From WASP to Indie Filmmaker: Alexander Olch Talks “Windmill Movie”

iW: How did you approach making the film?

AO: Richard’s strategy for shooting was to hunt, without being quite sure what he was hunting for. His footage is decisive and beautiful, yet so mysterious as to motive that it was engrossing to start working with it as an editor. As a director, my attempts at logically and coherently explaining exactly what he was trying to do proved so dull that it was clear I needed a different story telling style and angle. It can only be described as trial and error, I moved very slowly, and tried to try every idea, as there was very little way of telling in advance what might work and what wouldn’t. I did think of “F for Fake” and “Grizzly Man,” the only two other films I could find which also use an existing body of footage from which to craft something new. In my case the filmmaking conundrum was even stranger as Richard’s footage was in many ways itself about the making of a film. So beyond my emotional attachment to the project, I was very excited to explore the peculiar almost Russian doll nature of making a film about a film that was itself about the making of a film.

iW: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced?

AO: Richard’s footage has a glaring omission - himself, in the center. That is to say, he shot everything around his life, but was unwilling to really confront himself in a way that could generate material which would serve as the center of a movie. I had plenty of hours of scenes at the beach, at the tennis courts, but hardly anything with Richard in the frame. And so the search for a center - be it in Richard’s voice, Susan’s voice, Wallace Shawn’s voice, my voice - and how that voice would function structurally and stylistically was a tremendous challenge to navigate.

For distribution, co-producer Andrew Fierberg of Vox3 Films and Film Desk founder Jake Perlin deserve the all the credit. Jake saw the film at the New York Film Festival, our deal was locked down soon after.

iW: What are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?

AO: Richard Rogers’ colleagues Ross McElwee and Robb Moss at Harvard - both teachers of mine as an undergrad - were enormous creative influences. Their craft and technique in the personal documentary form were key building blocks for me.

iW: What is your definition of “independent film,” and has that changed at all since you first started working?

AO: When younger, I always defined independent films as the really good ones, often foreign, that I would go see in largely empty theaters on weekday afternoons, spotting familiar faces of other film buffs in the next row every now and then.  Alas, I’ve probably come full circle on that, with the added dose of appreciating the difficult reality of producing and releasing these projects.

iW: What general advice would you impart to emerging filmmakers?

AO: As General Eisenhower said: Planning is essential, plans are useless. It’s vital to prepare as thoroughly as completely as possible, yet it’s just as important to have your wits about you to trust your gut instincts. Put another way - get as much advice from people as possible, then don’t listen to it. Filmmaking requires you to keep many opposing forces, ideas, feelings, and opinions inside of you. Be at one with that, and don’t let those contradictions bother you.

iW: Please share an achievement from your career so far that you are most proud of.

AO: A few days before our world premiere in the New York Film Festival, I went up to the projection booth at the Ziegfeld Theater (Lincoln Center was under construction, all screenings were at the Ziegfeld) for a test run of our film. I chatted with Sony’s head projectionist Ray Murray who was there especially for the festival, told him how thrilled and honored I was to show my film in the Ziegfeld, that I had come here with my Dad when I was 10 years old to watch “Lawrence of Arabia,” that this place was so magical. He smiled, and said ‘I was the projectionist here 20 years ago. I projected ‘Lawrence of Arabia.’” He then turned the lights down, flipped the projector switch, and put my first feature up on that same big screen.