Vote for the Best of 2019

Coming Attractions Trailer Night Winter 2019

By Cheryl Dixon, DCFS Member

We promised and we delivered! Our fearless leader Michael Kyrioglou claimed there were at least two dozen. No, not presidential candidates, Winter movies coming your way! In a contest worthy of the galaxy, the trailer for Just Mercy, the movie based on the true-life story of Harvard Law School graduate Bryan Stevenson’s work freeing death row prisoners, beat out the competition amongst over 30 trailers featured in “Coming Attractions Trailer Night – Winter 2019.” Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the last of the movies featuring the beloved Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, had to settle for second place. The Force was nonetheless with the crowd of enthusiastic film fans gathered in the cozy comfort of the Landmark’s E Street Cinema on Monday, November 25, 2019. Trailers included oldies, but goodies, for a new generation. Attendees, as usual, cast their votes, both informally (applause) and formally (ballot), at Landmark’s E Street Cinema. Film Critics and Hosts Tim Gordon and Travis Hopson led the always-spirited discussion on the trailers and gave the audience the full buzz on the effectiveness of the trailers themselves and a peek at the movies they represent.

The categories, the winners of each category, and general commentary follow. Whether by applause vote or official ballot, attendees are never shy about expressing their opinions. And they know that their vote counts. Audience feedback is handed over to the Studios and just might impact the course of future trailers and how they are used to more effectively market the films they represent. By now, many of the films associated with the trailers have been released, but remember that attendees at this event saw the trailers first! If you liked what you saw in the trailers, go see the movies! And if you missed the trailers, but like what you’re reading here, go see the movies!!

Here’s a summary of the winning films in each of the six categories and further discussion:

Going For The Gold
Bombshell
Dark Waters - WINNER!
A Hidden Life
1917
Richard Jewell
The Two Popes

What’s New, Exciting, and Different? Tim and Travis introduced the term “pity claps” for audience members thinking they absolutely had to clap for “bad” trailers. Usually this was indicated by the audience hearing only one or two members’ applause for an unpopular trailer. Awkward.They also highlighted and praised the rise in fame and respect for Actor Aldis Hodge (in Clemency, the film Brian Banks, and TV show Leverage), while bemoaning Will Smith’s box office runs in Gemini Man and possibly those future runs for Spies in Disguise). After introductions, including Film Society Director Michael Kyrioglou and his membership pitch, Film Critics Tim and Travis reviewed the program rules and regulations, then questioned the audience about movies they were looking forward to seeing (Jumanji, Bad Boys for Life). Then, it was time to roll out the contenders, beginning with likely Oscar contenders. The winner in this first category was Dark Waters.

Dark Waters stars Anne Hathaway, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, and Bill Pullman. Ruffalo’s character initially defends chemical companies, but when a farmer loses 190 cows, he discovers what’s killing them. Dupont Chemical Co. is knowingly poisoning their drinking water and he changes sides. I half expected to hear Sheryl Crowe’s “Every Day is a Winding Road.” Cue the theme music from the movie, Erin Brokovich. This was the first of quite a few movies based on a true-life story.

Commentary: As the category clearly states, winter movies characteristically include the Oscar contenders. Watch for strong performances from the “blonds:” Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie, as they portray Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly, among other women, railing against sexist Fox News Founder, “prove-your-loyalty,” Roger Ailes (John Lithgow). A trailer for A Hidden Life reveals a bucolic period film from Director Terrence Malick, where there’s a male lead deciding to consciously object to the evils perpetrated during the rise of Hitler and Nazism (echoes of A Dry White Season?). 1917. Well, it’s 1917, during W.W. I, a man is contacted to deliver a message calling off an attack, which could lead to a massacre. Benedict Cumberbatch featured in this historical drama. Travis thinks that this group will receive at least three Oscar nominations. He also thinks that The Two Popes, based on the unlikely friendship between Popes Francis and Benedict, is fantastic, amazing, and really funny (although the trailer doesn’t show the latter…I totally agree) and watch the strong performances by leads Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, equally worthy of Oscar nominations, and Anthony McCarten’s (Bohemian Rhapsody, Darkest Hour) brilliant screenplay! Further, Travis marveled over the way the makeup department got Theron to look just like Megyn Kelly. Finally, our critics predict that Richard Jewell may possibly represent a comeback for Director Clint Eastwood. The trailer deftly reveals the story about the accused Atlanta bomber in Centennial Park.


