Interview with Joseph Sousa, co-director of "Live from Bethlehem"

First off, I just want to say how cooperative Mr. Sousa was with my tedious and lengthy questions and overall what an awesome guy he was to interview. It was unfortunate that he was unable to attend the festival in person. He was one man of the two-man crew that filmed the documentary "Live from Bethlehem" which explored some of the media struggles going on in the Palestinian Territories and went into some of the lives of the individuals trying to jump-start the media in that area. So here are my rather complex questions and Mr. Sousa's excellent responses to them:


What inspired you to become a film director? Any people in particular?

I saw "Apocalypse Now" when I was about 13. It was the first time I remember feeling actively engaged by a film. That film revealed to me that cinema is more than a past time; it's a linguistic code: an alternate language with myriad subtexts. So if there was a moment that inspired be to be a director, I think I would have to say it was the after seeing Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" for the first time.


How long have you been into film, both as a viewer and as a person who works with their production?

I've actively sought out interesting films to watch as a viewer since I can remember; I first started watching 'art' films and docs when I was about 13 or 14. I've been in the business since graduating college in 2003, so 6 years.


What is the most significant piece you have directed in your career?

I'd probably say "Live from Bethlehem."


Now a few questions about the film...

How was living in the Palestinian Territories and how long did you film there for?

I stayed in Bethlehem for three weeks in the summer of 2007, while my co-producer and the film's principle cinematographer Matt Sienkiewicz was there for three months of the summer of 2007 and about a month in the summer of 2008. I should be clear here that we work very much as collaborative co-directors and he certainly did the lions share of field production.


How long did the film -- filming, editing, and production -- take to complete?

Shooting happened over two summer with editing starting in fall of 2007. So this was about a two year process.


Were there any extreme difficulties that you encountered, such as getting the material you wanted, or controversies that were created in that area because of your filming? Did anyone directly oppose to your filming?

I was by and large surprised at how well we were received. It helped that the doc covered people in media, so they had an understanding and appreciation of the nature of production. It also helped that these are people that are very conscious of how they are viewed and vitally interested in changing the way they are perceived by American media.
We shot verite, though, so there were a few times when we would be shooting without people being aware that the camera was rolling. This is always a tricky thing to navigate. On the one hand, as a documentarian you want to get your story and you want to go everywhere and hear everything without restriction. But you also have to be careful to respect people's space and integrity. Hopefully we successfully navigated that very sensitive terrain.


How did the locals treat you and your crew, and what was their overall response to your presence?

First off, there was only two of us. So we weren't much of a crew. That was actually tremendously helpful as we could more or less mix in with the people we were covering. Bethlehem is also a tourist town and still has a significant Christian community, so it is a tolerant place with people that appreciate outside visitors. One of the things that is so fun about making a documentary is that you parachute into people's lives and experience life from a totally new perspective, and it goes beyond what you put on camera. There's hookah bars, the late night conversations about a range of subjects, and all the other little rich moments you get when you are traveling and everything is new and dangerous and exciting. But we were blessed to encounter people who were kind and welcoming.


Just a few more...

Did you learn anything, about the people, yourself, ideals, etc., throughout the filming process?

After this experience I feel that the Palestinian people could be major partners and ambassadors in the current divide between western societies and Arab/Muslim societies. This is not something that I'm trying to push with the film. But its something that I learned myself from my experience working on this project.
By and large, Palestinians are more educated than I expected, more tolerant than I expected, and Palestinian women seemed more assertive and had a larger and more active role in the public sphere than I expected. They are literally at the nexus of Europe, Africa, and Asia and there are countless ideologies and belief systems all struggling with one another within this relatively tiny group of people. They therefore have a huge and complex world view. That is not to say there are not dangerous and brutal extremists within that society, but I think too much emphasis has been placed on that very, very small segment of the people. We should seek to empower the moderate voices over there, not just battle the extremist ones.
If we can see this as fundamentally a conflict over land -- and somehow sideline the religious extremists on both sides that now dominate the debate -- then I think Israelis and Palestinians should be able to come to some sort of accord. Palestinians would then have the potential to be important partners for peace in the wider global struggle.


What made you aware of the media struggles in that area and what compelled you to capture it?

My first boss and mentor, Charlie Stuart, made a film called "Hollywood and the Muslim World," for AMC (American Movie Classics) which I am a big fan off and was one of the reasons I sought him out and got a job with him. While with him, I helped out on another film called "Ex-Extremists." So since being in the business I've done a number of things in this general territory.
I found the subjects of this film in particular through my association with Charlie as well. He was invited by an American NGO to go to the West Bank to train and consult with journalists at this fledgling independent Palestinian network called Ma'an. I was his associate producer at the time. When he got back he was so impressed with these journalists that he wanted to do a project on them. His idea was to do a short form segment on Amira. We developed a project proposal and pitch. But ultimately it was a very un-sexy project for networks: no explosions, no one getting killed, just a lot of people doing the gritty work of trying to lay the foundations for democracy. At the same time Matt and I had just finished a collaboration on another film and were looking for a new independent project to bite into. So when no networks bit, I asked Charlie if Matt and I could take it on as an independent project. He said go to town, so we did.


What message, if any, did you hope to convey through means of the film? Do you feel like you accomplished what you set out to do?

The images we see of Palestinians in American media almost always fits one of two molds. The first is the victimized, suffering masses. Arab terrorists is the second. That portrait is not only incomplete, it's also inaccurate. Our goal was to try to give a fresh, new portrait of who the Palestinian people really are through the lens of a struggling independent media outlet that has come to represent the hopes, dreams, and contradictions of the Palestinian people. But I hope this film shows Palestinians as they are: mothers and fathers, employees and business people. They are people with the same personal struggles and many of the same values as Americans. I hope American and western audiences are able to see these images and come away from this film with a new depth of understanding of Palestinian people to counter balance the stereotypes that are so dominant in our media today.


Anything else you would like to add?

I just want to emphasize that the above answers are my own personal take aways. And even though I was one of the filmmakers, I'm sure other folks who watch it will take away completely different things. In a way, I actually hope they do. I think that different scenes will mean drastically different things to different people. What we tried to do is make this as balanced and complete as possible in respect to the very loaded ideas that are covered in this film. I hope audiences feels like we accomplished this goal.