Full Frame Documentary Film Festival - Capturing The Flag
A tight-knit group of friends travel to the North Carolina county named 2016 “posterchild” for voter suppression, intent on proving that the big idea of American democracy can be defended by small acts of individual citizens.
Interview with Director Anne de Mare
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
There is this overwhelming media noise around politics that is focused top-down, and I wanted to make a film that talked about about what it's like to be a citizen, and what our democracy looks like on the granular level at the polls. Like a lot of people, I was really disheartened during the lead-up to the last Presidential election; the negativity of the campaigns and the media coverage around them felt really overwhelming. But here were these everyday citizens - Laverne, Steve, Claire and Trista - who were taking it upon themselves to do something active and work to make the actual process of democracy more meaningful. One voter at a time. And I still find that really inspiring.
The role of citizen is so diminished in the media and in our public discourse, and that works its way into the way we see our own personal involvement with politics. I wanted to tell a different kind of story in this moment, in large part because I wanted to find a way to have hope for our democracy again.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Voting rights are fundamental for all of us. As Irv Joyner says in the film, if you take away someone’s right to vote, you take away every other constitutional right that they might have. Making this film has helped me remember that everything about our political reality begins at the polls.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Capturing The Flag is the story of a group of close friends who travel to North Carolina to do voter protection work at the polls in 2016. The film is an intimate glimpse into their journeys as citizens of conscience. Through their eyes and their efforts -- and the hundreds of voters they work to assist — we watch stories unfold about the strength and fragility of American democracy that are rarely heard inside the current media storm. There are enormous challenges to our democracy right now, with fierce battles over election laws being waged in legislatures and courts all around the country. Capturing The Flag is certainly a film about those challenges, but it's also a deeply personal and emotional story about the power of citizen action and the fact that we don’t need to feel hopeless in the face of those challenges.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I think the biggest development was that we didn’t expect to make a feature film on Election Day — we set out to make a 10-15 minute short about civic engagement and participation in democracy. But the experiences we captured on that day and developments afterward resonated so deeply that we found ourselves compelled to make a much bigger, more complex and emotional film. And as we developed the storytelling in the edit room, we realized more and more that it was the personal experiences of the voters and our lead characters, rather than facts and figures about voting rights and restrictions, that had the potential to inspire action and change.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been really emotional. There’s been a lot of shock expressed by test audiences about the depth and insidious nature of modern voter suppression, and a lot of inspiration from watching everyday citizens help other citizens to vote. But there has also been a lot of surprise at the deeply personal lens and cinema verite style of the film. We worked very hard in the edit room to let the key scenes play out without a lot of commentary, so audiences could experience and react for themselves. It isn’t the way we’re used to watching political stories. As producers, we’ve come to describe Capturing The Flag as a slow burn of a film on a hot button topic. It isn’t what people expect when they come to see a film about voter suppression, and sometimes audiences seem to struggle with that, but the deeply emotional responses we’ve had to the film have been very encouraging.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think what has surprised me the most is the understanding of how complicated it is for people to experience someone else’s personal story about the last presidential election, largely because in this heightened political time, we are all so invested in our own personal thoughts and opinions around what those stories mean. Ultimately, the conversations around the film have resonated so deeply because the film asks, through it intimate, verite approach to its characters, for the viewer to step outside of their own, ongoing story.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We’d like to bring democracy and voting rights issues to the forefront of public discourse, and inspire more people to become engaged in citizen action around voting rights and fair elections. We also want to connect people to the network of national and grassroots organizations doing incredible work in these areas (see our website capturingtheflag.com for a place to start!)
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are still raising funds to make a one hour broadcast / educational cut to help the film reach wider audiences, and are seeking buyers, distributors, and journalists to help us spread the word!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We hope that through the film, people understand how much modern voter suppression is out there, and that it looks really different from voter suppression in the past. I want audiences to be inspired to take better care of our democratic process, to think about their own role as a citizen and about how they can participate more — not just by voting, but by working inside their own communities on democracy issues, getting involved with local boards of election, and by supporting grassroots organizations that put pressure on legislatures to make sure everyone has the ability to vote.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How do the election laws in your state compare to others? Why do we have such different election laws state to state?
Would you like to add anything else?
Vote!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Producers Elizabeth Hemmerdinger and Laverne Berry are in the process of rolling out another film, Perfectly Normal For Me, in which four charismatic kids strive for acceptance in a world that is often, at best, indifferent to them (World Premiere, 2018 ReelAbilities Film Festival). Anne de Mare is working with longtime film pattern Kirsten Kelly and Producer Elizabeth Hemmerdinger on a dynamic animated documentary project, The Girl With The Rivet Gun, based on the real-life stories of women who worked in the munitions factories in WWII. With Kirsten, she is also in development for This Is The House Where I Learned Not To Sleep, a new feature doc about the complex intersection of men, domestic violence, and law enforcement.
Interview: April 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Capturing The Flag
A tight-knit group of friends travel to the North Carolina county named 2016 “posterchild” for voter suppression, intent on proving that the big idea of American democracy can be defended by small acts of individual citizens.
Length: 75 minutes
Director: Anne de Mare
Producer: Laverne Berry, Anne de Mare, Elizabeth Hemmerdinger
About the writer, director and producer:
Anne de Mare (Director / Producer) is an Emmy-Award winning documentary filmmaker with work supported by MacArthur Foundation and Sundance Institute. Previous features include The Homestretch (Independent Lens 2015 - Emmy Award) and Asparagus! Stalking the American Life (2006 W.K. Kellogg Good Food Film Award).
Elizabeth Hemmerdinger (Producer) Perfectly Normal For Me, 2018 ReelAbilities Film Festival, and Producer Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, Tribeca Film Festival, named one of five essential documentaries of 2013, Tribeca Institute. Executive Producer The Real Rosie the Riveter Project. Boards: PEN America, Hunter College Foundation.
Laverne Berry (Producer) is an entertainment and media attorney representing independent film and television producers, directors, production and distribution companies. Drawing on eighteen years as a television producer and distribution executive before becoming a lawyer, Laverne acts an Executive Producer for selective documentary projects.
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Buyers, Distributors, Journalists
Social media handles:
Facebook: capturingtheflag
Twitter: capturingflag
Instagram: capturingflag
Other: www.capturingtheflag.com
Funders: Lawrence B. Beneson, Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, Bety N. Giles Charitable Trust, Pierce Delahunt Trust, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, and a number of private funders and family foundations.
Made in association with: Providence Productions and Election Protection LLC
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Stay tuned!
Capturing the Flag director Anne de Mare.
Photo credit: Will Thwaites