publicly, indulging in active discourse and honing our unique sensibilities. But that aesthetic imperative should be more of a baseline. I care about social justice as much as the next person; I’ve spent my entire adult life filming stories that push that agenda, right? But we have to be careful about these alliances we make that can, if we’re not careful, create literalism, reduce craft. I’ve seen it happen. A lot more of the funding is there for that than it is for other kinds of films.
S K: There definitely need to be more comedic docs.
R J: I need to make more of them, too. The important thing is to allow for the surprises that happen in a story. A story isn’t necessarily “character-driven” if its main protagonist is chosen because he or she fits in a slot that serves the explication of the issue. And we don’t let people talk and tell their own story