Laugh Riot
Jumanji: The Next Level
Like a Boss
My Spy
Knives Out - WINNER!

Knives Out.. Stellar cast includes Daniel Craig, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, and Chris Evans in a family comedy, plus murder mystery, Agatha Christie-style, where everyone is a suspect and everyone is lying. Craig is the bumbling detective, who must determine the guilty party. Whodunit? Wildly applauded by the audience. Definitely an audience favorite. Hilarious. Five chuckles, as in star ratings.

Commentary: There were only four trailers in this category. All of which induced chuckles from one to five. Jumanji: The Next Level depicts a continuation of the next generation Jumanji franchise (recall the Robin Williams’ versions?). Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson return with Danny DeVito and Danny Glover added to the mix. Hijinx ensue when the characters in this hilarious adventure story are transported into different bodies. Four chuckles. Like a Boss pairs the unlikely duo Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne with the adversary Salma Hayak. The world of beauty gets vicious. ‘Why?’ lamented Martin. Not a good sign when Tim also asks why is there a comedienne in a film that’s not funny? Three chuckles. My Spy. Aw shucks, Dave Bautista’s paired with a cute little girl who wants to learn his business, i.e., the business of being a spy. Watch Bautista try to dance. Awkward. Three chuckles.


Chills and Thrills
Black Christmas - WINNER!
Gretel & Hansel
The GrudgeTag
Uncut Gems
Queen & Slim
Underwater

Queen & Slim. Director Lena Waithe’s film screenwriting debut trailer. This movie will forever be known (hopefully) as the African-American Bonnie & Clyde. Things go downhill quickly when an African-American couple (Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith) is confronted by a police officer, asking the male driver to step out of his vehicle. Why? For driving while Black? There’s a shooting and the couple’s on the run, as cop killers, hiding in plain sight. Travis thinks that this will become a classic in this genre.

Commentary: Black Christmas is dark, dark, dark. It’s Christmas, of course, and the college sorors are being terrorized. There’s heavy breathing, menacing, anonymous text messages, and dark-cloaked figures. Oh my. But the sorors decide to fight back! The sisters united will never be defeated! Speaking of dark: Gretel and Hansel (note the significance of girl comes first) is a “grim fairytale,” pun intended. The trailer promises “the story that you know hides a secret.” The Grudge has John Cho’s character entering a spooky house and leaning over a bathtub with gurgling water. Somebody scream: don’t go near the water! Tim lamented about the predictable horror and urged movies of this genre to be less obvious. There’s also a shower scene possibly reminiscent of the greatest horror shower scene ever, courtesy of the Master Hitchcock. Not sure what Uncut Gems was all about. There’s Idina Menzel and Adam Sandler in an intense action picture. Kristen Stewart stars in Underwater, supposedly her comeback as a blockbuster star. In this watery adventure, she’s 5,000 miles from land and 7 miles below surface. What could possibly happen? Travis called this a combo of The Abyss and Alien. Tim, once again, asks for common sense and pleads with filmmakers “Don’t do the obvious.”


Bring the Whole Family
Dolittle
Little Women - WINNER!
Playmobil: The Movie
Spies in Disguise
White Snake

Little Women in its umpteenth remake, remains the classic story by Louisa May Alcott about the March family and comes to life again with Saiorse Ronan as Jo March supported by Emma Watson, Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, and Timothee Chalamet. Travis says that the movie’s take is a little different under Director Greta Gerwig’s direction. Something to look forward to….

