Comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick previews Comic-Con; "Cartel Land" director Matthew Heineman embedded himself with vigilante groups to document their fight against drug cartels in Mexico and Arizona (pictured); composer J. Ralph on writing music for "Shark Week"
Why the documentary 'Cartel Land' plays like a real life action drama
Filmmaker Matthew Heineman won the documentary directing award at this year's Sundance Film Festival for his riveting film, “Cartel Land.”
The film, which opens July 10th, plays more like a drama than a non-fiction film by focusing on vigilante groups in Mexico and Arizona. The Mexican Autodefensas, led by Dr. Jose Mireles, are fighting a drug cartel called Knights Templar. Meanwhile, on this side of the border, a ragtag paramilitary outfit called Arizona Border Recon, led by Tim "Nailer" Foley, patrols the U.S.-Mexico fence.
“Cartel Land” opens with a scene in the jungles of Michoacán, Mexico, where armed drug gangs are mixing meth. It looks like an outtake from “Breaking Bad,” but this is the real thing. The film tags alongside vigilantes and cartel members, both armed with automatic weapons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoruCCdxJ84
When we spoke with Heineman at Sundance, we asked about the process of making the film and his inspiration:
I originally read a Rolling Stone article that featured the vigilantes in Arizona who were fighting to protect our borders. I spent about four or five months filming down there. My father sent me this article featuring the Autodefensas, citizen vigilantes who were rising up against the Knights Templar cartel in Mexico, and right away this bell went off and I thought, Wow this could be this amazing parallel story. Three weeks later I was down in Mexico filming.
So the idea for the movie is to focus on two, we could call then vigilante groups or paramilitary groups, the Autodefensas in Michoacán, and Arizona Border Recon group. The guy that you focus on in Arizona is a guy named Tim "Nailer" Foley. Foley himself is a former meth user. Is the irony of his situation lost on him? That what is driving the drug trade and making the border insecure are people [in the U.S.] who are using?
I don't think the irony is lost on him. I think he knows firsthand the damage that it did to himself. He knows the damage that it has done to families, individuals and communities all across America, and I think that is actually one of the things that drives him. After years and years of drug and alcohol use, he one day got in this horrific car accident and decided to go cold turkey on everything. I think he has a second life and like many sort of former addicts and former users he wants to "do good."
Tim "Nailer" Foley, leader of the Arizona Border Recon, in Michael Heineman's "Cartel Land." (photo courtesy of The Orchard)
The Southern Poverty Law Center calls [Arizona Border Recon] an "extremist hate group." There is one member that you quote in your film who says, "You can't put two races in the same nation and expect them to get along." What was your impression of the overall mix of people who were attracted to this organization — that patrolled the borders in military camouflage with what looked to be either machine guns or automatic weapons?
It's a complicated question and answer. Nailer himself says during this scene that he needs whoever he can get down there. That actually a quite poignant parallel to what's happening in Mexico with the Autodefensas. They really need men. They need people to form the ranks and to some degree they aren't able to necessarily vet who comes along with them. It's definitely a mixture of different belief sets — some which are obviously disturbing and extreme and others which are less so.
The movie opens with a scene of you accompanying some people in Michoacán who are mixing crystal meth, armed with massive machine guns. It's an unbelievable scene with remarkable access. How many months of work did it take you to get into that situation?
About seven or eight months. It was sort of a gold mine, since day one, to get into a meth lab. Meth is sort of the cash cow of the cartel down there. Ninety percent of meth consumed in the U.S. comes from Mexico, the majority of which comes from Michoacán and from this cartel. It's a really important part of the story. Basically, every time I was down in Mexico, I tried to find people who knew people who cooked meth. After about eight months, we got the right connection and I got a call and they said, "Be in this town square [at] 6 p.m. We're going to take you in."
Who is "we"? How big was your crew?
It was my driver/fixer, translator and me. I was taking sound and shooting it all by myself.
The other thing that's amazing about this movie is the situations in which you found yourself. People who have seen a movie like "American Sniper" will think they're seeing the sequel. You are in the back of cars during gunfights. What was it like filming those scenes? I think people who watch the movie are really fearful for your own safety.
My mom definitely feared for my safety. My mom is a journalist and I couldn't speak to her about this film, which is sort of sad. But she was just so nervous for me. It was frightening. I'm not a war journalist. I'm not an adrenaline junkie. It's not necessarily something I want to do again. After those experiences, I didn't come back to New York and [think], Wow, I want to go back out there and get shot at again! When I was in those moments, I really tried to focus on the craft — on focusing the camera, composing the shot, exposing the shot — and I think that's what allowed me not to freak out.
