5 Major Influences from Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster

2013-01-20

The Keeper, at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, directors Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster return this year with American Promise (supported by TAA and the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund), a probing look into the education system in this country through the eyes of their son, Idris and his best friend Seun. Over 12 years the film follows the two boys and their families as one attends private school and the other public. Here Stephenson and Brewster give us their five influences. premieres Monday at Sundance 1. There are many filmmakers that inspired and impacted our work. The first that comes to mind is African American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs (Black Is, Black Ain’t). His deeply personal, emotional on camera discussion blew our collective minds back in 1996. Even on his deathbed, he motivated us to be more transparent, bold and visible. Riggs celebrates black diversity and tackles the sensitive theme of identity, which we respect. 2. We admire Michael Apted for his appreciation of and commitment to the longitudinal documentary form. His documentary series, 7 Up (1964), which takes a group of seven-year-olds and films them at seven year intervals until they are 56 years old, encouraged us to keep pushing as filmmakers during the times we grew tired during the long process of making our film. 3. Steve James moved us by his ability to develop complex characters that resonate on a deeply personal level. His documentary, Hoop Dreams, is the story of two African-American high school students who dream of becoming professional basketball players. Like James, we didn’t want to sacrifice our story and characters by editing the film even further and we were reminded of his acclaimed 171-minute film when we were in the editing room agonizing over how much more we needed to cut. 4. The lyricism, beauty and personal tone of Raoul Peck’s Lumumba: Death of a Prophet has had a special place in our hearts as a piece that allowed us to see the artistic power of documentary film. He brilliantly sheds light on the loss of an African icon from a deeply personal perspective. 5. Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! is an all time favorite of ours. There is an amazing intimacy achieved in this doc-like fiction piece that pushed us to continue filmmaking and believe in the power of the art form. The film shines light on the theme of hope, which deeply resonates with us, and is what we wish to convey in our film.