Capturing the highs and lows of artists’ life

Documentary film-makers discuss challenges faced while telling a star’s story

It’s been a great year for artists, with documentaries on the life of Joan Jett, Whitney Houston, Quincy Jones and Fred Rogers hitting screens and taking a huge chunk of the box office. Following Jane Fonda’s story of female empowerment which premiered during the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, most film-makers believe that the vast number of documentaries releasing at the same time is a glorious coincidence, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

PHOTO: VARIETY

Jane Fonda in Five Acts took almost a decade in the making. Speaking of the film’s timely release amid the movements, director Susan Lacy said, “Who could’ve anticipated the #MeToo movement?  I just knew that the issues Jane had dealt with in her life were things that speak to a lot of people."

For the Alexander McQueen biopic, McQueen, the film-makers Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui travelled to Bleecker Street in hopes that the cultural understanding on mental health had deepened since the designer committed suicide in 2010. But to their surprise, they struggled to find people to speak to who could tell tales of the man who rose to fame while fighting his inner demons. Ettedgui revealed, “We had resistance from the fashion industry and from people who were close to McQueen. It took us a long time to win people’s trust.”

PHOTO: THE FILM STAGE

One of the biggest challenges for a documentary film-maker is making a comprehensive story out of different experiences, like the pieces of a puzzle. And finding new material can reinforce or hinder something that is already in place. Some also believe that uncovering new details about the subject’s life is one of the most important elements of a biopic.

Likewise, it wasn’t until Lisa D’Apolito discovered diaries and audiotapes of Gilda Radner that she knew she had a film. Radner’s closest friends who recalled some events of the comedian’s life as the happiest suddenly took a different meaning.  D’Apolito shared, “With her Broadway show, most of her friends said she loved doing it. Then I heard Gilda talk about the loneliness of being in a Broadway show by herself. It gave me a whole different insight.”

PHOTO: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

However, a documentary can’t always depend on a dramatic reveal. At one point, D’Apolito was asked to put emphasis on Radner’s eating disorder but she didn’t want to send the wrong message across. Similarly, Bonhote and Ettedgui only hint at McQueen’s struggle with drugs and HIV diagnosis, but don’t make it their primary focus.

In the same way, Marina Zenovich struggled while filming Robin Williams’ documentary, Come Inside My Mind. When the rest of the actor’s family refused to be interviewed, Williams’ son Zak agreed to participate. Had he not been so eloquent, the director would need something else.

PHOTO: IMDB/BEING HUMAN

But even after extensive research, many film-makers often feel that they lack something in the artists’ portrait. Zenovich also wrestled with how to depict Williams’ suicide, in the end using a scene from Being Human where Williams sits on a beach, looking at the water.

While telling such stories, the aim is to engage the viewer with the subject completely. Zenovich concludes, “A lot of times, everybody knows the end, but you’re trying to get them there in a new way. You want to give them a journey getting there so that they appreciate the end in a different way."

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