After the March debut of his latest documentary, “The Observer,” in Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX, director Ian Cheney shot the film on tour in the United States. Instead of doing a typical film festival circuit, Cheney and the team behind “Observers” have held free, film-centric interactive events for the past six months.
On Wednesday, the film will launch its 21st Camden International Film Festival. That screening is followed by an immersive observation experience inspired by the document.
In the 95-minute documentary, Cheney brings a series of enthusiastic observers (scientists, artists, hunters) to various places around the world, asking them to explain what they are seeing. What unfolds is a journey that stimulates thoughts into simple yet transformative acts of observation.
“Observers” is a meditative, poetic study of slowing down and taking stock. What major streamers long for is not a documentary about celebrities or true crime. Since Cheney knew there would be no bid war after the Copenhagen premiere of the film, he came up with his own distribution plan.
“If we were waiting and waiting for the streamers to bring us back and distribute this film, I think it would be pretty easy to start to feel pretty frustrated about ourselves and the filmmaking and to settle pretty much about ourselves and the filmmaking,” Cheney said at a recent “observer” event in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
With documentary streaming in crisis mode, everyone except a few DOC filmmakers are forced to find new and creative solutions to ensure the film reaches viewers. Cheney has created 14 feature documentaries, including “King Corn” and “The Most Nowsed,” which Netflix acquired in 2018. So the director set the film’s distribution yellow by keeping the screening in a wooden box, the structure featured in “The Arc of Oblivion.” (“The Arc of Oblivion” is now available on TVOD.)
By taking over the initial distribution of his recent documentary and creating events around them, Cheney created interest and excitement in his films.
So far, “Observer” has been shown in more than 30 locations nationwide, including rural Wisconsin San Francisco and Hartford, Connecticut. After each screening, the audience members are divided into small groups, offering a variety of activities to inspire new ways of thinking. Cheney and his team will take part in an interactive, day-long “observer” event, including film screenings, lunches, practical exploration, dialogue and reflections on observational techniques. The daily “Observer” event lasts around six hours and is funded by Wonder Collaborative, the feature film unit of Science Communication Lab.
An invitation to the event states that the goal for the day is simple. “It’s about taking time out of your busy life, exploring and celebrating your observational skills.”
“My hope is that people feel invited to something and not expect anything in return,” says Cheney. “It’s not a deal, it can be confusing to people. During lunch, after the screening, someone asked me. I was a bit confused at the time, but on some level I think I’m getting wonder and joy.”
Cheney added that spending a day with strangers and doing various activities based on observations motivates him.
“The experience of making movies with big streamers is boosted by a big ego because, on the other hand, you can tell people at dinner parties that the movie is on Netflix,” says Cheney. “But we don’t have much to do with that audience. The experiences of these ‘observers’ are so direct that you go home and say, ‘Yes, this is why we do this,’ so in a way you’re curating events that remind you of why we make these films. ”
The next “Observer” day will be held on New York’s Governor’s Island on September 26th.
The mysterious joint funding provided funding to the “observers.”