Commentary: Dolittle also gets another version, this time with Robert Downey, Jr. as the doctor, who talks to the animals. Great special effects and Louis Armstrong’s song “It’s a Wonderful World” accompanies the trailer. Daniel Radcliffe provides the voice for Rex Dasher out to save the world in Playmobil: The Movie. Will Smith, likewise, provides the voice for another animated superhero, Lance Sterling, who, coincidentally, is also out to save the world in Spies in Disguise. One important difference: Sterling’s trusty sidekick is an inventor who transforms him into a pigeon. Huh? White Snake features absolutely fabulous Japanese animation which shows a woman in white, who is also a snake demon. Tim and Travis agree the trailer looks great.


Action Jackson
Bad Boys for Life
The Gentlemen
Hell on the Border
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - WINNER!

Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, return in another sweeping, intergalactic adventure story well-told with fantastic special effects and a resounding score. We say farewell, however, after 43 years, to Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian? C-3P0? R2-D2?, and BB-8? However, the story lives on forever!

Commentary: Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Bring the boys back, one more time in a Boyz to Men moment. It’s Bad Boys for Life. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are reunited …and it doesn’t feel so good. Tim and Travis say Martin Lawrence begged for this edition, but Tim thinks that the movie needs a better screenwriter….Director Guy Ritchie returns to the British crime drama with The Gentlemen, it was a bit difficult to figure out the plot from the trailer. But Brits Charlie Hunnam and Michele “Downton Abbey” Dockery are joined by Matthew McConaughey. Martin predicts: “I say Oscars for Everyone.” Hell on the Border introduces the real-life story of Bass Reeves, a “colored” Marshall in the Wild, Wild 19th-century West. David Gyasi and Ron Perlman star. Tagline: “Born a Slave, dies a hero.”


Drama Club
The Aeronauts
Little Joe
Cats
Clemency
Just Mercy - WINNER! BEST TRAILER OVERALL!
Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx star respectively as the real-life Harvard Law School graduate Bryan Stevenson and one of the prisoners he aims to free from death row in Alabama. Brie Larson is also cast. “Each of us is better than the worst thing we have ever done – we can change this world for the better. We all need mercy.”: Just Mercy.

Commentary: Would you like to fly in a beautiful balloon? Join Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, and Himesh Patel in a visually-thrilling sky adventure, a period-piece drama. Or perhaps you’d like a plant from Little Joe. There are plants that make you happy, but treat them carefully, or like the Gremlins, they will turn on you! Cats gets the movie version and a stunning cast, including Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Rebel Wilson. Alfre Woodard stars as a prison warden in Clemency (one to watch: Writer/Director Chinonye Chukwu) with Aldis Hodge in this prison drama. Oscar nomination rumor for Woodard as Best Actress. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is an art house film, French, with subtitles. A period film “with modern soul” about a painter (what else?) and a masterpiece, and quite likely a possible friendship/romance. I did say it’s French….


BONUS TRAILERS

Of course, the evening would be incomplete without the bonus trailers. We saw Soul, another installment from the Pixar Studios. This is a first. There’s an African-American lead character, a jazz musician (Jamie Foxx), who dies while getting the gig of a lifetime. How ironic. “What do you want to be remembered for?” We also got a sneak preview trailer of Mulan. “It is my duty to fight” declares Mulan (Yifei Liu), the warrior princess, as she leaps to live action, leaving the animated world far behind, with grace and composure, identified as “qualities attributed to “being a good wife.” Enough said. These trailers weren’t included in the audience voting….

And so, our very sated movie-going audience enjoyed a full evening of trailer film surprises and promotional giveaways and prizes just for showing up. Plus there were raffle prizes. Always nice to add a free DVD to one’s collection, and there were lots of t-shirts, books, movie posters and other assorted movie memorabilia to please any discerning movie fan. See you at our next trailer program, and at the movies!

Thanks to all of the DC Film Society Directors, Coordinating Committee Members, and Volunteers for putting together this twice-annual film educational program. And thanks to our uber co-hosts,Tim Gordon and Travis Hopson, for providing their commentary, sharing their opinions and tolerating ours, Allied Global Marketing, Landmark Theatres, Filmfest DC, and Women in Film & Video.

