Interview with director Elizabeth Thompson (This Dewdrop World)

I was thrilled with the audience response to the film. Some people in particular really “got” it, pointing to the words “and yet” in the opening haiku as the hint of hopefulness in the film. The shot of the school of fish shifting direction connotes that hope of a shift in consciousness. Cynicism is what parades as truth when real strength and courage are lacking (I’m paraphrasing Cornel West here); I was trying to push up against cynicism with that shot. Some people got it, others missed it.

– Elizabeth Thompson on the WILDsound experience.

Interview with director Elizabeth Thompson on her documentary short film This Dewdrop World

Matthew Toffolo: Your short film played at our festival in June 2014. How has it done since it screened? Has it played at more festivals? Distribution deal? Can be seen online?

Elizabeth Thompson: This Dewdrop World is finishing a spirited festival run, where it has won numerous awards, including Best Director, Most Creative/Original (x2), Best of Fest (x2), and Best Disabilities Film.

A trailer of the film can be seen here: http://thisdewdropworldfilm.com/trailer/#.VKrqn0tvo-A

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Elizabeth Thompson: I wasn’t planning to make this film. But one day, my mother, who was struggling with the onset of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, turned to me and said, “I sense a window closing on my ability to speak. Can I talk to you on camera?”

Matthew Toffolo: From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Elizabeth Thompson: Three years.

Matthew Toffolo: What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Elizabeth Thompson: The biggest obstacle was that my mother passed away as I was editing the piece, so I was unable to reshoot anything. Another obstacle was funding. Funders just couldn’t see beyond the poetic approach I was taking to personal and planetary loss. They wanted either a film about loss associated with climate change or a film about losing my mother, not one that interweaved the two.

Matthew Toffolo: What film have you seen the most in your life?

Elizabeth Thompson: Sans Soleil by Chris Marker.

Matthew Toffolo: What is next for you? A new film?

Elizabeth Thompson: Yep, I can’t help myself. Only this time I’m diving into the world of fiction and am writing a screenplay. I’m also shooting a documentary about the eco-artists Helen and Newton Harrison.

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ELIZABETH THOMPSON – Director BIO

Elizabeth Thompson produced and directed Blink (Emmy Award, ITVS funding, P.O.V. broadcast) and co-produced For Better or Worse (Academy Award nomination). Her film Bookends was awarded the Jurors’ Choice Award from Black Maria Film Festival and Honorable Mention from the International Documentary Association.

Thompson’s work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Sundance Documentary Fund, The Creative Work Fund and Paul Robeson Fund for Indepedent Media. Yaddo and MacDowell Colony have awarded her fellowships and artist residencies.

As a Camera Woman, she has worked on a number of award-winning documentaries, including Hansel Mieth: Vagabond Photographer (Independent Lens), Rachel’s Daughter (HBO), and Regret to Inform (Oscar and Emmy nominations).

She has twice taught at Stanford’s Graduate Program in Documentary Film. Thompson holds a B.A. from Duke University and an M.A. from Stanford University.

Matthew Toffolo, Interviewer BIO

Matthew Toffolo is the current CEO of the WILDsound Film and Writing Festival. He had worked for the organization since its inception in 2007 serving as the Short Film Festival’s moderator during the Audience Feedback sessions.

Filmmaker of over 20 short films and TV episodes. Took over full reins of the WILDsound Festival in May 2013. From then to the end of 2014, he’s presented over 90 movies at the monthly FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto, plus has had over 60 screenplays and stories performed by professional actors at the bi-monthly Writing Festival.

Go to http://www.wildsound.ca and submit your film, script, or story to the festival.

Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com and watch recent and past winning writing festival readings.