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Caroline Kraus's avatar

I find this so true, beautifully expressed, and helpful! When watching your films, I feel the meaningful moments along with participants, and I sense the trust and respect that’s necessary for such moments to be recorded.

A few years ago I finished a solo film with interview subjects who I only had fleeting contact with while traveling around the U.S. So this was very different from following the lives of participants over time. I felt protective of the people who spoke on camera, and have kept a promise that they can let me know if they prefer not to be part of my project and I will remove them. So far no one has asked to be removed, and I maintain peace of mind, but if I had funders, a distributor or insurers, this conditional arrangement wouldn’t be possible. Of course there’s a sizable downside to having no funders or distributors - few people see the work, and it’s not financially sustainable. But it’s been a valuable discovery for me to experience the weight and responsibility of presenting people on screen within a genre that sets expectations for truth.

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