Meet the 2014 Sundance Filmmakers #21: Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman Take Us to the Frontline in U.S. Documentary ‘E-TEAM’
Ross Kauffman and Katy Chevigny are both documentary film directors with over 15 years
experience, and have both premiered films in documentary competition at
past Sundance Film Festivals. Kauffman co-directed the 2004 documentary “Born Into Brothels,” which won an Emmy and other awards, playing at over 50 film festivals around the
world. His short film “Wait For Me” premiered at the New York Film
Festival as the centerpiece alongside Clint Eastwood’s “The Changeling.” Chevigny
co-directed “Deadline” which premiered at Sundance in 2004, and was later acquired and broadcast by NBC. Chevigny also directed
“Election Day” which premiered at SXSW and was broadcast on POV in 2008.
What it’s about: “Dramatic and crucial, ‘E-TEAM’ follows the intense and courageous work of
four intrepid investigators on the front lines of identifying
international human rights abuses.”
What’s it’s really about: “E-TEAM is a character-driven film about four fascinating members of
Human Rights Watch’s Emergencies Team as they take on the dangerous and
complex work of exposing human rights abuses. The film takes us behind
the scenes and around the world with Anna Neistat (a fiery Russian), her husband Ole Solvang (a calm, cool and collected Norwegian), Fred
Abrahams (a nice Jewish kid from Brooklyn), and Peter Bouckaert (a
Belgian national living in Geneva). Peter was once profiled in Rolling
Stone magazine and dubbed ‘the James Bond of human rights
investigators.’ These characters are the stuff of fiction. So, following
them for two and half years was quite a ride. We were the first film
crew ever to be granted total access to their work and home life, and we
follow our characters from their homes to the chaotic scenes that
resulted from civil wars abroad: Fred and Peter investigating mass
murder in Libya just after the fall of Tripoli and the death of Qaddafi,
and Anna and Ole as they investigate government abuses perpetrated in
Syria as the civil war escalates and violence surges around them.
“Another thing about this film: all four of our main characters and both
of the directors had babies during the course of making this film! So
there was a lot of multi-tasking on all fronts during these past
eventful four years.”
world. The logistics surrounding the timing and access for filming in
locations such as Syria and Libya side-by-side with E-Team members was
exhausting. Usually, the members of the E-Team themselves are informed
of an impending mission with short notice. Once they decided to go on a
mission, we would usually have 24-48 hours before we had to be on a
plane, ready to film in various war zones. We were basically on call 24
hours a day for over two years. We could only have a one-person crew
while filming in conflict zones and the key was to have as small a
footprint as possible so we wouldn’t get in the way of their work.
Filming in conflict areas is difficult, but getting into them can be
just as tricky. At times we had to smuggle ourselves into a country with
the team members. And we had to evaluate the safety of everyone
involved as well as how well each mission might serve the larger story
of the film. It was a costly and complicated process.”
Any films inspire you? “You name it. Films like ‘Redbeard,’ ‘2001,’ ‘Fog of War,’ ‘Gimme Shelter.’ Filmmakers like Kurosawa, Maysles, David Lean, Kathryn Bigelow, Herzog,
Morris, Fellini, etc. But we are also amazed by the crop of new doc filmmakers and films like ‘Cutie and the Boxer’ and ‘Searching for Sugar
Man.’ We’re both inspired by lots of films, both fictional and
documentary. We particularly love character-driven films, again both doc
and fiction, and films in which you get a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at
unusual jobs and lives.”
Cameras used: “Most of the film was shot with the Sony EX-1and the Canon 5D, and a few other formats mixed in for good measure.”
Did you crowdfund? “We did not crowdfund for this film, not for any particular reason. We’ve
crowdfunded for past projects and it generally involves an enormous
amount of sweat. But I’m sure we will be out there again on Kickstarter
or Indiegogo in no time.”
Hopes for Sundance audience take-away: “We have no pre-set agenda with this film, other than our hope that
audiences find themselves engaged in ways they haven’t been before, by
seeing our characters grapple with their family and work life in unusual
ways. For us it is all about intimacy; total access not just in terms
of time spent, but the quality of the time spent. We immerse ourselves
in the lives of our characters, living at their homes and working
alongside them. We really get to know them and want our audience to have
that same sense of intimacy with them. If we can get an audience to
care about our characters, and in turn their life and work, then we have
done our job.”
forward to tackling after ‘E-TEAM’ is fully launched into the world. Stay
tuned.”
Indiewire invited Sundance Film Festival directors to tell us
about their films, including what inspired them, the challenges they
faced and what they’re doing next. We’ll be publishing their responses
leading up to the 2014 festival. For profiles go HERE.
