Over the next couple of weeks, we at IDA will be introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work will be represented in the DocuWeekTM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, August 18-24. 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 are Nick Francis and Marc Francis, directors/producers, of Black Gold.
Synopsis: As westerners revel in designer lattes, impoverished Ethiopian coffee-growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. In this eye-opening exposé of the multi-billion-dollar coffee industry, Black Gold traces one man's fight for fair trade.
IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?
Nick Francis and Marc Francis: About seven years ago we'd been working on some ideas for a new strand on Channel 4 in the UK that provided an opportunity to get films into production without a huge crew or big budgets. One of these ideas was commissioned, and we ended up co-directing it together. After that we worked on number of shorter docs before we began work on our first feature, Black Gold, in 2003.
IDA: What inspired you to make Black Gold?
NF & MF: Towards the end of 2002, it was announced that Ethiopia was facing another famine. We wanted to make a thought-provoking film that forced us, as Western consumers, to question some of our basic assumptions about our consumer lifestyle and its interaction with the rest of the world. We focused on coffee because it is a universal experience enjoyed by billions of people on a daily basis and is part of an industry worth over $80 billion a year. But the people behind the product are in crisis, with millions of growers fast becoming bankrupt while the profits of the multinationals that dominate the industry continue to rise. Our goal was to urgently remind audiences that through just one cup of coffee, we are inextricably connected to the heart of the global economy. We focused on Ethiopia because we were struck by the paradox that Ethiopia produces some of the best coffee in the world, but continues to be one of the world's poorest countries.
IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?
NF & MF: One of the main challenges we faced was funding. We overcame it by remaining optimistic at all times and working with a committed team of people who believed in this project; without their passion and dedication we wouldn't have been able to complete the film. The other challenge was keeping track of our main character, Tadesse Meskela, who is based in Ethiopia. Coordinating our schedules was never easy!
IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?
NF & MF: The film constantly evolved. The main challenge was to work on creating an engaging story, and about 18 months into the production, we screened our rough cut to an audience of 100 people to get some feedback. After that, we realized we had much more work to do; we spent another year in production developing the thrust of the story.
IDA: As you've screened Black Gold --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?
NF & MF: We've been overwhelmed by the reaction to the film. At our world premiere at Sundance, the first person to speak at the Q&A stood up in the audience and wrote out a check for $10,000 for the Ethiopian coffee farmers featured in the film to help them finish building a school. Since then, thousands of people from around the world have been visiting www.blackgoldmovie.com each week. We get e-mails every day from people who, after seeing the film, are motivated to take some kind of action. Independent coffee roasters, organizations and individuals have been extremely supportive in getting behind the promotion of the film. In Melbourne, for example, a local coffee roaster produced a special blend of "Black Gold coffee" and is sending the profits to the coffee farmers in Ethiopia. But I think we've been most surprised by the reaction of Starbucks, which has been very active in responding to the film from the moment it premiered at Sundance; that story is too long to go into detail here, but check out our blog at www.blackgoldmovie.com.
IDA: In general, what docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?
NF & MF: There are so many talented filmmakers and films that have served as inspirations that it makes it so difficult to pin this down to one film or one filmmaker. I think much of our inspiration also comes from people whose stories aren't being told.
To view the entire Docuweek program, visit http://documentary.org/programs/index_06.php.
To download and view the Docuweek schedule, visit http://documentary.org/src/DW/DocuWeek_Schedule.pdf.
To purchase tickets to Docuweek, visit www.ArcLightcinemas.com.