Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 31 augusT 2017

Filmmaker hopes to show ‘what

really happened’ in Ferguson

By MARK KENNEDY that same kind of platform it becomes difficult for me
AP Entertainment Writer so we wanted this to pro- to imagine that they’re not
NEW YORK (AP) — Sabaah vide some context to what acting how they’re trained.
Folayan went to Ferguson, was already out there. I don’t think its poor training
Missouri, three summers AP: You were carrying a or a lack of training. I think
ago as a pre-med student camera out there. What that this is what they’re be-
hoping to find a way to was it like? ing trained to do. The halls
ease the anger engulfing Folayan: The tension is of power where these de-
In this Jan. 21, 2017 file photo, co-directors Sabaah Folayan,
left, and Damon Davis pose for a portrait to promote their film, police and residents. She palpable. You can feel cisions are made are pur-
“Whose Streets?” in Park City, Utah. left a filmmaker. peoples’ fear, you can posely siloed from us and
Folayan and her co-direc- feel the friction between are not transparent to us.
tor, Damon Davis, stitched police and the community AP: Much of your footage is
together “Whose Streets?” at all times. So it was really hard to watch.
— a documentary look- tough. It was tough be- Like previous cellphone
ing at the aftermath of the cause a documentary isn’t videos of unarmed black
shooting death of resident everything. A documen- men being shot by police,
Michael Brown and the up- tary doesn’t automatically these images are sure to
rising that followed. change everything. But we shock white America. But
The filmmakers follow sev- felt like it was important for it offers proof of what Afri-
eral people caught up this to be inserted into the can-Americans have been
in the protest movement cannon, into the public re- saying for years, right?
and offer intimate looks cord so that people have a Folayan: To continuously
at the costs they’ve paid. chance to know what hap- be in this position where
One has saved rubber bul- pened — what really hap- we’re expected to some-
lets and tear gas canisters pened — on the ground how prove and translate
shot at him. Another delays there. our reality before we can
her education to show her AP: The final cut doesn’t even be given the room to
young daughter what it have personal interviews make the choices that we
is to fight for what she be- with police or city leaders need to make and access
lieves in. like it does on the other the resources that we need
The Associated Press asked side. Why? to have is really difficult. It’s
Folayan, whose debut Folayan: It wasn’t a matter a really difficult proposi-
film made it to Sundance, of not trying. We spoke with tion because it means that
about what it was like on police officers. enough people have to
those streets, if police need We spoke with the may- die on video to convince
retraining and why not ev- or, but ultimately none of enough white people that
eryone is shown in her film. those people were able to this is really happening
AP: Many documentaries cross that blue line. They and then we can start talk-
look at an event from all weren’t giving us their hu- ing about making some
sides. You clearly didn’t do man perspective. Everyone changes — it’s a lot to ask.
that, focusing on the peo- who we spoke to and fea- AP: The film has been called
ple who live in Ferguson. tured really opened up to “impressionistic.” Are you
Why did you choose that us and was vulnerable with OK with that?
way? us in a very particular way Folayan: I take impressionis-
Folayan: That was some- and we wanted to have tic as a complement. I love
thing we always wanted to those conversations with impressionism and I think
do because we felt like, first anyone who would but, for that it’s one of the most
of all, we were trying to get the most part, we just got powerful forms of paint-
this film out as quickly as sort of the same lines. ing because it makes you
possible while the story was AP: The film is timely in that come to it. You have to do
still fresh and present. And we just saw tear gas on a little bit of work to see the
we felt like, in the greater the streets in Phoenix used full meaning of it and that’s
context, there was so much against protesters. Why what this film was always in-
of the other side being pre- does this keep happening? tended to be.
sented. Is this mostly about police It always meant for people
There was so many of these training? to step a little bit outside of
interviews and you have Folayan: I think when you themselves or the way that
pundits and you have see that same sort of polic- they normally understand,
public officials. They have ing happening from St. Louis and do a little bit of the
these national platforms to to Arizona to Baltimore and work to meet these people
speak and let the Ameri- all these different places, where they were.q
can people know what
it is that they’re thinking,
what their rationale is. The
people on the ground, the
people from St. Louis, the
people whose backyard
this is, weren’t afforded