Interview: Lioness’ directors

Late last year, a powerful Iraq documentary was released by Docurama to critical praise called Lioness. The film tells the story of a group of female Army support soldiers who were part of the first program in American history to send women into direct ground combat. Without the same training as their male counterparts but with a commitment to serve as needed, these young women fought in some of the bloodiest counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq war and returned home as part of this country’s first generation of female combat veterans.

Eric Fuerst reviewed the DVD here and had a great opportunity to chat with the film’s co-directors Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers.

Eric Fuerst: How did you come about this subject matter? Had you always intended to make a film that in some way dealt with the war in Iraq?

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers: After U.S forces invaded Iraq in 2003, we were struck by claims that American servicewomen were involved in the fighting to a greater degree than ever before. Yet actual coverage of this story by mainstream media was minimal. We decided to investigate. In the course of our research, which included talking to individuals with knowledge about women in the military, it soon became clear to us that a turning point had been reached. The growing insurgency in Iraq was obliterating the notion of a front line and the support units in which women serve were increasingly in the line of fire. As a result, the official policy banning women from serving in direct ground combat was being severely tested, if not violated, on a regular basis.

Recognizing this disconnect between policy and reality, our goal as filmmakers was to find a story that would capture this historic shift. At the same time, the narrative needed to be powerful enough to create a space in the national cultural dialogue for the women’s voices to be heard. Once we learned about the Lioness program we knew we had found our story.

Eric: Did you have any problems in getting the Army to cooperate with your project? How difficult was it to find the film’s subjects?

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers: It sometimes surprises people to learn that, in fact, the Army was open to assisting us and to providing permissions we needed. It helped that we were very clear with the Army Public Affairs Office about our intentions from the outset and that we had a lot of patience. It takes time to work through various chains of command and the Army is a large institution with lots of moving parts. Locating the Lioness soldiers, several of whom had left the service by 2005 and were dispersed across the U.S., was not an easy task. In our case, it made a big difference that once we found the soldiers, both officers and enlisted, they were receptive to telling their story so we had a good starting point.

Eric: The film delves into the lives of these women with an extraordinary intimacy. How do you go about gaining the trust of a subject like Shannon?

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers: When we met the women who had served as part of the original Lioness program in Ramadi, they had already been back in the U.S. for a year. In the course of our initial conversations, it was clear that what they had experienced in Iraq was only part of the story and that the rest was unfolding in their lives back home. As we began filming, we found that our ability to gain access to their daily lives and personal stories was directly related to our attitude of discovery. We weren’t pursuing an angle or a point-of –view because we never assumed we knew what life was like for these women. Instead, we tried to understand the logic of their world and the choices they had made. This approach distinguished us from the mainstream press and they recognized that. We were especially interested in their competence, viewing them as important historical actors rather than victims. Once the women understood this, they came to trust our intentions and became collaborators in the filmmaking process.

Since Shannon was already out of the Army, she was the hardest to locate. Once we tracked her down, we spent three to four months talking to her over the phone before we went out to Arkansas to meet her. Again, we let her know by our approach and the kind of questions we asked, that we were interested in creating a space for her to tell her story and that made seems to have made all the difference.

Eric: Speaking of Shannon, her parents are involved in some of the film’s most touching and revealing moments. Was there an added struggle in getting the subject’s family members to participate in your project?

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers: Shannon was very close to both her parents (her mother passed away in Dec. ’08) and they took their cues from her. When they saw that she was eager to participate, they were too. There were a few times when they asked us to not film something and we always respected their wishes. It was important for them not to feel they had lost control. But we were fortunate in that Shannon’s parents understood the magnitude of what she had experienced in Iraq and the toll it took on them as a family and they were moved to talk about it.

Eric: Were there any concerns about perhaps digging too deep and exploiting the film’s subjects? How, as filmmakers, did you cope with the idea of presenting your subjects in such a naked, revealing manner?

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers: It took us a full year to edit the film and we worked hard to make sure we represented the essential truth of our subjects’ experiences. We felt a great responsibility to get it right but we also trusted our material and never felt compelled to go for the quick draw narratively speaking. The headline for us was that these women did not see themselves as helpless or victims. We tried to present them in a way that reflected their own understanding of themselves and at the same time, we knew it was important for audiences to grasp the larger historical significance of their actions in this conflict.

Eric: The film does an exceptional job at raising awareness without preaching – you let your characters tell the story, not you as the filmmakers. How conscious was the idea to eliminate a strong, outside narrative voice in the material? Did you find the need to abandon politics to get your point across most effectively?

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers: The great value of social issue documentaries is that they can open up different kinds of pathways for conversation and create dialogue between disparate segments of the citizenry. That takes time to unfold and requires a counterintuitive approach. We made a conscious choice when editing the film not to preach to the choir. We intentionally structured our narrative in such a way as to invite multiple and diverse audiences into the story. We really wanted to give those who are not familiar with the topic as well as those who are permission to experience the humanity of our subjects.

Eric: Both of you have impressive resumes. Ms. McLagan, you served as a producer on the wonderful Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner Paris is Burning, and Ms. Sommers, your Eastern Spirit Western World was broadcast on several major networks. What is next for the both of you?

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers: Eric, thank you for your kind words. Since completing the film, we have been busy doing outreach screenings around the country, including Capitol Hill where the film has played a critical role in support of legislation aimed at improving healthcare for women veterans and making sure their experiences in combat are documented on their DD214 forms. These important national issues are ongoing but our part is drawing to a close. In 2010 we look forward to doing some writing (nonfiction essays and a screenplay) and developing new documentary projects.

Eric: Thank you two so much for your time. We, at KillerFilm.com, wish the best of luck to both of you in your future endeavors.

You can learn more about the film, outside of our review, by going to the film’s official website here. Have you seen Lioness or have something to share? Feel free to leave comments below!