{"id":8225,"date":"2015-02-18T10:54:30","date_gmt":"2015-02-18T10:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/?p=8225"},"modified":"2017-06-09T15:13:36","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T15:13:36","slug":"if-you-dont-live-and-breathe-it-then-dont-bother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/if-you-dont-live-and-breathe-it-then-dont-bother\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIf you don\u2019t live and breathe it, then don\u2019t bother.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

A profile of international award-winning film producer and director Michele D\u2019Acosta,\u00a0whose credits include Fetishes, Kurt and Courtney, Biggie and Tupac, Moonbug and\u00a0No Distance Left to Run.<\/p>\n

\u201cA magical thinker\u201d<\/em> \u2013 that\u2019s how Michele D\u2019Acosta defines the role of the film producer,\u00a0\u201csomeone who is singleminded, enthusiastic, tenacious and passionate in pursuit of their\u00a0vision\u201d<\/em>. The rollcall of films produced by D\u2019Acosta suggests that she fulfils all of the\u00a0necessary criteria.<\/p>\n

Her career began in the press office of Amnesty International. This environment gave her\u00a0access to great stories, and the opportunity to pitch a series of short films to Channel 4 who\u00a0were keen to collaborate with the charity. This led to a placement as a trainee TV producer\u00a0programme for Channel 4\u2019s ground-breaking documentary series Dispatches, followed by\u00a0work for the BBC, and a period in the Soviet Union documenting the major political changes\u00a0taking place in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n

\"blur\"<\/a>She has worked closely with acclaimed director Nick Broomfield on three documentaries:\u00a0Fetishes (1996), filmed at an S & M parlour in New York, Kurt and Courtney (1998) about the\u00a0volatile life and times of grunge musician Kurt Cobain and his wife Courtney Love, and\u00a0perhaps most memorably, Biggie and Tupac (2002) about the murdered rappers Christopher\u00a0\u2018Notorious B.I.G\u2019 Wallace and Tupac Shakur.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After reading about Tupac\u2019s shooting the day after it took place and sensing that this was a\u00a0story she wanted to tell, D\u2019Acosta embarked on extensive research. She became intrigued\u00a0by the relationships within Tupac\u2019s family, his mother\u2019s membership of the Black Panthers,\u00a0and the rapper\u2019s quest to share political messages through his music. \u201cThe Black Panthers\u00a0manifesto was that black people don\u2019t have black power\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"biggie\"Her approach was to interview friends and teachers who knew Tupac as a child rather than\u00a0focussing solely on music industry contemporaries: \u201cIt was too easy to sensationalise things\u00a0and go down that route, I knew that was the angle most film makers would take.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Nick Broomfield has described D\u2019Acosta as \u2018the Mistress of Charm\u2019 and praised her\u00a0meticulous approach: \u201cI thought she was very talented, very committed in her work\u2026Michele\u00a0has a very thorough way of working and a very detailed mind.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What has she learnt most from someone renowned for his ability to construct stories that\u00a0often feature challenging and unwilling participants?<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of his key techniques is knowing how to control the energy in the room. There\u2019s lots of\u00a0planning and preparation by the production team behind the scenes to build a momentum,\u00a0and then he often takes the interviewee by surprise once the camera is rolling,\u201d<\/em> she explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tension is created, and captured in the frame. He has a skill for manipulating a subject,\u00a0but it\u2019s to get to the truth and capture crucial moments.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A contrasting approach was needed for No Distance Left to Run, the documentary about\u00a0Blur\u2019s triumphant comeback concerts culminating at Glastonbury and Hyde Park on which\u00a0D\u2019Acosta was a co-executive producer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe band were exhausted, relationships were fragile, there were lots of obstacles. It was\u00a0really important to make them feel comfortable and relaxed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As well as her belief in the power of using documentary film for social change, D\u2019Acosta is\u00a0also committed to improving the lives of others through other means. She put filmmaking to\u00a0one side to help people directly through her involvement in a charitable project working with\u00a0polio survivors in Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n

Initiatives like this have altered her perspective \u2013 she\u2019s no longer satisfied with cinema as\u00a0the sole platform through which she can share stories and highlight issues she cares about.\u00a0\u201cAs human beings we have a responsibility to help raise awareness by whatever means\u00a0necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is currently immersed in researching a documentary about the life of black British boxer\u00a0Randolph Turpin, a world middleweight champion in the 1950s whose sporting\u00a0achievements were overshadowed by his troubled personal life. \u201cI\u2019m very drawn to the\u00a0challenge of telling his story, it has a great deal of resonance on so many levels, particularly\u00a0the racism he fought in and out of the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u2019Acosta grew up in East Sussex and still spends as much time in Brighton as she can.\u00a0\u201cWhat is it about this city? Maybe it\u2019s in the water, or the air, the people all seem to feel it.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0She points to a creative and collaborative energy rooted in Brighton\u2019s history of film-making,\u00a0as well as an acceptance of people that enables her to feel at home.<\/p>\n

She strongly believes that more should be done to invest in young people seeking ways into\u00a0the film industry, and that it is the responsibility of people like her to nurture and encourage\u00a0new talent.<\/p>\n

However, D\u2019Acosta also has a warning. \u201cIt\u2019s hard work so if you aren\u2019t 100% dedicated to it,\u00a0if you don\u2019t live and breathe it, then don\u2019t bother. All other skills you can learn, but passion\u00a0and dedication \u2013 that cannot be taught.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

MICHELE\u2019S TOP FIVE TIPS FOR ASPIRING PRODUCERS<\/p>\n

\uf0b7 Work out why you want to make the film \u2013 what\u2019s unique about the perspective you\u00a0can offer?<\/p>\n

\uf0b7 Look for the alternative angle<\/p>\n

\uf0b7 Be accurate \u2013 don\u2019t distort material or take quotes out of context.<\/p>\n

\uf0b7 Build a piece of work that can leave a legacy.<\/p>\n

\uf0b7 Be on time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  A profile of international award-winning film producer and director Michele D\u2019Acosta,\u00a0whose credits include Fetishes, Kurt and Courtney, Biggie and Tupac, Moonbug and\u00a0No Distance Left to Run. \u201cA magical thinker\u201d \u2013 that\u2019s how Michele D\u2019Acosta defines the role of the film producer,\u00a0\u201csomeone who is singleminded, enthusiastic, tenacious and passionate in pursuit of their\u00a0vision\u201d. The rollcall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24,14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8225"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8225"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9453,"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8225\/revisions\/9453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/filmcitybrighton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}