Oscar-winner and Academy member Roger Ross Williams has spoken publicly about what many in the documentary community have personally boiled over. Williams, the former Academy governor representing the Doc branch, says he can do something about it.
In an article written by Deadline, Williams told them, “We in the Academy, in the Doc Branch, have a campaign finance reform committee… to sort of try to work through that and figure out solutions to that. It’s gotten insane. It’s gazillions of dollars to get seen and heard.” He continued, “and that’s so troubling because it should be on the merit of the films.”
His comments were made during a CPH: DOX discussion with documentary programmer and pure non-fiction podcaster Thom Powers less than two weeks after winning the Academy Award. Powers asked the filmmaker about “the escalating attention that awards season sucks up in our industry,” and Williams didn’t hold back.
“We know it’s awards, it’s the Oscars — it’s a game, it costs. But we are trying to deal with that as a branch, us documentarians, and we lead the way in the Academy,” Williams said. “The Doc Branch — the most diverse branch in the Academy, the most progressive branch in the Academy — we really lead the way. So, we’ll figure it out and we’ll lead the rest of the academy. They’ll follow us, as they do in everything.”
Williams came to Copenhagen to screen his latest documentary about late singer-songwriter and disco queen Donna Summer, titled Love to Love You, Donna Summer. Summer’s daughter, Brooklyn Sudano, co-directed the film and joined Williams for CPH. The film will premiere on HBO in May.
Williams was asked what drew him to Summer’s story, to which he replied, “My love of disco. I grew up in this small town in Pennsylvania, and we had a hustle competition, and it was a year-long… and every month someone would win and they would advance to the next round. And [I] kept advancing and advancing and I won it… I won to ‘I Feel Love’ [by] Donna Summer, and I have felt love for Donna Summer ever since.”
The film explores many aspects of Summer’s life and the complex relationship between the entertainer and the church. She was sexually abused by a pastor as a girl, and the traumatic experience affected her life. Still, she remained deeply religious and wrote several of her songs, most notably the orgasm “Love to Love.” Torn to be perceived as the embodiment of sensuality. “You Baby” was released as a 17-minute moaning mega-single. Williams has told the public he has related to Summer’s struggle.
Deadline wrote what Williams said about his experience, “I grew up in the Black church, the illegitimate son of the pastor,” he noted. “I was thrown out of the church for being gay, ostracized from the church. My mother was ostracized from the church for having an affair with the pastor.”
In a 90-minute chat with Powers, Williams spoke about his work, including the drama Cassandro, his first foray into fictional storytelling, which premiered to critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The film starred Gael García Bernal as the real-life Gail Chalibre, his star, and caused a sensation in Mexico and the United States with his wrestling drag. Williams previously directed a short documentary about Cassandro, whose real name is Saul Armendariz.
Williams revealed how Robert Redford played a pivotal role in the film’s artistic development. His road to RR began with his Cassandro script that Williams wrote with David Teague, editor of the documentary Life, Animated. They submitted their first draft to the Sundance Screenwriting Lab, but it was rejected. The proverbial “long night of the soul” ensued but ended well.
Each of the eight writer-directors is paired with a mentor. Famous, essential mentors, including the Sundance Institute founder and Oscar winner himself.
“Redford takes one of the eight [directors], and he’s their advisor — this is probably the last time he did this — and he chose my film,” Williams said. “So, I had Redford on set with me in rehearsal, in the edit room with me. And he was amazing. The most memorable thing is there’s a big sex scene in Cassandro. I was really nervous [about directing it]. I said, ‘How do I do a sex scene?’ And he said, ‘It’s all about storytelling and the choreography.’ He drew it out. Bob Redford storyboarded my sex scene. And I have it framed in my office hanging on the wall.”
Williams was the first black director to win an Oscar for the short documentary Music by Prudence in 2010 and received his second nomination in 2017 for Life, Animated. He’s directing his series of documentaries about supermodels this fall, along with Cassandro and Love to Love You Donna Summer.
Williams’ upcoming documentary, Stamped from the Beginning, is based on the book by Ibram X. Kendi and questions how racist ideas have taken root in the American psyche.
Williams describes his upcoming documentary, “It’s all about how a racist idea is created, like the invention of Blackness, the invention of whiteness — which happened in America early in America when Black slaves and white indentured servants started rebelling against landowners. And they had to create white laws to protect white people,” Williams said. “It’s a lesson, but it’s so super entertaining… It’s actually, I shouldn’t say fun because it’s heavy stuff, but it’s… actually really entertaining. And it was so fun. I like to challenge myself. It was a huge challenge. And I’m in the middle of it right now, pulling my hair out.”
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