Lynn Hershman-Leeson’s Strange Culture mixes documentary and drama to tell the story of artist Steve Kurtz. A short Q&A on reinventing the form.
Lynn Hershman-Leeson’s new film, Strange Culture, is about artist and professor Steve Kurtz, who was held as a suspected terrorist by the U.S. government after “suspicious” art supplies were found in his home. Because Kurtz cannot legally talk about the case, the unconventional documentary uses actors (Tilda Swinton, Peter Coyote, Thomas Jay Ryan, and Josh Kornbluth) to interpret the story, as well as dramatic reenactment, news footage, animation, testimonials, and footage of Kurtz himself.
Strange Culture was filmed in about four days, shot with the Panasonic AG-DVX100, and edited for about five months on Final Cut. Completed and released in January 2007, Strange Culture premiered at Sundance, made its rounds in the film festival circuit, and will continue to screen this summer and fall at Lincoln Center and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Tell us about Strange Culture, and what making and showing this documentary means for you as a filmmaker, writer, and artist.
Lynn Hershman-Leeson: It was a film I felt I absolutely had to make, so I dropped everything else in my life and found a way to do it. It is not just about Steve Kurtz, but about our freedom of expression, rights to privacy, rights as artists, and about repression, internalized self censorship, and a free society.
Strange Culture is not a typical documentary with talking heads; instead, the movie is an example of a work that reinvents the old documentary form while telling an important story. Could you talk about some of the elements, and your methods, which made this movie not your traditional documentary?
LH: I never went to film school so I don’t know what a traditional doc is, but I know that people kept telling me it wasn’t going to work, and that I should have waited till after the trial. I did it now to get the word out and help as much as I could, as soon as I could.
How did you approach Steve Kurtz about doing this documentary?
LH: I emailed him. He knew my work, I knew his work, and he let me do it.
Tilda Swinton played leading roles for your films, Conceiving Ada and Teknolust. What were your reasons for casting Tilda to interpret the character of Steve’s wife, Hope Kurtz in Strange Culture?
LH: She’s the only actress Steve Kurtz said could play Hope.
Thomas Jay Ryan plays the character of Steve Kurtz in your documentary. Do you prefer to cast actors you’ve worked with in previous films?
LH: Yes, Thomas is a great actor, I knew and trusted him, and he was sympathetic to the story.
How did you approach Peter Coyote about doing this documentary?
LH: I sent his assistant material about Steve Kurtz and Peter researched it, understood the bio genetic aspect, and the importance of the film, and agreed.
How did you encourage the actors to talk about their characters and the story of Steve Kurtz for Strange Culture?
LH: I didn’t. They were so smart and impassioned about the case, I decided to use out takes. Since we shot in such a short time frame, we kept the camera running most of the time. Fortunately, the actors agreed to let me use this.
Has there been any controversy on whether Strange Culture, with its innovative storytelling devices, is a proper documentary?
LH: Yes, in one case I had to count the minutes of the re-enactments.
What advice would you give to new directors?
LH: Trust your vision, be persistent, and never give up.
View clips from Strange Culture at the StudentFilmmakers.com website at: http://www.studentfilmmakers.com/ showcase/Strange_Culture.shtml
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