The Cinema Lounge

Adam's Rib Examines the Best Film Years of Modern Times

The Kingmaker: Q&A with Director Lauren Greenfield and Ambassador Susan Rice

By Annette Graham, DC Film Society Member

At a screening of The Kingmaker (Lauren Greenfield, 2019) on December 16 at Landmark's E Street Cinema, the film's Director Lauren Greenfield and former Ambassador Susan Rice spoke about the film and answered questions. The documentary is about Imelda Marcos of the Philippines. Lauren Greenfield previously directed the documentaries The Queen of Versailles and Generation Wealth. Ambassador Susan Rice was President Obama's UN Ambassador and his National Security Advisor. She is author of the book Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For. The moderator was Capitol Hill Editor for Roll Call Jason Dick. This Q&A has been edited and condensed.

Moderator: Could we start by talking about The Queen of Versailles, an amazing documentary about a crazy mansion in Florida, wealth and the corrupting effects of wealth. Tell us about your interest in this.
Lauren Greenfield: My last book Generation Wealth looked at 25 years of my work in photography and filmmaking about wealth, materialism, inequality, and the 1% and how the 1% affects everybody else. Imelda Marcos had always been an iconic reference when I was doing Queen of Versailles and Jackie Siegel's two-story closet with 100 gold shoes. I was thinking about Imelda but never thought I would get to meet her and film her until I read an article in Bloomberg [December 8, 2013] by reporter William Mellor about Imelda now back in the Philippines and already a congresswoman which I was amazed at (imagine Richard Nixon coming back and being elected to office). The article was about this animal island that she created, Calauit. I was just blown away by the story of this island. Because the shoes were nothing compared to this most egregious extravagance that involved human rights and animals. For me it was symbolic of the recklessness of wealth and power and how one impulsive act could make decades of damage. So I came in thinking it was going to be a historical story about this island and what happened and Imelda Marcos' legacy. But then I was swept into the present by the election and what turned into a comeback story.

Moderator: That must have blown your mind to go in with one story and then having this change happen that you couldn't ignore. And [Rodrigo] Duterte slips in at the end. I wasn't aware of some of the relationships he had with the Marcos family. Was that overwhelming to try to piece all of this together?
Lauren Greenfield: Duterte gave me the ending because the fact that they were able to come back and the fact that Imelda was constantly telling me untruths and was an extremely unreliable narrator. So I started bringing in these truth-tellers. In the past people have not taken her seriously and thought she was crazy or delusional. And then I started to see the method to her madness because it was strategically working to come back to power. When Duterte won it was like the final piece of history repeating itself, the return of another strongman and the beginning of the destruction of this fragile democracy that had been going on since 1986.

Moderator: Susan Rice, I am curious about your thoughts on the story arc of Imelda Marcos being this defacto diplomat for Marcos. In dictatorships like the Marcos dictatorship you have to keep your allies close. As someone who was our ambassador to the United Nations, how common is this in the world?
Susan Rice: I came to this film relatively fresh; I didn't have a deep grounding in the history and politics of all this. I was struck by how there are two very different and competing narratives about why Imelda was made the diplomat of Ferdinand. Was it because he wanted her away and not in his bedroom or was it because he was afraid himself of leaving the country, or did he actually think she had a talent that was useful to the country? It's hard to gauge, beside the charm and the photographs and the dancing and the crazy interactions with people from Mao Zedong to Henry Kissinger, what actual substantive successes did she have. And that's hard to gauge. Certainly on a soft diplomacy level, beauty and charm, she clearly had some beneficial impact, at least by her own telling which to a large extent is what we are reckoning with. I don't think we can judge her substantive accomplishments from what is shared in the film and with the historical record. So my overarching thought is to be somewhat skeptical of this woman who has an extraordinary sense of her own self--the mother of the world. And never did she fail in her own telling in a diplomatic endeavor. I find that strains credulity. But you have to give her some credit for her own sense of self.

