THE LIST to screen at the Woods Hole Film Festival
On Sunday July 29, THE LIST will be screening in the hometown of director, Beth Murphy, at the Woods Hole Film Festival. We asked her a few questions on the dawn of her return home for the screening, about the upcoming festival and what comes next.
Where does the Woods Hole Film Festival stand in terms of some of the other festivals you’ve been to?
My favorite festivals are ones that have great market potential, the opportunity to connect in a meaningful way with audiences, and the chance for a fantastic filmmaker experience.
What really is home is the Woods Hole Film Festival, a gem of a festival, and one that really cares about independent filmmakers. One way they do that is through an exciting new initiative with the online international news site GlobalPost. This collaboration supports documentary works-in-progress, and THE LIST was the first film selected for this initiative.
What’s it like returning to the Cape after traveling in war-torn countries and interviewing people who have witnessed such horrific things?
I remember when I first starting coming to the Cape with my husband, Dennis, who grew up enjoying summers here. Every time we approached the Bourne Bridge, he rolled down all the car windows, absorbing the Cape air—inhaling it through every pore. Didn’t matter if it was the middle of July or January. I realized very quickly what it means to love the Cape, and what a beautiful experience it is to be here. This is a place where artists want to come to focus, a place where they want to congregate to connect, and a place where people have real local and global awareness. It’s a wonderful place to come home to, and to raise our daughter, Isabelle.
What’s in store for THE LIST after a summer of film festival screenings?
Film festivals and the subsequent television broadcast are just beginning. For me developing an impact campaign is one of the most exciting and meaningful parts of documentary filmmaking – and for THE LIST, the Fledgling Fund is making that possible.
It’s all about engagement – engaging niche audiences in real and meaningful ways, and for THE LIST that means engaging educators, students, veterans, refugee lawyers and advocates, and members of Congress.
Thanks to funding from the Fledgling Fund, Columbia University Teachers College will write a core standards-based curriculum and study guide to accompany the film. It’s exciting to write it, but it has to get into teachers’ hands, and another partnership with Facing History and Ourselves will make that possible. Other aspects of our impact campaign are focused on post-traumatic stress disorder (the number one issue facing veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan), and refugee law.
As you can see there’s really no such thing as an “independent” filmmaker. We’re dependent on so many people.
