From The Frame's vaults: Errol Morris' documentary miniseries examines the mysterious death of a government biochemist who was given LSD by the CIA; Kira Kelly is a Hollywood rarity: an African-American female cinematographer. She got an Emmy nomination for shooting Ava DuVernay's documentary, "13th," which led to her working on the filmmaker's drama series, "Queen Sugar."
'Wormwood': Errol Morris' new documentary takes a new approach
Errol Morris's new series for Netflix, “Wormwood,' is a documentary. But it’s really more than that.
"Wormwood" is about a family's tragedy — losing a husband and father to an apparent suicide — and a son's decades-long obsession with finding the truth about what really happened.
It's also about the CIA's Cold War paranoia, and how much members of the intelligence community were willing to sacrifice in order to keep secrets they deemed vital to national security.
In November of 1953, a government biochemist named Frank Olson fell from a hotel window in New York City, plunging to his death.
Morris tries to uncover what led to that event through interviews with Eric Olson, Frank's son, and other sources. And woven inside the documentary elements is a narrative film with actor Peter Sarsgaard darkly reenacting what might have been Frank Olson’s final days.
When Morris spoke with The Frame recently, he discussed what attracted him to the story of Frank Olson, and how he went about capturing it on film.
Interview Highlights:
On what Frank Olson's family was told about his death:
They said he fell or jumped out of a hotel window. I suppose if he jumped, that's suicide. For their eldest son, Eric, who was nine years old at the time, the explanation was confusing, disturbing, unacceptable. Eric would repeatedly ask himself the question, What does it mean to fall out of a hotel window? It's something that troubled him, it troubled his brother and sister, it troubled Frank Olson's widow.
On what Frank Olson's family knew about his job:
They must have known something. His wife must have had some idea. They lived in Frederick, Maryland — not far from one of the major germ warfare laboratories in the United States. And indeed, that is exactly what Frank Olson turned out to be involved in — the creation, design, manufacture of biological weaponry.
And of course, the question was always, Was Frank Olson killed? Didn't fall or jump. Was killed. And if he was killed, why? And was it in any way connected to the bio weapons research he was engaged in at Fort Detrick?
On what struck him about the story of Frank Olson:
The story of "Wormwood" is the story of partial truths. 1975, when it was revealed that an Army scientist was surreptitiously given LSD, presumably he did not know that he was being dosed. The claim was, because of his reaction to LSD, his behavior became erratic [and] confused, culminating with suicide. So, here you have another story — 22 years later, another story about what happened to Frank Olson. The family is invited to meet the President of the United States in the Oval Office. They meet the then-Director of Central Intelligence, William Colby, who gives them a stack of documents. And the claim is then, Now you know everything! Happy? Happy now? We've told you everything. Just look through that stack of documents. That's the whole nine yards. That's the story. Except for one small problem: It wasn't the whole story.
On choosing Eric Olson as a focus of the film:
In traditional detective stories, the story is really about the mystery and how the mystery is solved. But here, there are multiple stories and mysteries. For any detective — I used to work as a private detective — you are confronted with a mystery or, if you like, a whole number of different mysteries.
Part of it is a story about Frank Olson's son — his oldest son, Eric — and his 60 year-plus story to figure out what the hell happened. One thing we rarely think about in mystery stories is what effect does the attempt to solve a mystery have on the detective who's trying to solve it.
On why he used as many as 10 cameras to shoot his subject:
Part of every detective story is the detective's attempt to sort through disparate information — fragmentary evidence — and create a picture of what happened. That collage-like feeling in a detective story, I try to capture in the way that I shot "Wormwood." To me, eye contact was less important than the feeling that we're trying to look at the story from every angle.
On why he chose to devote time to reenactments in Frank Olson's story:
Because I actually believe that story to not be true ... All of this which we take to be a depiction of what happened that strange week before Frank Olson went out the window at the Statler [Hotel] — all of it, most of it, some of it might be false. Often the most powerful part of any investigation are efforts made to cover it up. "Wormwood" is as much a detective story of putting pieces together as being tricked into following leads by the government.
"Wormwood" arrives in theaters and on Netflix on Dec. 15.
Kira Kelly is a Hollywood rarity: A female, African-American cinematographer
Cinematographer Kira Kelly worked her way up in the film biz working in the electrical department as a gaffer on films and TV shows. But she always dreamed of being the one handling a camera.
