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Finding and Filming Your Passions
An Interview with Filmmaker Ellen Spiro (Part 1)
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Girl Scouts Beyond Bars is a program that uses the power of Girl Scouting to give girls a family connection with their family member while they are in prison.
Ellen Spiro, along with producer Karen Bernstein, made a movie about the Girl Scout Beyond Bars troop at Girls Scouts—Lone Star Council in Austin, Texas. The movie is called "Troop 1500," and includes on-screen appearances by both the girls and their moms at the Hilltop Prison in Gatesville, Texas. |
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By Brianna S.
In Part 1 of a two-part interview, Girl Scout Brianna S. from Girl Scouts of Black Hawk Council talks with "Troop 1500" director Ellen Spiro to learn more about the film industry and what it was really like to make a documentary.
How did you become a filmmaker?
I always loved art and drew a lot as a girl. I discovered photography when I was ten years old. My father would never let me take pictures with his camera when we traveled and all I wanted to do was take pictures. So, when I was ten, my mom bought me a camera. I did photography through college, worked for some newspapers and studied art photography. I took film classes in graduate school and made video art in the mid 1980s. I discovered the documentary form when I found a story I wanted to tell in the late 1980s about a hairdresser who was doing AIDS education in her beauty salon. The film, my first documentary, was called "Diana's Hair Ego." That was the name of her salon.
What events in your life lead you to this career?
My heart and soul led me here. I love to tell stories. I love visual art. And I love people who are trying to change the world!
How did you get your first job in film?
I started as a volunteer, doing anything and everything for independent filmmakers whose work I admired. These were people like me who have very small operations, so I could do a lot of things. I would start Xeroxing and delivering food and wound up shooting and researching and making sets.
Do you remember when you first filmed something and what that was like?
I remember watching a photograph develop in a tray when I was ten. It was pure magic to see an image appear on a white piece of paper in a tray of liquid.
Did you have any mentors? How did they help you?
Many, many mentors, some of whom don't even realize they are one of my mentors. I look to people who are doing their own thing creatively and saying what they want to say and reaching people. Those people, and there are many of them, are all my mentors. Some are writers, photographers, poets and filmmakers, because I'm interested in documentary as an art form, more than a journalistic medium.
What advice do you have for girls who would like to pursue a career in film/production?
To get your hands on the equipment and start telling the stories that you feel most passionate about. Look close to you for those stories, for what may be right in your own backyard. Stories we know really well are the ones we usually tell the best.
And, have fun with it. Do not take it too seriously. Shoot things you are curious about and interested in. Don't do something because someone tells you to do it. Follow your heart and your intuition. HAVE FUN and find humor in everything—even sad things—and the rest will fall into place.
Do you recommend film school?
Definitely. It is a great way to be exposed to a lot of working professionals (usually the faculty) and a lot of different approaches. You have the opportunity to collaborate with fellow students and, most importantly, the time and resources to experiment with your own creativity. Film school is a great experience for many young filmmakers.
What are your upcoming projects?
I am working on a film about a paralyzed Iraq war veteran named Tomas Young.
Read Part 2
"Troop 1500" was broadcast on PBS's Independent Lens on March 21st. For more information on the film go to www.girlscouts.org. |