Moderator: Lauren, I'm curious what was it about Imelda that made you say, "I'm going fly myself halfway around the world for long periods of time to make this documentary."
Lauren Greenfield: "And how did you get her to spend so much time with you?" is another question people ask. At that time, I think she missed being on the world stage and getting that attention from journalists. I think she wanted to re-brand the Marcos' and tell her story. I think she felt victimized by 1986 and what she would call bad PR from stealing $5-10 billion from the country. And I think the stakes were lower. They were not coming back to power at that point. They were on the sidelines. No one tells her what to do and if she wants to do something, she does it. My guess is that the people around her said it's not a good idea, but Imelda wanted to do it. I think the reason she is so candid is because she doesn't see anything wrong with anything she has done. She comes out with these spontaneous admissions, like "My money is in 170 banks." I watched the film when it premiered in Telluride with Andy Bautista from the PCGG [Presidential Commission on Good Government] which is going after the ill-gotten wealth. And when she said that, his mouth dropped open, because he had been investigating her for years and he only knew about a few of them. It's like the end with the Duterte street killings when the police are moving the bullets right in front of the camera. When there's no accountability... And when she invites me into the room in her home where she proudly displays hundreds of thousands of documents from the court case against her, the racketeering case against her by the US government. Most people would be willing to forget about that little chapter. My understanding is it cost $1 million dollars to photocopy all those documents and send them to the Philippines. So I think she was willing to tell her story. For me, if she would agree to an interview I was in. Most of my work has come from my own investigations. I don't usually do ideas that come from other people. But when I read this story about the animal island, I was in. The thing about her and the Philippines that was so interesting, we might complain about the role of money in politics, but when do we actually see a politician handing out bills to persuade voters. It's so on the surface. There were a lot of things to think about in terms of our system too, but without all the spin and barriers to access that you might have here.

Moderator: The relationship between the Philippines and the US is so complicated and it goes back so far. We helped design their government to mimic ours, with a congress, etc. We still have these relationships with political figures and boxing figures like Manny Pacquiao. Was it difficult to tune out all the noise and all the history, and all the context in this story and just focus on her? It seems like the subject could get overwhelming quickly.
Lauren Greenfield: It was overwhelming in that it took me a long time to figure out what the story was. We shot 500 hours, we were editing for two years, we shot over 100 days. I was even out with Manny Pacquiao, following him, because I thought he had the worst record of attendance of anybody in Congress and then was promoted up to the Senate. There were so many unbelievable things, and the history was so rich. I ended up focusing in on what was relevant to the present. Like when they cheated on the elections in 1986, and protested that, that was so relevant to the present. Or the fact that a lot of the money came from US aid, and it was strategically important for us to have the bases and so we tolerated all this corruption. I tried to keep the history to what we needed to know to understand what was happening in the Philippines and also to understand Imelda's character.

