Meet the DocuWeeks Filmmakers: Tom Burstyn--'This Way of Life'
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 July 30 through August 19 in New York City and 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 Tom Burstyn, director of This Way of Life.
Synopsis: Set against the imposing mountains and isolated beaches in a remote part of North Island, New Zealand, This Way of Life is an intimate portrait of a Maori family--Peter and Colleen Karina and their six children, ages 2 through 11--and their relationship with each other, nature and horses. This Way of Life is a blueprint for how to live with little. It is a modern parable of one family's unconventional and incredibly positive response to the questions that confront many families in these anxious times.
IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?
Tom Burstyn: It began in my idealistic youth, making documentaries at the National Film Board of Canada. I was the seduced away by the bright lights of feature films and cinematography. For me, finally returning to documentary in my 50s is a return to my true self.
IDA: What inspired you to make This Way of Life?
TB: The image of Peter, our hero, riding his magnificent horse along the side of the road. Just the image of this lone man. We needed to know more, and as we engineered a meeting and came to know Peter and his wife Colleen and their family, we found a remarkable story of resilience and courage unfold. We knew it was a story that would resonate with an audience seeking meaning in their lives.
IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?
TB: Number one was my fear of horses and riding. But I followed Peter into the mountains on horseback, into a world so alien. I knew at every step that if something happened to Peter, I would be useless. I could not hail a cab, the cell phone was a hundred miles out of range; I was in his hands. In post-production the challenge was to create a coherent story from 80 hours shot over four years. We were also challenged on a personal level--to examine how we live our lives and the choices we have made. For me the most startling thing is how chosen Peter and Colleen's life is. They are creators of their world, and while some may look on and see poverty, we learned to see the richness they embrace.
IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?
TB: This is an excellent question. Because we self-funded the film, we were free to move with the changes the family experienced in their lives. We could take our time and allow the film to develop its own shape and story. We began with the idea of making a film about breaking in a horse and ended with a tale of resilience and naturalness. None of it was planned; it was an organic process. In post, we spent many hours with our editor, Cushla Dillion, a woman who can tease out the nuances of a story with such skill and heart. The film changed shape a number of times as we searched for the threads that would connect the heart-lines, rather than the purely rational.
IDA: As you've screened This Way of Life--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?
TB: For a film that is so location specific--the isolated mountains of New Zealand--we have been so surprised by the similarity of responses across many cultures and demographics. At the Berlin Film Festival we had a standing ovation--1000 people all standing and clapping. At the tiny Aotearoa Maori Film Festival, we had the same reaction; there could not have been two more different audiences. Our very active Facebook page has thousands of comments, and they are almost all around the heart of the film: What it is to be a family.
IDA: What docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?
TB: We place respect for subject at the center of our work, so films like Scared Sacred and the documentaries of Tony Gatlif that hover between vérité and drama.
This Way of Life will be screening July 30 through August 5 at the IFC Center in New York City, and August 6 through 12 at the Arclight Hollywood in Los Angeles
To download the DocuWeeksTM program, click here.
To purchase tickets for This Way of Life in Los Angeles, click here.
To purchase tickets for This Way of Life in New York, click here.