Like a lot of people trying to make it in the biz, she picked up camera work jobs on the side of her day job, until one day she just decided it was time to prioritize her passion.
She first started shooting for music videos, until one day she got a call from director Ava Duvernay's assistant, asking for a meeting. She jumped at the chance, of course.
"We ended up meeting up about this [virtual reality] project that didn't end up happening, but she said, 'By the way, I'm working on this documentary, would you like to be a part of it? And of course, the answer is Yes, yes, yes! So, she started telling me about '13th.' and that's how I got on board," said Kelly on The Frame.
"13th," examines the evolution of slavery into mass incarceration in the United States. Instead of standard talking heads, Kelly worked with DuVernay and co-director of photography, Hans Charles, to create a gritty visual style, creatively framing subjects in industrial locations.
DuVernay has been an outspoken proponent for inclusive casting and hiring practices. For the OWN Network family drama, "Queen Sugar," DuVernay hired female directors to helm every episode. And for the second season, she tapped Kelly as cinematographer.
"Queen Sugar" follows the dramatic encounters of a storied African-American family in New Orleans, while bringing to light topical issues faced by the black community.
To lens the second season's lush visuals and tense scenes, Kelly draws from her background in cinematography for documentaries, as well as narrative projects like "East Los High."
As an African-American and woman, Kelly is a rarity in her field, but she hopes to that will change thanks to inclusive hiring practices she's learned from DuVernay. When she stopped by The Frame, Kelly talked about how she got her start in the industry.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:
On how her career began:
I started out as an electrician, in the lighting department. While I was there I was already shooting stuff, I'd shoot any project that I could get my hands on. I went to film school for cinematography, and then slowly but surely I moved up to gaffing. I was able to work on projects with much bigger budgets as a gaffer than I had when I was shooting. So I was able to learn a lot.
On working with Ava DuVernay:
She started following me on social media, and I was like, Oh, that's fun! At one point, I got an email from one of her assistants saying, "Ava wants to meet with you. Would you be interested?" I said, Of course! We ended up meeting up about this [virtual reality] project that didn't end up happening, but she said, "By the way I'm working on this documentary, would you like to be a part of it?" And of course, the answer is Yes, yes, yes! So, she started telling me about "13th." and that's how I got on board.
On approaching documentaries as opposed to narrative fiction:
I feel like documentary is a great place to work on improvisation. When I work on "Queen Sugar," I have a wonderful, huge crew behind me. They're ready, they're supportive. We've got two cameras, camera operators, it's a big crew. Whereas documentaries, usually it's just me and maybe a camera assistant; there's a gaffer, key grip helping with lighting. But it's much smaller. In a lot of cases, you are going to these places you haven't seen before, you haven't prepped it. You know vaguely where the sun is going to be, but you go in and you have to find a way to make that work for the next two hours of an interview.
There's a lot of variables that you don't have time to prep [for] and figure out. It's a great way to keep that improvisational mind going when you go and work in narrative stuff. In narrative, you have the support behind you. You have the equipment. You have the prep, and all that. But sometimes things change, and that documentary mindset helps you work more on your toes.
On DuVernay's choice to hire all women directors:
What's great about what Ava wanted to do is that these are directors that may have done a few feature films, but hadn't gotten their foot in the doors as far as working in television. So, they brought some really great and inspiring ideas to the set. Their influence and their input tapped into a bit of the artistry aspect.
I think the set and the cast are so inviting. People say this all the time, but for "Queen Sugar," it feels like a family. It's a really inspiring place to be.
On having Oprah Winfrey as an executive producer on 'Queen Sugar':
You can definitely feel the presence of Oprah and Ava. We're given a lot of freedom creatively, which is wonderful, but we're also given a lot of support. The show is a work of love. I know how much this show means to Ava, I know how much it means to Oprah. That makes it mean even more to me because you want to be careful with their baby.
On her advice to young, aspiring cinematographers:
The best advice would be to shoot everything you can. Also, try to live a little below your means because you don't want to necessarily have to say yes to a project, just because you need the money. I think we've all kind of done that before. Try to set yourself up in a way that you can say yes to the projects that you really, really love.
To hear the full interview with Kira Kelly, click on the player above.