FILM INTERVIEW: EMANUEL MICHAEL - PRODUCER OF 'RESILIENT'

Producer of 'Resilient' Discusses Movies & Creative, Direct Action

By: Team Buzzine

March 31, 2009

Charlotte Otter: You have just started shooting your film project, Resilient. Could you tell us a little about the background to the project and how it has come to be?

Emanuel Michael: Mariane Pearl is the originator and driving force of the film, Resilient, and Mariane’s initial choice to turn her despair into action is at the film’s core. After writing A Mighty Heart, her inspiring story of the unlikely group of people who banded together to try to save Daniel Pearl’s life before he was killed, Mariane’s mission was still far from over. Mariane had a desire to show her young son Adam that the antidote to the world’s hate is hope, which led her to seek out and document an amazing collection of courageous women from all over the world. The resulting book, In Search of Hope, was the culmination of her acclaimed series of articles for Glamour magazine, profiling everyday women from around the world who are conquering the darkest, most entrenched forces that seek to break their spirit and silence their voices. Mariane met women who rescued children from brothels, women who risked their lives exposing corrupt governments, women who gave up everything to fight for their freedom -- women like herself, who stood up when no one would blame them for lying down or forever giving up. At the end of her journey, Mariane not only found the hope she was looking for but discovered something even more powerful. What did she and each of these women share that kept them from breaking, and from giving up? The film, Resilient, is Mariane’s answer to that question.

CO: Unison, as a film company, is committed to telling global stories that can help change the world. Why is this important to you, and how do you hope Resilient will make a difference?

EM: The world is changing each day, whether we are conscious of it or not, and each film made today has a message, whether it’s intentional or not. I suppose a question for people (and/or filmmakers) living today is whether we choose to be conscious of the world, and whether we choose to live our lives (and/or make films) with intention. At Unison, we are looking to produce films for the “world” audience -- films that intend to touch, inspire, and entertain audiences regardless of region, country, or language. And we believe that each and every film, to some degree, changes the world of those who see it. Words have power, images have power, and stories have power. Even if it’s rather current to occasionally ignore these simple facts (Saw V, etc.), these elements have driven society since the dawn of civilization, and they are certainly all front-and-center at the movies. The good news is we all get to choose what words we say, images we produce, and stories we tell and, ultimately, which direction we choose to point that power. We believe that Resilient will inspire audiences through the incredible stories of hope, courage, and resilience in these women from around the world. It is a film that will move each person to feel, think, connect, and tap into something that Mariane Pearl believes exists in us all — a strength that will not only change us as individuals but change the world we live in.

CO: In the making of Resilient, you plan to interview four women during four different stages of reaction to a crisis. Could you explain what those four stages are?

EM: Filmmakers Sean and Andrea Fine (last year’s Academy Award nominees for War Dance) have structured Resilient to take us on a journey through four separate moments in time, each a separate stage on the path to resilience in the lives of four women from different corners of the world. The first stage will follow a woman at the “Point of Impact,” the point at which the trauma first occurs. The second stage, “Despair to Action,” will follow a woman taking her first steps in healing from personal trauma. The third stage, “Never Say Die,” will follow a woman whose determination to act strengthens her resolve, no matter the sacrifice or risk. And in the fourth stage, “The Ripple Effect,” we follow a woman who, in healing herself, is ultimately changing the society and the world around her.

CO: Have you made your final selection of four women, and which countries do they come from?

EM: Currently, we are shooting our first subject, a woman in Juarez, Mexico at the “Point of Impact” stage. The other selections have not been finalized as of yet. We are closely researching and tracking stories in Afghanistan, Argentina, Cambodia, Chechnya, Dubai, Ethiopia, France, Israel, Kenya, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States.

CO: It must be hard to narrow down to four the many individuals you are encountering. Do you feel you might be letting people down?

EM: This process has been truly incredible, first and foremost, in the sheer volume and multitude of these overwhelming stories of courage and strength that we have come across. It is absolutely astounding that there not only seems to be a never-ending list of women living these outstanding and heroic life stories, but also that we somehow don’t hear about these incredible stories each and every day. Therefore, it is our hope to find additional outlets either on television or on the web to make all of these women’s stories and causes more widely known. Ironically, though, it’s not these women who I feel we would be letting down by not getting out all of their stories, as these women do not actively seek attention or gratitude for their actions. Instead, I feel we would be letting down the world audience, who truly needs to see these clear examples of just how much strength, courage, and resilience is thriving in humanity today, in spite of everything.

CO: Resilient is part of a much bigger and more long-term web-based project. Could you describe that?

EM: In conjunction with the film, we will launch an interactive website to provide additional information about each of the subjects covered in the film and the causes they are fighting for, as well as other subjects. We hope this can act as a catalyst for an international forum of activists where their stories can continue and evolve, where links are made to relevant non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and where viewers can become active by volunteering time, money and expertise. The website will include elements which tie in to the documentary film, including video clips from the movie, blogs by the story's subjects and excerpts from Mariane's articles. The site will expand upon the work done by the film, using the web's potential for communication and dialogue across nationalities, class lines and political perspectives. It will open avenues for learning about other cultures through audio recordings and photo essays, documenting the communities in which the story subjects live and work. The site will also include a journal of travel anecdotes which can be added to by readers online, and a ‘press review’ of translated articles about one region as covered by another -– for example, the coverage of African issues from the Saudi perspective, or the Chinese point of view -– an eye-opener for Western news consumers accustomed to a limited American or European perspective.

CO: What role does Angelina Jolie play with regard to the film and the web project?

EM: Angelina Jolie is an Executive Producer of Resilient and has been helping guide the project from its inception a couple of years ago. Angelina shares Mariane’s cause to bring these vital stories to light and to explore the greater notion of resilience and the rippling effects it exhibits throughout society.

CO: It must be amazing working with a journalist and writer like Mariane Pearl, who herself is a woman who has shown resilience in the face of an unimaginable crisis.

EM: I naturally felt very honored to meet Mariane Pearl, based upon what I had read of her works and also what I knew of her life experiences and accomplishments, but within thirty minutes of our first meeting, I felt pleased to actually know Mariane because of her open outpouring of warmth, intelligence, humility, and humor. So yes, it has been a tremendous experience working together with Mariane on Resilient. It is always a special occasion when we get to meet a person who shares our hopes and dreams for the world, and even more so when we can come to call that person a friend.

CO: Unison is also starting production on a film called The Volcano, which is set in New Zealand. How does that fit in with Unison's goals?

EM: The Volcano is the feature-length version of Taika Waititi’s Academy Award-nominated short, Two Cars, One Night. It is a comedic, coming-of-age story of young Maori children growing up in the boondocks of New Zealand. In this film, all at once, the audience will be transported to a world and culture that is likely to be far from their own and yet one that may also begin to seem increasingly familiar as a result of writer-director Taika Waititi’s exacting, vivid, and intimate lens into a child’s world. Therefore, The Volcano fits in well with many of Unison’s goals and aspirations for our projects: to introduce and delve into distinctly different cultures, and yet to simultaneously illustrate how un-foreign we truly are to each other. Maybe most importantly, in The Volcano, we hope to have audiences coming out of theaters expressing some of the wisest, most essential thoughts known to man -- pure, unadulterated laughter.