There were a couple of scenes where you don't really show us exactly what happens. I don't know if you were able to show it or able to film it. One scene involves an alleged member of the Knights Templar who is pulled over on the road by the Autodefensas. The other scene involves what I guess is the Autodefensas' version of Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, where horrible things are happening. You don't see it but you hear the screaming. I want to ask about what you saw in those scenes. Is all of what you saw included in the film?
So when I first went down to Michoacán I really felt like it was this hero-villain story, of good fighting evil, of men in white shirts going in to fight this evil cartel. Then slowly — trip after trip, month after month — I started to sort of see these things [around the vigilantes] that raised questions. Where are these fancy cars coming from? Where are these fancy guns coming from? How are they beating the cartel? Those questions kept driving me to go down there, kept driving me to figure out what is the truth. What are they doing? How is this actually happening? Slowly as I peeled away the onion, I started to see how they were really operating.
That scene, in which they are torturing alleged members of the cartel, is one way in which they're operating. I felt like that was a very important thing to show and a very disturbing thing to show. It was a very disturbing thing to witness and to shoot. I had to sort of covertly shoot that whole thing. Their torture chamber was a huge, long bathroom with many stalls. I would sometimes pretend like I had to go to the bathroom for a long time. Then I'd come out and hide my camera to my side and, when I would feel like I could, I'd bring the camera out and shoot a little bit. That scene is actually a compilation of four days of attempting to get stuff like that.
Dr. Jose Mireles "El Doctor," (center) leader of the Autodefensas in Matthew Heineman's "Cartel Land" (photo courtesy of The Orchard)
Did making this movie change the way you think about the drug war or the border? Did it make you see this problem in a new light?
My goal was to see firsthand the effects of the drug war, the effects of this omnipresent force that is just south of our border. I don't think we really realize what's happening [there]. You have to step back for a second and [realize] the horror and the tragedy of what's happening down there — 80,000 killed since 2007, 20,000 missing.
Obviously, the film goes into an interesting place in Mexico, in Michoacán. But this movement really rose out of a desire to stop this evil, to stop the extortion, to stop the murder, the violence. It was a really heroic thing because, for years, people would just walk around shrouded in fear. You never even speak about the cartel. And then, suddenly the Autodefensas rose up and are getting in gunfights with the cartel.
But when you get to the bottom of what's happening, it also seems to raise as many questions as it does [provide] answers.
I'm an eternal optimist. I wanted this to be a good-versus-evil story and, unfortunately, the story unraveled in a way that I could've never expected. I think the tragedy of Mexico and what we see in the film are the lines between the lives of everyday citizens, between the cartel, between government and police. Those lines are blurred. And the guys with the white hats [who] are fighting the guys with the black hats, are really wearing grey hats.
Shark Week: Composer J. Ralph hopes music can help change the public's perception of sharks
J. Ralph is an Academy Award-nominated composer best known for creating song and scores for many documentary films of the last decade, including "The Cove," "Virunga" and "Chasing Ice."
But his latest project is on a much smaller scale and a much smaller screen. Ralph composed an original symphonic work for Discovery Channel's Shark Week, which is currently underway.
"Shark Week" is the week of shows in which the cable channel hopes to promote the awareness of these endangered and misunderstood animals — though the network’s been criticized in the past for featuring programs with questionable science.
Ralph's intentions with this new work are to give a makeover to the majority of the population's pre-established notions regarding sharks. By composing a piece that evokes feelings of awe and power, Ralph says he believes we can begin to associate more positive emotions with an animal that's important for the survival of our oceans and the health of our species.
Composing, Ralph says, is something that is not easily done unless motivated by the importance of an issue.
It's very hard for me to do anything that I'm not completely invested in. I don't have an on/off switch that allows me to throttle down the intensity of how I get involved in something. If it's somebody that I feel really needs to be known because it would be incredibly inspiring for the world to embrace this person, then I kind of have to do it. If it's a critically important issue that I feel is affecting many people then I need to get involved.
Ralph's six-and-a-half minute composition named after his daughter, "Theodora," is a 151-piece symphonic work that was recorded at Arthur Pingrey by the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Voices Choir and solo violinist Joshua Bell. Ralph says he named the piece after his daughter in order to draw attention to how the next generation will be affected by the declining shark population.
