Meet the DocuWeeks Filmmakers: Michele Ohayon--'S.O.S./State of Security'
Over the next month, we at IDA will be introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work is represented in the DocuWeeksTM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, which runs from August 12 through September 1 in New York City and August 19 through September 8 in Los Angeles. We asked the filmmakers to share the stories behind their films--the inspirations, the challenges and obstacles, the goals and objectives, the reactions to their films so far.
So, to continue this series of conversations, here is Michèle Ohayon, director/producer/writer of S.O.S./State of Security.
Synopsis: January 2001. Nine months before the attacks of 9/11, Richard Clarke briefs Condoleezza Rice on a strategy to "deter, defeat, and respond vigorously to" al-Qaeda. Clarke's proposal is dismissed. He resigns before the Iraq War. In March 2004, Clarke memorably declares before the 9/11 Commission, "I failed you. Your government failed you." S.O.S. / State of Security unveils Clarke's dramatic 30-year career in the White House as counter-terrorism czar and head of cyber security. The film offers a rare look at the people behind national security--military generals, the CIA, hackers, veterans and ambassadors who are speaking out.
IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?
Michèle Ohayon: I went to Tel Aviv University to study film and television, and wanted to focus my first films on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I didn't feel that the times were right for a comedy. Through a documentary, by spending intimate time with my subjects living under military occupation and in refugee camps, I could show my people that not everyone is a terrorist. That was my way of encouraging dialogue between the two people, and contributing to the effort of peace.
When I moved to LA, I still focused on the underdog. I am not really interested in the rich and famous; they don't need me to have a voice. My first documentary in the USA was about hidden homeless women (It Was A Wonderful Life); my next documentaries focused on kids in South Central LA (Colors Straight Up), a couple in concentration camps (Steal a Pencil for Me), and the myth of the macho cowboy (Cowboy Del Amor).
IDA: What inspired you to make S.O.S./State of Security?
MO: I started the film during the George W. Bush Administration. I was disillusioned by America being the "promised land," as seen through the eyes of a foreigner, and quite appalled by the political apathy both in the White House and among us, the people. September 11 was an obvious wake-up call, but having grown up in Israel, I was used to security and terror as part of my life. When Richard Clarke published Against All Enemies and when he publicly stated, "Your government failed you," I was intrigued by his dramatic arc. He joined government to fulfill a dream and answer a call by President John F. Kennedy to contribute, and then throughout 30 years of service, he fought to be heard. His truth, followed by a resignation, was for me the story of a nation--from dream to disillusionment--and a story worth telling, one of a failed national security and a nation led down a false path.
However, I had a great challenge ahead of me: How do you tell this story in images? How do you visualize "National Security"--an abstract, intellectual concept? And Clarke, being a secretive figure, was not my typical subject, as he would not let me be "in his face" with a camera--not even as a fly on the wall.
However, when I met him in Washington, DC--a meeting arranged by his team, all former Capitol Hill guys--I was inspired by his clarity and accessible analysis of the status of the United States in the world of today. Whether I agreed with him or not, his willingness to speak out deserved recognition. Despite his resignation, he still believed that youth should serve and participate, something that I could relate to on a personal level. That was for me the link to my world, something I search for when I approach a new film. In some ways, I need to make it mine so I can feel it and let the audience experience what I do.
IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?
MO: The challenge is always funding. Part of the budget fell through in the midst of shooting, when the market crashed. Another challenge, as mentioned before, was how to visualize the big words "National Security." Also, the Department of Homeland Security was unfriendly, knowing that Clarke, a controversial figure, was involved in the project. He was always very vocal and critical of the national security failures, and spoke against the bloated Department of Homeland Security, created by Bush after 9/11, to show that his administration was doing something, as Clarke states. I couldn't get their reaction, I couldn't get current CIA or FBI members for obvious reasons, and I now had a film in the can but I had hit a dead end. I had to shut down production for nine months. I knocked on every door to find funding to help finish the film, in the worse economic climate at the time.
Many sleepless nights later, I found my angel: Sidney Kimmel. He had a passion for the subject, and agreed to give me finishing funds.
As for the images, my editor, Edgar Burcksen, with whom I had worked on Colors Straight Up, and my very talented DP, Theo Van De Sande, and I came up with a visual language and cutting pace that would tell history without lingering on it. I had to tell the past in order to explain the present. And how to work around the interviews and try to tell the story in as many images as possible? We ended up with 2,000 cuts!
IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?
MO: My vision took an inevitable turn when, in the midst of production, Obama was elected. The sharp criticism of Clarke was almost in the way of the euphoric atmosphere of the "Change" campaign, so I had to take the film on a different path--more about the solutions, rather than the failures. On the other hand, many of my subjects who had left government went back to serve under Obama, which was a good ending to their story!
IDA: As you've screened S.O.S./State of Security--whether on the festival circuit, or in screening rooms, or in living rooms--how have audiences reacted to the film? What has been most surprising or unexpected about their reactions?
MO: Berlin was astonishing because the audience expressed a fundamental desperation after the film. They asked me, "If the United States could fail on the national security front, what are we going to do? Who shall we look up to?" I had then understood how dependent the world was on us, and that we could never afford to let them down.
In Sarajevo the admiration for President Clinton, who had saved the day for them at the end of their civil war, was an unforgettable deed that is shown in the film, and it got their applause.
At the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Israelis, who are very critical when security is concerned, were very moved and told me at the Q&A that it is in fact a mirror on the issues they are facing, and they asked if I would be willing to make the same film about Israeli national security. I declined with all my might. One is enough.
At the Museum of Modern Art in New York we had a screening, with Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the UN, in attendance, as well as the Israeli ambassador. I think that half of the audience was Secret Service from both countries, and it felt very safe. Rice's reaction, as well as that of the New York/Washington, DC crowd, was positive beyond my expectations. We also showed the film to foreign policy makers. I was accompanied by Wendy Chamberlin, the former Ambassador to Pakistan, an extraordinary woman whom I got to know throughout the film. Again and again, I was amazed how chapters in history, whether failures or victories, are made by individuals and are bound to bear fatal mistakes.
IDA: What docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?
MO: The early Michael Apted films (7 Up), the early Barbara Kopple films. Films about overcoming obstacles as best we can, while keeping our integrity and humanism.
S.O.S./State of Security will be screening August 19 through 25 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, and August 26 through September 1 at the IFC Center in New York City.
For the complete DocuWeeksTM 2011 program, click here.
To purchase tickets for S.O.S./State of Security in Los Angeles, click here.
To purchase tickets for S.O.S./State of Security in New York, click here.