Suzan hard at work at the editing bay. Credit: Gus Gusciora
Age: 46
Stomping Ground: Telluride, Colorado
Job: Documentary Filmmaker
Suzan Beraza calls her career as a documentary filmmaker fast and furious. “When you’re working so hard, it’s tough to stop and reflect about what you really love about your job,” says the filmmaker/director/editor. But it’s gotten easier now that her first feature-length documentary, Bag It, has earned high marks at film festivals, and she’s negotiating with major networks to have it broadcast nationally. She set out to change the way Americans think about plastics, and with an accessible presentation of the facts – for instance, we use and throw away two million plastic bottles every five minutes – she just might change our behavior, too. We caught up with her during some down time after Telluride’s Mountainfilm festival last summer, where her film won the Audience Award. She talked about the dream job she’s made her own.
How did you get started as a documentary filmmaker?
I was a theater director for many years and had an idea for a short film I wanted to do, but didn’t have the skills as far as camera work and editing. I gathered some friends together and just did it; we went to film it in the Dominican Republic, where I spent my late teens and early twenties. It was right at the time when editing was changing from linear to non-linear [analog to digital]. I taught myself how to do it, and after that I was in high demand because not many people knew how to use the new technology. I basically built the job for myself. I’ve made several short films, did post-production on five documentaries, and Bag It is my feature directorial debut.
What is a day in the life of a filmmaker like?
Every day is different. I don’t get bored at all. Some days my job is about fundraising and I write grants. On other days I’ll work on figuring out who we’re going to interview for a film, writing scripts, or editing. Some people stick to doing only documentary filmmaking, but I’ve also mixed things up there: my two short films are narratives.
What qualities make you good at directing and editing?
I’m a real collaborator and I love to create works with a core group – creating via a team. That’s how I am personally, and as a film director. I like to get people involved and hear their ideas. Also, while filmmaking is a dream job, everyone that I talk to does it because they have a story that really needs to be told. There are few documentaries that make money or barely break even, so being a filmmaker, you have to be really committed. You could dedicate two years to something that might never sell.
What was the goal of Bag It, to tell a story or change people’s behavior?
I love films that don’t have an agenda, but with the topic of plastics [which is the basis of] Bag It, we really do have an agenda to help people figure out their values. I like to mix things up, so my other films are a little more expressive, but this one definitely has the message and it’s been amazingly well received. We’ve gotten e-mails from strangers who tell us they really can’t get the film out of their heads. It started with a pretty small idea about a plastic bag reduction challenge between two Colorado mountain towns – Aspen and Telluride. When we started to learn about plastics, we realized that the story was much bigger, and our story really changed as we filmed it.
What are the biggest misconceptions about filmmaking as a career?
One huge misconception is that you make lots of money. If you’re independent, that’s not it at all. I never thought I’d be poorer than when I worked in theater, but with this job, I’ve managed to do it. People don’t realize that filmmaking is a passion because there’s no or very little monetary gain. Lots of people think it’s a great job, but once they actually get into it and realize how much work it is, they realize it’s not for them. For me, it’s the most fun thing to do, I absolutely love it, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It’s worth it to me to just scrape by. For sure, the fundraising is a bitch [laughing]. I’m still waiting for a patron to come and tell me they’ll fund my projects.
Watch one of Suzan’s short films on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBYFhZxRLJs
