

When you were making the film, were there particular obstacles you encountered?

In addition to the problem that we had an unusually difficult time raising money and getting broadcasters interested before we had a rough cut, we also faced the obstacles of getting permission to film within prison and on death row. In the last 30 years, prisons and jails have become increasingly unfriendly to the media, particularly to cameras, and we spent a great deal of time building relationships with people working in the Florida and Illinois correctional systems in order to be able to contact prisoners and include them in the film.

Can you discuss your approach to making the film, e.g. interviewing, research, editing?

We try to be as accurate as possible and do extensive research for a film like this, including the history of the death penalty in America as well as studying how arguments for and against have changed over the years. We also assembled a group of incredibly dedicated people to serve as our Advisory Council, in order to ensure both that our film was accurate and that it would be useful and relevant to people working in criminal justice reform. As for interviewing, our approach was to be as open-minded as we could. We work without a script and therefore we conduct long interviews in order to draw out the subject and hear what story they want to tell. We wanted the interviews to be intimate, not purely factual, so that you felt the individual's motivation and role in the larger story. Our camera technique was intended to be as cinematic as possible -- and to the best of our ability, we selected shots and locations that we thought would lend themselves to a feeling that you are watching a movie, not a news or reality program. This intention was also reflected in our editing process, where we worked with an editor and a composer who helped to create an ambience of suspense and drama within the film, and where a sense of place and the struggle of difficult decisions added an extra dimension to the story. We never wanted the viewer to feel like they were being preached to, but rather that they were experiencing a journey where they could share in the emotions and decisions of a wide array of individuals. To this end, we edited the film to include interludes without interview, where the power of the preceding scene could just sink in through a subtle sequence of image and music. These were the tendons of the film and give it its feel and pacing.

After making this film, have you changed your views about particular aspects of this situation or story?

The range of important things our whole team learned on this film helped deepen our understanding, and our concern, of the critical and wide-ranging problems in the criminal justice system. Making this film also implicated all of us in the conviction that we had a responsibility to share what we learned with the larger public to the best of our ability.

What are you working on now?

Big Mouth Production’s is currently working on two films. Set in the tiny arctic village of Old Crow, Arctic Waltz follows a father and son divided by cultural and generational differences as they try to find common ground to preserve their relationship and the future of their Native community. The Dishes, directed by Katy Chevigny, is documentary following three women and a man as they endure the pains of juggling careers, family and the struggle of becoming a success in America’s cut-throat music industry. We are also developing some other new projects that we will discuss in coming months.

If someone wanted to know what they could do with regards to some of the issues raised in the film, what would you suggest they do?

We are collaborating with the Arts Engine outreach web site MediaRights to create a multi-pronged plan to reach new audiences. Through a combination of an interactive, online outreach campaign, regional workshops, and a series of pre- and post-broadcast community events, The Deadline Audience Initiative will motivate ordinary Americans to reevaluate their positions on the death penalty and come to a more informed conclusion about the full ramifications of being "tough on crime". You can log onto our website at www.deadlinethemovie.com

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If you would like to send a question of you own, you can do so by emailing info@bigmouthproductions.com.

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