Archived Q&A with Maro Chermayeff

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  HBODocs

  Welcome, Maro Chermayeff, to your first HBO Connect Live Chat. Thanks for joining us today, the day after the HBO premiere of Mann v. Ford. Please introduce yourself.

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  Thank you for inviting me to join this chat

• Q

  

  Jamie Silverman

  How long did it take you to make this film? What were some of the hurdles along the way?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  The film took us over five years to make - I think the toughest hurdles were simply following the story at the pace in which - true stories and real court cases play out in this country. Also it was very hard to continue to watch the community members suffer - and to see so many pass away without even knowing the outcome of the case ( more then 30 members of the community died during the making of the film)

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  beckyayay

  Hi Maro! What inspired you to make this film? How did you first hear about the toxic waste situation in this area?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  Jamie Redford - a wonderful filmmaker and friend - we produced The Kindness of Strangers for HBO together ( boradcast in 1999) approached me with an incredible Executive Producer - Don Axinn - who was seeking to find a story that dove-tailed two key interests for him - the environment and Native American issues and concerns. With our colleague Micah Fink - we began to research a number of stories... and came upon Mann v Ford -- which in every way we felt would be compelling... it had a great story - It was immediate and in the midst of happening - and it had very strong characters who we felt would be able to carry this story to an audience. Unfortunately Don - who was such a champion of this film - and a great philanthropist - also died during the making of the film.

• Q

  

  Dana Patterson

  Maro, Was it difficult for you to see all the pain and suffering in the Ringwood Community and still be objective during the filming?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  It was very difficult to see the communities pain and suffering - and the suffering that still continues... but that actually made me stick with the story more vigilantly and made Jamie Micah and myself - as well our producers at HBO further invested in following the story through. Many great friends have suffered in Rnigwood - for many years

• Q

  

  cabezup

  How many families have been affected, and how much would you estimate to be the physical damages?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  The Legal case represented about 650+ people - But the number of those effected may be far greater. The physical damage falls into two categories - The damage of property - and two, illnesses which may associated with the toxins present on the land. The property was seriously and irreparably damaged as soon as it was clear that the homes were "on" a superfund site. They became of little to no value - in an area very close to NYC - and with beautiful surrounding areas -- so huge loss there. The loss of human life, and the loss of quality of life associated with the community members is also - as far as I could understand - widespread - such that there was almost no individuals in the community who were essentially "healthy" - some had greater issues and others... but the toll for all is and remains very high.

• Q

  

  joshkahn

  If you had to pick one idea that you want people to take away from the film, what would it be?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  I think that I personally - and to some extent I also speak for my fellow filmmakers James Redford and Micah Fink - We want people to be outraged..! and we want people to find out more. go on to the Federal Superfund site lists... find out what is happening in your community - get involved and speak out. It is because of individuals such as Wayne Mann and Vivian Milligan that people took notice... and they were able to make change happen... So while not everything was resolved... they saw action occur - and they were heard. I hope that this film is there to bring these kind of discussions to the national level. Speak out - get motivated, and unfortunately you may find out that stories such as this - are dangerously close to your own backyard

• Q

  

  JuanSVas

  I really connected with the people in the film. Do you stay in touch with anyone there? If so, has their living situation improved?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  Yes we did stay close to the people in the film. Particularly Wayne, Viv, Roger Jay as well as the attorney's - Kevin Madonna - and Vicki Gilliam. These were all people very dedicated to this story and case... The situation on the land has improved - the site was re-listed as a superfund site - the 1st site to be re-listed in American History.... and further cleaning was done... so... the cleaner the better. but this film is coming out at a very critical juncture.... where the final decisions are being made as to whether to "cap" the mines - which are filled with further sludge and poisons... or clean the mines... a huge and costly job. We hope that the decision is to do whatever it takes in the service of human health and safety. -

• Q

  

  Carlos Valdivia

  Hi Maro, how did you and Micah distribute the directing duties on this film? Did you two direct different segments?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  Micah and I really divided our duties based on our strengths and background. Micah is a journalist - and I am a filmmaker... so much of the legwork involved in tracking the story and maintaining the journalistic integrity of the approach to the research and story - was in his camp - and I focused extensively on the filmmaking and the story of the subjects at hand. That said we were up there at many many times together.. unraveling the story and bouncing things off each other.... and due to the number of years this went on - we also would go up independently and report back to make decisions and focus our direction. When the project moved to editing - and we had hundreds of hours to manage. The editing took place at my company Show of Force... with the fantastic editor Howard Sharp and also editing from the great Pam Arnold.. and Micah would join for rough cuts and discussions.. while I managed the daily... we work well together - and have known eachother for many years... having also worked on Frontier House together for PBS... we are a complimentary match. Then you add Producer Jamie Redford to the mix who is so knowledgable on the issues of Native Americans, and the environment... he often brought a great national perspective to our dialogue.. and as a writer... he is also great on story and focus and balancing the drama . Filmmaking is a team effort. and ultimately Sheila Nevins and Nancy Abraham of HBO gave such clear notes to cut... they brought alot to the table that made the film what it is today...and strengthened our storytelling.. we had many roads to go down with the footage.

• Q

  

  DebraHall3

  My name is Debra Hall and I live in a federal superfund site in Dutchess county NY. We cannot find water because of the contamination, poor infrastructure and other residents not wanting to share with us. Is the water contaminated at the ramapo site?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  To get up-to-date details on the conditions and remediation of the Ringwood site. I would contact EPA - and Edison Wetlands and strongly encourage you to attend the community meetings in the area - where the most up-to-date information regarding the site is discussed on a regular basis. The meetings are announced and open to the public and the next one is very soon. Log on to Edison Wetlands or in in fact the Facebook site for this film for further information.

• Q

  

  Tara Forbes

  Do you think Ford will respond now that you’ve made the film?

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  As the filmmakers - we do not expect to hear from Ford- their have been quite consistent in their silence. However when Wayne Mann and I were on MSNBC yesterday - they read a statement from Ford - which had been given to them that day - which essentially stated ( and I paraphrase) we are committed to our continued efforts on the Ringwood site and making sure that the land is clean and safe for the community

• Q

  

  HBODocs

  That concludes today’s Live Chat with Maro Chermayeff. Thank you very much for participating!

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  Maro Chermayeff says:

  Thanks to everyone for joining me for this chat. I am really inspired that so many people are watching the film and thinking about these issues. A few people have said on our Facebook page.. that few films like this seem to get made like this anymore - and it is hard to get a chance to see these important stories...on television as we know it.... with that I add --We were very fortunate to have the support of HBO Documentaries - who continue to foster documentary films and storytelling like no one else. They came on half way through this production and really helped us hit it home - So THANKS HBO. Additionally the Film will rebroadcast on HBO2 wed at 8p m is available on HBO on Demand and HBO GO on the ipad... and airs Thursday at 9a and Sat at 10:30a on HBO. Keep watching, blogging, chatting - and keep supporting documentary filmsand the HBO summer series of docs on Monday nights.... We will all stay on this story and those like it...there is nothing more amazing then the truth...and getting involved in important issues we all face... they tell us stories which in turn are stories about ourselves. thank you for the honor of this chat. and my greatest thanks go out to the Ramapough people... of course Wayne, Viv, Roger and Jay... who let us tell their story... and now chat about it! If anyone has further questions - please send them to us on our facebook page for Mann v Ford - facebook.com/mannvford and we welcome further thoughts and questions