Moderator: Ambassador Rice, President Obama decided to pivot to Asia. how difficult is it to approach a country like the Philippines which is so important to us strategically, but also has so many flaws? How difficult is it as a diplomat or national security advisor to work with a country like this that has value and some good people, but such fundamental flaws?
Susan Rice: In many ways that's the bread and butter of what we're compelled to do in foreign policy and diplomacy. It's rare that you have a vitally important strategic ally that makes everything easy for you. And through the bulk of the Obama administration we were dealing with Benigno Aquino, Corazon's son. He was quite a constructive and solid partner and was trying for the most part to re-establish and strengthen not only the military and diplomatic relationship but also aspects of the economic relationship. This co-incided with the time when the Philippines was facing (actually still is) a very challenging strategic environment in the South China Sea as a result of China's aggression and China's efforts to claim territory that the Philippines claim as their own. For the bulk of our time, we benefitted from a complicated but positive and largely constructive relationship. And then Duterte came in in 2016 and he was an extraordinary case of how a stable relationship was utterly upended. Frankly, we were caught off guard, not only by Duterte's electoral success but also by his utter crass craveness and disregard for any of the norms of Philippine politics, any of the norms of international diplomacy. The most striking thing he did, was in the wake of the international court of arbitration, ruling in favor of the Philippines in their dispute with China in the South China Sea, basically saying screw the US, we're going to side with China. We're going to make our bed with Xi Jinping. And yet they remain a treaty ally. So if you think Turkey is complicated... (Audience laughs). At that point Duterte was quite shocking. In spite of all of his inartfulness, we had agreed to a bi-lateral meeting between President Obama and Duterte--I think it was September 2006 in Laos--and right before the meeting, Duterte said something so offensive, that it wasn't even possible to sit down with him. Which was extraordinary. We cancelled the bilateral meeting because he was just such an asshole (Audience laughs). No other way to put it. From there, he went on to jerk Xi Jinping around, jerk Trump around. It's very hard even in this moment to know exactly what game he is playing, except to always be the center of attention and always try to keep people off balance. It was an extraordinary example of having to wrestle with the challenge of a very inoperative ally.
Lauren Greenfield: He was so shocking in the way he would use expletives. I filmed him doing this campaign rally to a group of business people who were just utterly shocked. We had a really sweet associate Filipino producer who would give me running translation as we were filming so we would understand what he was saying. He was so polite, he kept saying "Should I translate this? Should I translate that? All the swear words. But I think that everybody thought that once he won, he would be presidential. When the killing started it was like post-traumatic stress for the people who had been through martial law. All of a sudden, exactly happening again, with the raids, people getting killed, no due process, complete brazenness. In fact, worse than Marcos because it was in the open.

Moderator: You spent a lot of time there. Did you ever feel you were in danger? This is a dangerous place now and you had a camera crew with you.
Lauren Greenfield: I would be more concerned now that the movie is out. At that time we were in the Marcos bubble. When we filmed the street killings which was at the end of it, it was definitely scary to just see so many dead bodies. How easy it was to shoot that was scary. We were in a position of such privilege compared to the poor people who were the ones getting targeted. It was much worse for them. Even Andy Bautista was afraid at the end and had to consider if he wanted to speak out. Everyone in the film who speaks out against Duterte is at risk, because he either jails or kills or sends internet trolls on the people he doesn't like. He threatened to withdraw from the UN when they were talking about going after the extra-judicial killings.
Susan Rice: Was it the UN or the human rights council?
Lauren Greenfield: I think at first it was the UN but then he ended up backing off from that.
Susan Rice: What year did you start filming?
Lauren Greenfield: 2014. I have a question for Ambassador Rice. Imelda starts out a little pathetic and you see how she became Imelda. By the end you might think she's a monster. But as a filmmaker, I'm trained to find some empathy. But I'm just curious about your take on her?
Susan Rice: Cold-blooded, evil, power hungry. She's fascinating but ultimately to me, entirely unsympathetic. She's a killer.
Moderator: And she plays the victim, too.
Lauren Greenfield: Do you believe that she believes her story?
Susan Rice: It's not important to me whether she believes it. I don't believe it. Obviously, I'm just watching through your lens. You would have a much more knowledgeable and intimate sense of that. My sense is that she's a very skilled and accomplished liar. And probably knows it.

Audience Question: There are certain striking similarities to Evita Peron in the relationship to her husband Juan and her self-glorification as the adoring and adored mother of her people.
Lauren Greenfield: There was a dinner scene that ended up on the cutting room floor, but someone who was visiting from the US said, "You remind me of Evita Peron." Everyone gasped because they knew she did not like that comparison. And she said, "I am not a prostitute." (Audience laughs)

