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A Documentary Filmmaker's Confessions
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A Documentary Filmmaker's Confessions
By Adrian D. Varnedoe
A&E Editor
Entering the world of documentary filmmaking as a small ball player is easy, said Harry Gantz to 30 people -- mostly students -- in the Rosenberg Library on Feb. 20, but getting that work viewed by the masses with the competitive sluggers in Hollywood swinging their mighty bats can be hard.
 Harry Gantz speaks to students seeking more informantion on documentary filmmaking |
Harry told the students about his and his brother Joe's carrier span, showed some of their work and their attempts to bring it to the TV networks, wide screen and Internet. Both men were in town promoting their full-length documentary "Sex with Strangers," but only Harry was on campus to talk about documentary filmmaking.
"There are basically five companies that control all means of distribution in this country and the world, really," Harry said, after showing his and his brother's first work, "Couple Arguing," filmed in the late '80s.
Harry said he and his brother started the project with their own money. When they were ready, they went to public TV stations, including KQED-TV, who told the new filmmakers that they would have to fork over $10,000 for promotion. The brothers said no thanks and took their film to England, got a contract with a TV station, got the money to finish the documentary and sold it themselves to 15 other international markets.
Harry pointed out that filmmakers of that time believed cable, which by then had been around for nearly 20 years, was going to be the savior, giving opportunities to filmmakers and giving the public alternative outlets to turn to for documentaries. "We now know that's not the case," he concluded.
The brothers made their money back, but that "gave us a mistaken impression that this was easy," Harry said. "We thought we were going to be able to make films and make money. We learned very quickly that usually isn't the case."
"The business of filmmaking and trying to get our things out there," he said, "continues to be a struggle."
Harry and his brother Joe's second try was a TV show where the host (Harry) would spin a wheel with the 50 states on it, then throw a dart at the state's map. Then he would blindly open up the white pages, point to a name, call the number, fly the person out and interview them.
"Our thought was that everybody has an incredible story to tell," he said, describing the ideal behind the show.
Harry said the idea went over well with station executives, but they didn't like not knowing anything about the people other than the pre-show interview, so the show wasn't bought.
At that time, Harry and Joe were living in San Francisco; either one or both of them would go down to Los Angeles for meetings.
On one trip, the pilot came out of the cockpit and flipped up the carpet to look at the landing gear, which wasn't down. So the plane made an emergency landing. After that, the two brothers moved to Los Angeles. Then one day, a rep at Warner Brothers Television wanted to meet with them and see if they wanted to do something.
Harry and Joe were shown a tape of a cabdriver that drove around with a video camera during the LA riot, and would jump out of his cab with a gun and tell people to stop looting. Well, it wasn't what Harry and Joe had in mind, but the thought about the passengers started the idea for "Taxicab Confessions."
Harry then told the students something shocking: he and Joe don't own the rights to "Taxicab." When they started the pilot, they were told that they would be notified and hired to produce the show whenever HBO wanted it.
In "Taxicab Confessions," the cab is on the road six weeks for one show; what Harry and Joe are looking for are complete stories. "For each show, we are following the cab for about six weeks, all night, six nights a week, and we get 400 to 500 rides to choose the 10 or so for the show," wrote Joe in a chat room on how they get the people to open up.
"There are no real criteria, except that it has to be the complete story. Some-times you get part of a story because you never know how long the ride is going to be. But we choose the rides that are moving and amazing or never heard before."
The brothers have done eight shows in six years for HBO, but the show filmed in Washington D.C. hasn't been aired, because most of the people filmed from there are working low-income blacks who can't afford cars and so use cabs to get around. HBO was hoping they would get a government worker to spill some beans, but that wasn't the case, so they are holding back the Washington D.C. show. Harry hopes they show it someday.
The brothers have also done a show for CBS that didn't get picked up, and also produced "First Apartment," filmed in San Francisco. But their love and joy right now is "Sex with Strangers," which looks into the world of couples who swing. Harry said they tried to get a distributor, but no one wanted to touch the subject matter. So they are doing it themselves.
A&E Calendar
Iranian Film Showing
Bashu, The Little Stranger (1989) starring Susan Taslimi, Parvis Pourhosseini and Adnan Afravin will be shown on Mar. 14 at 12 p.m. in Rosenberg Library 305. The movie runs 130 min. and is free.
Hamoon (1990) starring Khosro Shakibai, Ezzatollah, Hossein Sarshar, Bita Farahi, Turan Mehrzad and Jalal Maghaddam will be shown on Apr. 18 at 12 p.m. in Rosenberg 305. The movie runs 130 min. and is free.
Gabbeh (1996) starring Shaghayegh Djodat, Roghieh Moharami and Hossein Mohararmi will be shown on May 2 at 12 p.m. in Rosenberg Library Room 305. The movie runs 75 min. and is free.
Book Reading
Author Valerie Minner will read from her latest work, The Low Road: A Scottish Family Memoir, on March 16, 2:30-400 at the main San Francisco Public Library's Latino/Hispanic community meeting room, lower level.
Theater 2002 Season
Joe Turner's Come and Gone, By August Wilson, directed by
Gloria Weinstock, will play at the Diego Rivera Theater at the main campus
(50 Phelan Ave.) on April 12, 13, 19,19,20 at 8 p.m. and April 21 at 2
p.m.
Night of the Iguana, by Tennessee Williams, directed by Susan Jackson Collins, will play at the Diego Rivera Theater at the main (50 Phelan Ave.) campus on May 10, 11, 17, 18 at 8 p.m. and May 19 at 2 p.m.
Call (415) 239-3100 for information. Cost is $10 for General, $5 for students and seniors. Tickets are available from Bass and tickets.com.
Music
Traditional Chinese Music Musicians from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the U.S. will play at the Diego Rivera Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Mar. 22. This event is free.
Women's Month
"Women's Lives in Islamic Countries": Mar. 13, 1-2 p.m. in Batmale 349.
Women's Resource Center Open House Mar. 20, 12-2 p.m. in Smith Hall, Rooms 103 and 104.
"Women Connecting Globally and Locally" Mar. 21, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Rosenberg Room 305.