Jan. 2008
Director Peter Raymont has always been immersed in international politics.
The son of the head of Canadian military intelligence during World War II, discussions around the kitchen table centered on world affairs. As a child of the 60s, Raymont was captivated by the Beatles, President Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Of the period, he said, "We felt we could change the world."
After graduating from high school in 1968, it seemed only natural to enter the media business, and he began working for the National Film Board of Canada. In 1979 he created his own independent documentary film company, White Pine Pictures. Since then, he has often documented stories of political conflict.
"I think of myself more as an activist instead of a filmmaker," Raymont said of his work.
In the pursuit of interesting stories, he seeks great characters surviving a distressing situation. "The key is to recognize them and then follow them around for a bit as they are going through a traumatic moment," he said.
Following the success of his 2004 film, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire, Raymont was proud of the attention that he brought to the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Concerning a follow-up, he questioned, "How will I ever find such an engaging human being as General Dallaire?"
The answer appeared at the 2005 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, where Shake Hands was screened. Writer Ariel Dorfman moderated a panel with Raymont and the filmmaker was immediately intrigued. Upon receiving Dorfman's book, Heading South, Looking North: A Bilingual Journey, he was inspired to create a film about the author's life.
Initially, Raymont was "pretty intimidated to meet this great intellectual, poet and playwright," he said. "But when I met him, as you can see in the film, he's just a lovely, articulate, down-to-earth, decent guy."
And a great film subject. "He steps out of a car and starts talking," said Raymont. "It's good from a filmmaker's point of view, as he is so articulate and so engaging."
The resulting film, A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman, revolves around Dorfman's history as an exile, with his father exiled from Argentina and the United States, and his own exile from Chile. As the cultural attaché to Chile's Socialist president, Salvador Allende, Dorfman witnessed the coup d'état of the government by Augusto Pinochet, resulting in Allende's death and Dorfman's narrow escape.
Raymont recognized that in order to draw interest to a historical documentary he needed to make a modern connection. Not only did he view history "through the eyes and experiences of someone who is very much alive today and engaging," but he also tied the 1973 coup to a tragedy from 2001. Both events occurred on September 11.
Relating the events of North and South Americas has been a mission of Dorfman's. According to Raymont, Dorfman desired to provide a connection between "the top and the bottom of his soul." "Ariel said the key is how you respond to September 11," said Raymont. "Whether you allow yourself to be overtaken with fear and revenge, as has happened in us, or can you build and grow bridges."
Raymont made certain that though the film is filtered through Dorfman's point of view, he represented alternate angles. "I was shocked and surprised that 30 percent still revered Pinochet as great man," said Raymont about filming at the end of the dictator's life. "But it was important that they're part of the film."
On the final day of shooting, Raymont serendipitously captured the moment when Dorfman heard that Pinochet was dead. Without gloating or reveling, Dorfman ponders the birth of a new nation and the long road ahead. Film subject and filmmaker provide an evenhanded and fascinating reflection of a changing world.
As one of only two non-American filmmakers on the Oscar shortlist, Raymont is proud to represent Canada in the documentary category. After all, he notes, Canadian John Grierson first coined the term "documentary," and he believes the film style flourished in the country after World War II. "It's become a seeding ground for filmmakers to learn their craft," he said.
Raymont notes that the documentary has evolved in recent years. "It has become more artistic, using many of the same devices that dramatic feature films use and bringing the documentary to so many more people," he said. "They no longer are gloomy and grimy and grainy; documentaries can look as sharp and bright (as dramatic films) and can be just as entertaining."
Raymont has produced two projects to be released in 2008. A film about Doctors Without Borders (Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma) will be screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and the TV series, "The Border," concerns terrorist threats along the Canadian-American border. Not surprisingly, the latter is about "human rights and how we treat the 'other.' "