RECORDING PLACE | w2, p1

G E R I_Molly Dineen

After watching a snippet in class of the documentary Geri by Molly Dineen, I couldn’t resist watching the whole doco at home. I was so impressed by Dineen’s approach. She was very assertive about her rights as documentarian (referring to: Geri talking on the phone to her publicist and saying she has complete control over the film. Dineen then confronts her about this). This is something I struggle with as a practitioner and aspiring filmmaker–asserting my rights and standing my ground. This is a great example for all documentarians who are navigating their way through the complexities of rights-as-subject vs. rights-of-documentarian.
Secondly, Dineen has an overtly sophisticated brain. She ever so subtle encourages Geri to delve deeper–to reveal (and discover, I think) more. I do not think this is necessarily a learned skill. The is an innate ability, a talent if you will. It takes a certain level of learned and emotional intelligence to penetrate people’s darkest corners without aggravating and upsetting them. Dineen was clearly the precursor for notable documentarian Louis Theroux. He has a very similar approach and gift.