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Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1276496
'My Darling Vivian' Director: Matt Riddlehoover Competition: Documentary About: Turning the documentary lens on Vivian Liberto, Johnny Cash's first wife and the mother of his four daughters. Q. Rare, beyond the truly hard- core and in-depth Johnny Cash fans, is more than a cursory knowledge of the relationship between Cash and his first wife Vivian Liberto. When you have that kind of canvas of discovery to work with, where did you choose to start? And what was a genuine surprise that you discovered during the course of making the film? Riddlehoover: Out of necessity, I started by poring over the wealth of primary materials that I had access to. Family scrapbooks, home movies from the 1950s and 1960s, the thousands of love letters Vivian and Johnny wrote to each other — it was incredible. From there, I went to Vivian's own memoir to create the outline for the interviews with her daughters. The story told itself; I just needed to listen. The thing that surprised me the most was that these four women, Vivian's daughters with Johnny, all had the same upbringing, but they had very different childhoods. It was fascinating. Q. Johnny Cash became a genuine icon in the music world for a number of reasons. Beyond his music talent, what came out during the exploration of his and Vivian's relationship and marriage (and his career's beginnings) that, from a distance, is very telling on that front? Riddlehoover: There was a letter Johnny had written to Vivian when he was overseas, before they married, in which he perceived that she had an inferiority complex. This wasn't something she had opened up to him about. I was stunned by the level of sensitivity in him as a 19- or 20-year-old man. It's prominent in the home movies from the 1950s as well — he's clearly in love with Vivian and fawning over his young family. It's a side of Johnny Cash I don't think the world has seen and was news to me as well. 'The Planters' Co-writers and directors: Alexandra Kotcheff and Hannah Leder Competition: Feature Narrative About: A dark comedy about a reclusive telemarketer grieving the loss of her parents who forms an unlikely friendship with a Jesus-loving vagrant with multiple personalities. Q. The "crew" for this film was only the two of you. How exactly did that work? Who ran the camera, did lights, sound and everything else while the two of you were both in the scene together? Kotcheff and Leder: Through magic! For real though, it was just the two of us running the camera, setting up the lights and sound. Doing our own hair and makeup. We would set up our shots on tripods and do test shots, hit record and run in the frame. We rigged shotgun mics to apple boxes with gaffers' tape when framing wouldn't allow for mic stands. It was an unusual, insular process which ultimately allowed for maximum creative expression. Q. It took 127 days to shoot "The Planters." That's a long shoot for even a mid-range studio film, so can you offer some insight into what went into that shoot schedule? Kotcheff and Leder: Ultimately, the great length of the shoot had to do with the fact that we shot the film without a crew. With only four hands and legs, there was only so much we could get through (and accomplish) in a day. What might take a full crew a day to shoot would take us a few days. Q. Every film shoot has its tough moments where it looks like all is lost until someone keeps the ship sailing, so to speak. Which one of you more often would cheer both of you back into action and keep it going? Or did that role alternate between the two of you throughout production? AUGUST 9-15, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 9 See BFF Page 37 WHY BFF? Q. Aside from being an important stop on the regional film festival tour, Benton- ville has a national prominence due to the mission of inclusion of the organiza- tion and Geena Davis's leadership. What was primary in your mind as a reason you wanted your film to screen at BFF? Riddlehoover: I've admired the Bentonville Film Festival for years. The emphasis that it places on voices underrep- resented in film is inspiring. Vivian Liberto's life story itself was excised not only from the biography of Johnny Cash but from history in general, and I'm grateful to the Bentonville Film Festival for giving Vivian and her voice a role in its chorus. Kotcheff and Leder: Being women in the industry, we're grateful to be a part of a festival that really encourages and encompasses inclusion. We've come a long way thanks to women who've paved the path before us, but still have a long way to go. We appreciate BFF in their powerful mission to keep paving the path forward. Oluo: Bentonville has a short but great history of presenting unusual films that represent unique viewpoints. This is such a Seattle film, with so many Seattle people in it and so many Seattle landscapes that we really wanted to take the movie far away from Seattle, and take it to a place where it had to exist on its own without context. Bentonville is a great size for the film to not get lost in the shuffle, but it also has a wonderful history of films getting distribution, and films getting seen by the right people. At the end of the day, I'm just excited for people to see this movie. West: I'm so thrilled to be premiering at Bentonville and deeply grateful for their support. "Thin Skin" is a Black movie telling a Black story, and to be able to premiere it at a festival with a committed diversity focus, and knowing Geena Davis's background in fighting the entrenched inequalities in the film industry, I know "Thin Skin" is in great hands. Gu: I've always heard great things about the Bentonville Film Festival for being very progressive, very supportive of female filmmakers, and very well-cu- rated. The city of Bentonville is known for being very supportive of the arts and culture, and I very much wanted to be part of that. It is bittersweet that I won't be able to see it in person for this edition of the Bentonville Film Festival, but I'm very proud to be included and cannot wait to come visit. 'The Planters' Competing in Feature Narrative category (COURTESY PHOTO) 'My Darling Vivian' Competing in Documentary category (COURTESY PHOTO)