DOC spoke with the director of “Mortal Lessons,” David Liban. He told us about his filmmaking roots and some of his favorite documentaries.

 

I started making films around 13 or 14, starting with a Super 8 camera. I did some stop-motion animation with clay models that I made. I went to SUNY Oneonta for my BA, with an emphasis on Theatre and Communication, but all the TV/Film classes were in the theatre program at that time. Then, after running a small independent video company for 6 years, I went back for my MFA in Television Production at CUNY Brooklyn College.

After graduating in 94,’ I began teaching production in higher education, and now I am a professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, where I teach classes in TV and film. Creatively, I have been making films consistently since 1993. I used to focus mostly on narrative films, but I have graduated to work mostly in documentary film.

As for documentary filmmakers that have inspired me, David Appleby, Steven J. Ross, Doug Pray, A.J. Schnack and James Marsh would be five that come to mind immediately. David Appleby and Steve Ross have been mentors since we were colleagues at the University of Memphis. They are academics like myself, yet also very active filmmakers. Steve and David have been critical as my development as a documentary filmmaker. Their films of note are “Hoxie: The First Stand,” and “At The River I Stand,” to name two.

These films are very important films that deal with racial inequality. I met Doug Pray just once when he was in Denver showing his film “Big Rig.” He was generous with his time, and spoke with my students. He deals with content that seems accessible to all, and finds great stories to tell within. He makes it look simple and natural, but any filmmaker knows that that is just an illusion. He has a body of terrific films that have inspired me, they include “Hype,” “Surfwise,” and “Scratch.”

AJ Schnack’s film “About a Son” was a monumental source of inspiration for me. It’s the story of Kurt Cobain using Cobain’s voice, but virtually no imagery of Cobain or Nirvana. It uses images of the locations where Cobain lived, along with metaphorical images. It’s a beautiful film that breaks the norm by not showing the typical and expected images. The juxtaposition creates a very moving experience and in the end I feel is the most successful film I’ve seen that communicates who Kurt Cobain was as a person.

James Marsh made a film called “Man on Wire” that was a huge inspiration as well. Too many people think that documentaries are ‘informative’ and ‘dull.’ Here is a great example of how that does not have to be the case. It’s a caper film with a great narrative structure. Ondi Timoner, who made “Dig,” is also an inspiration. I love this film because it also has a great story with great characters. I am a big fan of the rockumentary film, and this is one of the best. I also have to mention the “End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones by Jim Fields.” And “Running Down a Dream,” by Peter Bogdonovich. 

I had reached my mid-forties and have a young child. I had recently lost my father, and have been coping with the loss of my sister since 1978. I was working with a colleague who was doing a project for a museum installation about death and dying, but did not know what to do with the material they were working with.

Through this collaboration I became interested in exploring the notion of death by talking with people who live day to day with it. Surely these people would have insight into the topic that may be helpful and enlightening. Initially the film was going to be about the ‘industry of death.’ But then I met Carol Hammet and Cindy Haney. These two incredible women were facing their own mortality and willing to let me into their lives. They became my teachers and my friends, and the film had its own life that ran parallel with their lives. I wanted to know why our culture avoids talking and dealing with death when so many other cultures embrace it. What was going on here? And is it damaging or a survival tactic? This was the heart of what I wanted to learn.

“Mortal Lessons” got finished because I had to finish it. While making the film, Carol looked at me and said, “I’m not going to see the finished film, am I?” This stung at the time because progress on the film was going slow. In the back of my mind I was thinking that Carol’s death would provide an obvious end to the film. However, this felt really wrong and opportunistic, and then I decided that it was not important to see her death. Her death was imminent, as it is for all of us, and not needed to be in the film.  So it became very important to me to get the film done before Carol died so she could see how I was using her words to teach others.

I finished the film and screened it in Denver in February 2009. Carol was in attendance and got a great deal of attention afterward. She died about a week after the screening.

When I was making “Mortal Lessons” I was struggling to find B-roll material. What can you show when you are talking about Death and Dying?  After seeing AJ Schnack’s film it opened doors for me and I started looking for visual metaphors that I could use similarly. Unlike Schnack’s film, I did not go as far as he did, since I did show my subjects speaking, but did look around for visual metaphors for the cycle of life. Finding Carol and Cindy were the most fortuitous event in the making of the film.

I think the main thing is having good characters. Films will do better if they show people that have charisma and that we find engaging. Also, I think another essential element is a narrative structure.  Even if it is less obvious than the usual film, there must be a story being told.

“Mortal Lessons” has more of an emotional storyline. It starts with ‘Fearing Death’ and moves into approaching death, and ends with accepting death. Basically, it is a microcosm of what we all go through. I also tried to give it a chronological time-line by linking it to the Presidential election, and to give a sense of time passing for the viewers.

I do think that documentaries are more relevant and often more important than mainstream cinema. It is clear to most people that news is a thing of the past. The notion that we get our news from a newspaper or a non-partisan broadcast source is almost gone. It’s mostly entertainment based on the news and opinions of the company handling that media outlet.

Documentary film is becoming the most reliable source of information about current events. That said, there are examples where an agenda is being pushed, or propaganda is being distributed. However, more notable documentaries can delve into ideas with far more depth than the 30 seconds of a story we see on a nightly newscast.

Documentary is providing an alternative to the typical Hollywood film. Most big-budget films are re-hashing the same tired stories over and over again, then doing a sequel of the same tired story.  Because documentaries are becoming more popular, there are so many stories that are being told that in the past would have been overlooked.

“At the River I Stand,” “Surfwise,” “Hype,” “About a Son,” “Scratch,” “Visions of Light,” “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Man on Wire,” “Bowling for Columbine,” “Jesus Camp,” “Street Fight,” “Murderball.”

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*Upcoming Air dates for "Mortal Lessons" on DISH channel 197 (all times are EST):

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Nov. 16th at 9pm
Nov. 17th at 12am
Nov. 20th at 5pm
Dec. 02nd at 8pm
Dec. 02nd at 11pm
Dec. 14th at 2:40pm
Dec. 26th at 6:45pm
Jan. 17th at 9:45pm

- Times are subject to change, please check our online scheduler for the latest updates here !!

- Air dates for other partner channels can be located at:
Nashville (NPT2) = www.wnpt.org
New York (NYCTV) = www.nyctv.com
Denver (KBDI) = www.kbdi.org