In my experience, true creativity arises from what we don’t know. Unexpected obstacles force us to devise out-of-the-box solutions we would never ordinarily have considered. With “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence,” I took leaps into the unknown, intentionally inviting creative challenges. During a Q&A following one of our screenings, my Director of Photography, Matthew Wilder, called my approach “controlled chaos.” Our Editor, Ryan Larkin, agreed with Matthew’s assessment. I do too. It’s risky to try things you’ve never done before, but the potential benefit of creating a genuinely fresh and original work is worth the risk.
I’m a lot more conservative when it comes to my collaborators. Filmmaking is a challenging pursuit that demands a collaborative spirit, an uncompromising work ethic, integrity, belief in the creative process, and an unwavering can-do attitude. Producer Alessandra Pasquino and Executive Producer/Writer Pierre Hauser embody these qualities. I’m grateful we could celebrate the fruits of our labor “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence” at the Palm Springs International Film Festival where our film was selected as one of the “Best of the Fest Top Films.”
It was a joy to hang out with Pierre and Alessandra in Southern California’s stunning desert landscape, free of the pressures of our three-year-long production. As challenging as it is to make films, it remains a true privilege, especially when collaborating with two such stellar individuals as these two.