I wanted to name the piece for her because it is her generation that will inherit the problems of the ocean, and her generation who could save and change these problems. We wanted to focus on the majesty and awe of these incredible creatures. They've been around for about 450 million years. They regulate the entire ocean and the coral reefs. About 100 million sharks are being killed each year. If the sharks fall and the oceans become unregulated by them, then we become affected by them. So we're in a symbiotic relationship with them. If we don't help preserve them, we're going to be in a big trouble.
Ralph's piece differs from what was previously associated with sharks. While Ralph holds John Williams' "Jaws" score in high regard, Discovery's Shark Week requires a different ambience because of its differing nature.
Well I mean, it's one of the best pieces of music ever written, undoubtedly. John's score there is exactly perfect for that story and that emotion. This is just a different perspective. We're just focusing on a different element of this incredible species that is so important to our survival.
However, hopefully the music can cast a lasting and contrasting impression on how the audience views sharks — the same way Williams' piece did — and create dialogue about how, as frightening as sharks may be, they are essential.
We set out to provide people with a different perspective to look at. You can't just put everything in the world in a perfect box. Sometimes things that are dangerous are essential to our survival. All we can hope to do is start a conversation about how important they are as a species to our survival.
For more information about "Theodora," head to SharksRescored.com.
The pros and cons of Comic-Con from comics writer Kelly Sue DeConnick
This week, more than 100,000 people will take over downtown San Diego for Comic-Con.
The massive annual convention was started specifically for comic book fans and creators, but it’s become a venue for Hollywood marketing machines to promote superhero and genre movies and TV shows and to trot out celebrities like Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Bullock. Still, the Con has plenty of events and merchandise that cater to the core comic book geek.
To get a gist of how Comic-Con has changed throughout the years, The Frame talks with comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick. She's a writer responsible for Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” and the creator of the indie comic “Bitch Planet” for Image Comics. She'll attend this year’s convention as a panelist.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:
So you're about to head down to Comic-Con, what does that mean for you in terms of getting ready? What do you take, what do you want to accomplish when you come down to San Diego?
You know at this point it's kind of gone full circle. I used to go for fun, then there was a period where there was a lot of hustle and bustle for work and now we've circled back to I'm not looking for work anymore. It's not quite as fun as it used to be but oddly enough it's still something I still look forward to and I still think it's a good time.
What is the best part of it? What do you look forward to the most?
There's people that I work with that I only see once or twice a year in person. So that is a part of it. That's probably the biggest part of it. But then there's also things you will not see anywhere else besides Comic-Con like Chewbacca in a petty cab. You can't pass up an opportunity to see Chewbacca in a petty cab!
Do you dress up yourself? Do you do cosplay?
I don't. You know what it's considered sort of uncool for creators to participate in that and I think we should change that. I think it would be a good time.
You've been coming to Comic-Con for over 10 years and over those 10 years Comic-Con has really transformed in some ways that a lot of people like, a lot of people don't like. Particularly it has transformed into a convention that is focused on Hall H, where thousands of people go in to see presentations from Warner Brothers, Marvel, big studios who are showing clips from upcoming films. Big panels that have a little bit, but not always, something to do with comics themselves. Whereas the comic sellers have been squeezed into the further reaches of the San Diego Convention Center. What does that evolution mean to you?
I have sort of mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, how can you be negative about something that people are so enthusiastic about that they'll camp out the night before for? In the Hall H lines, those people are having the time of their lives. They'll tell those stories to their children. It used to be more casual and it used to be a lot more about the books, and now there's a lot more emphasis on other media and the industry hustle.
Let's talk a little bit more about the books themselves because over the 10 years you've been coming to Comic-Con, the books they have evolved too — specifically in terms of how women are represented as authors and as characters in those books. So what have you seen that encourages you in terms of how women have become part of the comic book community?
Well, you know, you brought up cosplay earlier. I think cosplay has been one of the driving forces behind that. There are so many more women participating in not just the comic book fandom but the Con culture as well, at San Diego and other cons and that allows us to support a wider diversity of books.
And what about what is actually happening in the books themselves and the role that women creators like yourself are playing in the creation and depiction of not just male characters, but women characters as well?
Well, this is not a done deal yet. It used to be a common rule of thumb that female-led books wouldn't sell, and we've finally gotten over that. But there's a bit of a struggle that remains so nobody sit down. But progress has definitely been made. Years ago, there would be one or two of us from the creative side on the 'Women in Comics' panels. Last year at New York Comic-Con, just the 'Women in Marvel' panel, there were so many women on stage I literally had no place to sit. I sat on the floor.
That is a sign of progress, there are not enough chairs.
It absolutely is!
Kelly Sue DeConnick will be conducting a workshop at San Diego Comic-Con this Thursday, July 9.