Audience Question: In Queen of Versailles, the family agreed to interviews thinking the outcome would be a lot different from what it was. Is this the case here? What is the reaction now that the film is out?
Lauren Greenfield: Jackie Siegel and I were together for a very long time. Jackie understood exactly what the movie was about, and came to Sundance and promoted it for two years around the world while her husband sued me and Sundance for saying in the synopsis that it was a riches to rags story, even though he didn't realize at the time that was a quote from him. (Audience laughs) And now we're talking about doing a new project together. So I think there was a story that was for his business that was told, but I think they knew exactly what it was about. With Imelda I would argue this is not her first rodeo. She has such a deep and ingenious understanding of the press and image that she said what I think describes so much of our time now, that perception is real and the truth is not. That may have been part of her motivation in doing the film, to create perception and maybe she thought she could charm me in that way. Which frankly, she did in the beginning. I thought this might be a redemption story for her, I thought there might be that moment at the end, where she realizes, and she might, at 85, distance herself from some of the universally accepted ills of the dictatorship. But when I realized it was the opposite, that she was leaning into the story, that she was never going to say sorry and the whole family decided they should say there was nothing they should say sorry for, and there is no money that was ill-gotten. Then I realized my obligation shifted to the truth-tellers and the story of the survivors of martial law and torture, and President Aquino's story about his father's assassination, and Remedios, the indigenous woman's story about what really happened on the island, and the narrative that did not have a platform. Even with Imelda, my focus with her was also letting her tell her story but showing how she was art-directing that story, how she was having 24/7 hair and makeup and moving the gold sheep to present to camera.
Susan Rice: "Is my tummy too big?" I love that. (Audience laughs).
Lauren Greenfield: She was naming all the dictators who were her friends and showing me the glass portraits. Probably her staff spent a long time setting up those pictures before I got there. When I got there were there a couple 100 of pictures set up outside of the garden. Then she knocks it over and doesn't pay attention which is a perfect character moment for her. But then we also see the guy picking up the pieces. Because she is so controlling, it was like filming the little things around the edges that allowed me to get at her character.
Susan Rice: How did they react?
Lauren Greenfield: They have not reacted. We told them that it was coming out in Venice. And they haven't reacted. I did hear that there was some conversations with the censors which will control if it gets distribution in the Philippines. But I think they know that reacting will bring more attention to the film.

Audience Question: How many times did you have to approach Imelda? How did you find the underground journalists and martial law survivors? To Susan Rice: Clearly, this is an example of the evolution of a country that is going from a democracy to potentially another dictatorship. It's not an isolated case, it's happening through other parts of the world. How do you see that and what are your thoughts and how could it be thwarted or avoided?
Susan Rice: There are obviously important echoes of what is in the film to cases in various parts of the world. I hesitate as a diplomat or political scientist to take the analogy too far. There certainly are some disturbing trends around nationalism, around populism, around leaders who distort the truth. There's always the compulsion of a comeback story. But I really think the Philippines in many ways is sui generis. It was not a democracy until 1986, and a very fragile one and it ceased to be a democracy arguably, even though it was an elected government in 2016. So, 30 years of very fragile democratic experience in a very poor complicated nation. It is hard to extrapolate to a number of other western democracies with a larger and longer history. Others may choose to do that but it's not a place I'm entirely comfortable going.
Lauren Greenfield: You could see it as a case study. I can take a little more creative license because I'm not a diplomat.
Susan Rice: I'm not a diplomat any more either. But I am an analyst.
Lauren Greenfield: I think it's a cautionary tale and you can see certain dynamics such as the appeal of the strongman and how democracy can get destroyed. There are so many specifics of the Philippines but you can see these dynamics. I think the truth is a big one and if you lie enough, people either believe you or decide it doesn't matter. And another thing that happend that we can also unfortunately relate to is the impact of social media to shape people's minds. In that sense it's not one to one to hear it's actually worse than here. There is a huge following on Facebook in the Philippines. Even the poorest people have access to the internet and it's often through Facebook. You have to pay for data, but Facebook gives it to you for free. In a way it's far worse than here because there isn't as grounded a tradition of independent journalism. There is some, but I would say it's more for the elite. And most people are getting their news on Facebook. Cambridge Analytica worked in the Philippines before they worked here. The Marcos' have unlimited resources to create disinformation and when free speech becomes paid speech I think it really upends democracy. We might talk about money corrupting politics but there you actually see people paying for votes. For me as a filmmaker the more extreme the situations there, the reason why we can't compare it one to one, give you a window into the dynamics and the dangers.

The Kingmaker is currently showing at Landmark's E Street Cinema until January 2.

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