Caveh Zahedi - Blog (People vs Movies)

Today's moral dilemma involved the question of whether to attend the screening of Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert's four-hour children-with-cancer documentary A Lion in the House (which I had told them I would be attending), or to hang out with cinematographer Lee Daniel instead (who I ran into on my way to the screening of "A Lion in the House"). Lee is a friend from way back when (we met at Sundance in 1991 when Slacker and A Little Stiff were both in competition) and I knew he would be leaving town first thing in the morning.

I realized a long time ago that people are more important than movies, and that on one's death bed, it will be the encounters that one had with people that will be cherished and remembered, not the great films one saw. And yet, I had made a verbal commitment to Steven and Julia (who I also know and like) to see their film (which I had heard great things about). It was a difficult decision. My own preference on a pure pleasure-principle level was to skip the film (I could always see it another time) and to hang out with Lee instead. I don't get to see him all that often, plus he was alone (which is rare), plus I really, really like him. He's one of the most zen people I know, and I always enjoy his company and his idiosyncratic spirit.

But I decided on the basis of guilt avoidance and proceeded to the movie theater. I'm glad I saw the film because it was an amazing human experience, the kind that sears itself into one's memory forever, but afterwards I could't help thinking that I had made the wrong choice, not because the film was disappointing in any way (it far surpassed my expectations, and I'm haunted by it still) but because people are more important than movies, and I always forget that.

Lee Daniel

Comments

Caveh, great to meet you and Lee in Auckland yesterday. Hope you have survived the rain and interviews and will see you soon.

Sandor

Posted by Sandor on Jul 19, 2006 at 08:56PM

Hmmm, I would regret both not hanging w/ some people & not seeing some movies. But w/ movies you don't know how great some are until you see them. And then again, if I can un-do some meetings & some movie watching experiences, that would be very cool, would be nice to get some wasted time back.
So far am very glad I got to see unique films such as Mystery Train, Scumrock, Sex Addict, any early Hartley flicks. Hey, the best might be to see a very good movie & then hang out w/ the makers of the movie.

- Sujewa

Posted by The Sujewa on Jul 20, 2006 at 02:15AM

I am not writing to comment on your original post, but rather to express a feeling I had after watching your film. The title of this entry has to do with my point.

My husband and I just finished watching "I Am a Sex Addict." We both enjoyed it for its honesty, humor, and raw emotion.

After we watched the special feature, "The Ecstasy Scene," however, I felt compelled to e-mail you just to say how terrible it was the way you put pressure on your actress, Emily Morse.

It seems you felt that your film would be compromised if she didn't compromise herself and show more nudity. As a viewer I can tell you that Christa seemed completely vulnerable in those scenes and that showing a little more or less skin did not, for me, affect the emotionality of the film. I hope you don't think your film could have somehow been better or different if she had been naked. Those scenes really worked wonderfully!

As a woman, I was shocked at the way you treated her--and I'm not talking about the film here. The footage in the special feature showed you pressuring her to show her breasts and take off her shorts even though she declined repeatedly. It saddened me and I'm just happy that she held fast and didn't give in. For many women, many people, it's easier to comply because that's being flexible, but instead I think she maintained her integrity.

So I just want to call attention to the title of this entry: people before movies.

That's it.

Posted by Emmanuelle on Oct 12, 2006 at 07:45PM

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