Q & A: ENCIRCLEMENT
Posted Thu, May 07, 2009 in Features and Q&As
Senior Canadian Programmer Lynne Fernie interviews ENCIRCLEMENT: NEO-LIBERALISM ENSNARES DEMOCRACY filmmaker Richard Brouillette
Neo-liberalism's battle cry is famous: deregulate, privatize and let markets rule. Thirteen renowned intellectuals, including Noam Chomsky, rigorously analyze the mechanisms that enforce this ideology and deliver our democracies into the hands of multinational financiers.
Lynne Fernie: How did ENCIRCLEMENT: NEO-LIBERALISM ENSNARES DEMOCRACY come about?
Richard Brouillette: This film arose from dissidence and revolt, first against the defeat of thought, against the depreciation of life with thought. The conversion of the educational system into a vocational-training system was a primary reason. A picture guided me, an etching by Francisco Goya entitled, "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters". But then I stumbled upon an incredibly lucid text by Ignacio Ramonet, La pensée unique (The Single Mindset), which completely changed the course of my reflections. In this Le Monde diplomatique editorial, Ramonet opened my eyes to the fact that political thought had been monopolized by a single ideology that had pushed aside any alternative: neo-liberalism was the ultimate and unquestionable truth after the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe. And so I wanted to denounce this.
You've written that the film took 12 years to complete. How did you research and choose the participants for the film over such a long period of time?
Most of the research was done between 1996 and 2000. I read and digested a whole lot of information back then and wrote a film proposal that was 160 pages long. At that time, I had already chosen most of the participants, after coming across their writings. Also most of the film was shot in three main blocks in 2000, 2001 and 2002. I have continuously updated my research throughout the years and in 2007 I shot the last two interviews that filled the gaps I had identified after having put together a first cut.
You shot the interviews in 16mm black and white film. What do you hope this aesthetic choice will convey?
First I must say that I really like working on film, because it forces me to be precise and concise, as a roll of film only lasts 11 minutes and is pretty expensive. So it's a kind of self-imposed discipline. When I started shooting, 16mm was not dead yet and I thought I would finish my film in that format. But eight years later, it was a better choice to finish it in HD, which at least keeps most of the grainy aspect from the 16mm negative. Also, I must say I really love black and white. But in this instance I think it also confers a certain sense of timelessness to my film, which I like.
What do you hope ENCIRCLEMENT will accomplish?
First, to inform. A lot of the information conveyed in ENCIRCLEMENT is unknown by the vast majority of people – the origins of the neo-liberal movement in the 1930s and 1940s, the importance of the role of the think tanks, the mechanics of the IMF structural adjustment plans, etcetera. Also, I wish to ignite some reflections so that people start questioning the current capitalist system. In fact, I hope to transmit to the public the revolt that drove me to make this film. I want to shake things up and make neo-liberal ideology recede in the public opinion. The current economic crisis provides us with a great opportunity to propose alternative views.
What was most difficult conceptual, intellectual or aesthetic challenge in creating the film?
Putting together the different topics covered by the film, which spreads across ten chapters, and finding the right cement to connect them together wasn't easy. Also, since the film is pretty long and since I wanted to let the participants speak as long as possible without cutting them every 30 seconds and without using too much "visual lubricant" – i.e. archival footage, illustrative images, and so on – I had to find a way to keep the attention of the public. That was a real challenge.
What did you learn in the process of making it?
I learned a lot about the world – economy, politics, geo-strategy, history, philosophy, sociology, demography. But I also learned from my collaboration with Éric Morin, the music composer. The role of the music in ENCIRCLEMENT is very important. It acts as a connecting thread and opens the door to a second, more emotional level of meaning.
Thanks, Richard. I’m personally looking forward to the live question and answer sessions that I know ENCIRCLEMENT will inspire. And now, just to end our interview, here’s a series of fun questions…
My favourite doc of all time is...
There are lots, of course. But if I had to choose one, I'd say THE MAN WITH THE MOVIE CAMERA by Dziga Vertov. I also would like to cite the works of Chris Marker, Johan van der Keuken, Gilles Groulx and Joris Ivens, amongst others.
The person living or dead I would most like to work with is…
It would be easy to fantasize about working with Ovid or Verlaine or Dziga Vertov, so I'll choose a living person – Jean-Marie Straub, the great filmmaker. I'm sure I would learn a great lot from him.
The film at Hot Docs I really want to see is…
There are lots! The first one would be LET'S MAKE MONEY. That's my "natural" choice. But I can't wait to see RENÉ, BROKE., BITCH ACADEMY. The program is very good this year!
If I weren't a documentary filmmaker, I would be...
A humanist, i.e. a philologist specialized in Latin and ancient Greek, bent over dusty books all day long.
ENCIRCLEMENT: NEO-LIBERALISM ENSNARES DEMOCRACY screens tonight at 9:00 PM and again on Sunday at 12:30 PM. Both screenings take place at Cumberland Cinemas and are rush only.
