SXSW Interview:  “Sons of a Gun” Directors Rivkah Beth Medow & Greg O’Toole

We shot for about 5 months where the most interesting thing that happened was a cat got caught up on the neighboring roof , but things accelerated quickly after that.  We thought we were witnessing unprecedented events in these men’s lives and it was hard to know where to draw boundaries.  We got lost in our story over and over and got overwhelmed by the number of possible stories that existed within our footage.  We were trying to definitively decide whether Larry was a good guy or a bad one - the protagonist or the antagonist.  Finally we realized that he was both, that our subjects were all complex and that our main challenge would be to represent them accurately.  One of our key advisors suggested that we connect with how we felt when we encountered the situations for the first time and use that to craft the emotional trajectory of the film.

Please elaborate a bit on your approach to making your film.

We wanted to make a verite film, but we also wanted to be ourselves with the guys, so we ended up interacting on camera sometimes.  We spent a lot of time in the motel room, at the food bank, and going to the dentist with the guys.  There were many days where we didn’t even turn the camera on, but all that time spent together built a really solid trust and genuine friendship between us all.  By the 5th month or so, when things really started cascading, none of the guys even thought twice about the camera - it was just always there.  I think they gave us so much access because we were who we said we were and we did what we said we were going to do.  We always told them we would tell their story (stories) as honestly as we could, though that made it hard to show Larry some of the scenes.  Craig, Ubaldo, and Lance, the schizophrenic men, weren’t really interested in watching any of the film, and after about 10 minutes, Larry was more interested in hanging out and talking with us as well.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in developing the project?

The first challenge was just being able to film in the motel at all.  4 smokers in that cramped, airless room!  The music was always blasting and the tv was on high volume.  There were lots of dogs barking in the other rooms.  There were illicit things going on in several rooms at that motel and some people got nervous when we brought the camera around.

Once we got into the edit, trying to show the complexity of each of these guys and provide each man with their own emotional arc became our biggest challenge.  We unraveled and rebuilt the story in a hundred different ways, trying to get to what was essential about each scene, each man.

Also, we had concerns about how the mental health and homelessness communities would see this film.  We didn’t interview any experts, we didn’t provide statistics or a framework of what was at stake - it is a really character-based film.  We did speak with many experts on the issues raised in the film, but we just wanted to tell this story that would move people emotionally the way it had moved us.  We want audiences to really care about these men and appreciate their sensitivity and perceptiveness.

How do you define success as a filmmaker, and what are your personal goals as a filmmaker?

RBM:  Listening is key.  Knowing what to pay attention to follows that listening.  You have to be able to tell a solid story that moves viewers and an audience who watches the film and talks about what they saw completes the filmmaking journey.  I want to continue making films collaboratively about compelling people or ideas.

GO: Success as a filmmaker is to bring compelling stories, artfully told, to as wide an audience as possible. I guess I’d like to keep trying to do that.

What are your future projects?

RBM:  There are some documentaries I’m currently researching.  I think because I just had a baby they all seem to have either kids or animals in them.

GO: Another doc. Hopefully one with more than two locations, less smoking, and just as much surprise ending.