Meet Camp Victory Director Carol Dysinger
Filmmaker and NYU professor Carol Dysinger has been holed up at Radical Avid in New York for the last six months with her editing associate Michelle Chang preparing her film. The invitation to participate in the Documentary Edit and Story Lab presented an opportunity for Carol to develop a feature documentary. In between teaching, editing and occassionally getting a good night sleep Carol agreed to answer our questions:
Q: Growing up, what films impacted you and showed you the power of storytelling?
A: Strangely, I started in fiction filmmaking. The films that I have been most affected by are the films that gave you permission to tell a story that you didn’t see anywhere else, told in a new way. Films like Tokyo Story by Yasujiro Ozu. That film could illicit a certain kind of emotion by holding onto to things. It didn’t try to argue the audience into feeling specific emotions. In terms of documentary, for me, it was Hearts and Minds by Peter Davis. In its different parts it looks at things in a verite way. He said he wanted a film with “dead air” meaning no narrator explaining what was happening. By moving from images of a football game to soldiers walking by, these images at first appeared unrelated. He organized the film in a way that it felt like it had a secret structure. He built understanding through the accumulations of details. To me, working in film is about articulating things that cannot be said with words. I like films that do that for audience.
Q: The impact, both positive and negative, a filmmaker can have on the lives of the individuals and communities he/she documents is widely discussed. Can you describe the impact that the people in your film have had on your life?
A: The real impact is hard to say. Right now, a lot of what I think about are the people like Cl. Siyar and Col. Shute. I was very aware in production about what happens to filmmakers and journalists who are embedded with the military. It’s hard to separate your personal beliefs when you’re there with these guys. I was struck though as I was for once the only tree-hugging, pro-gay marriage, liberal Democrat in the room. The thing that’s hard to articulate that I greatly value is the time we had to talk. Talk about our beliefs in an open and honest way. I also felt something just being among these American soldiers that made me remember what core American values are about. It has nothing to do with your political leaning left or right, but more to do with responsibility. Showing up for people and having no excuses. Doing whatever it takes to do what you say you’re going to do and not sweating. There were numerous times both men looked out for me because that is who they were, not because they were assigned to the task. Sometimes living on the left (politically) is a very romantic culture, with a lot of excuses and little action. These men did not talk about it, they simply looked out for the people around them.
Q: If someone made a “behind the scenes” documentary about your film, what would the theme song be?
A: What song does the Duracell bunny sing? For me, it would probably be a song by Patti Smith if anything with a long guitar solo. Or a sound effects record.
Q: Do you blame punk music for your career choice?
A: Absolutely. When I was young my first job was cutting the video for “Rock the Casbah” by The Clash. After that I never looked back!