Interview: Kate Churchill
One of the surprising documentaries to come out this year theatrically, was Kate Churchill’s Enlighten Up!, that follows a skeptic through a process of exploring different variations and schools of yoga, in what the film maker’s hope of capturing an enlightenment from the subject. But what happened was even more surprising. Read my DVD review of the film here, that recently came out on November 10th.
Kate Churchill takes a few minutes out of filming in Ireland for a chat with Killer Film.
Jon Peters: I’m interested in the process of finding Nick Rosen. In the film, I believe you mentioned there were others considered. Can you explain this process a bit more thoroughly?
Kate Churchill: Yeah, what we did was we looked at a number of different people and tried to figure out how we wanted to tell the story. It was a process with myself and the producers of just brainstorming on possibilities with the different people, and we just kept a board in the office with the various people on it. Then we started to whittling away at the options and what will be good [for the film].
At the time I wanted someone else, but the writer Jonathon Hexner wanted someone like a journalist, and that’s how we chose Nick [Rosen]. He was a journalist, and we thought his background would really be useful for the film. I also liked that he was really skeptical, because I was like truly believing that something really dramatic was going to happen to me, and I was really optimistic. But it’s more interesting that he was really skeptical starting out. There were some other things that lead to our decision in choosing him, but ultimately, after debating all of these pros and cons on a variety of people, Nick was just our top choice.
Jon: Did you consider that maybe your bias and your believe in the promise of yoga, could have an negative affect on Nick’s journey?
Kate: I think that matters in regards to what time in the film you’re asking that question for. In the beginning, I didn’t think it was a problem for him. When we started editing the film, it was nine months into the process when we decided to keep me in the film. We worked on a cut without me, and it just didn’t make any sense. It really wasn’t up until that point, that we looked at the material in an ominous yet humbling way, that my role had an impact on Nick. You really try to work on not having an affect like I did, but my agenda was what yoga would eventually lead someone too, and that was a lot of pressure for Nick. It was a constant battle. When we decided that my pressure on Nick and that whole tension between us would make the film a lot more clearer, we used more of the footage.
Jon: Nick said in the film that the word “transformation” was used a lot. Did you fear maybe he wouldn’t find what you were hoping for, due to the fact that he was or might have been forced throughout filming to experience a change or transformation?
Kate: I definitely feared that nothing would happen. Where you see a shift is when Nick and I go to India and have our own breakdown, where we both get tired and fed up in trying to get the other person to do what we want. So basically, I was trying to get Nick what I wanted and he was trying to get me what he wanted, and so we have these moments in the film, where we just give up. For me, the error of worrying that nothing was going to happen, I didn’t give up on Nick, but I just let him to what he wanted to do, then it felt like each of us, started to take our own individual journeys, rather than to be meshed in the same journey together.
Jon: When in editing, did you feel you needed these scenes for the film?
Kate: We spent nine months cutting the film, and the first version of the film was sent out to get feedback. It came back saying it was interesting, but it just didn’t quite make sense. Those people wanted to know what Nick was responding too, and those comments sent us back to the material spending another four to five months, with two editors, to pick within the 500 hours of footage a point of conflict. We really hit that hard, to find what was Nick journey, and we kept noticing it was entangled with me. At that point, we started from scratch. We then spent the next year and a half creating that storyline, then to find that balance between Nick, yoga, and me interestingly.
Jon: In my review, I considered myself to be not one of the 16 million people who do yoga, yet I was vastly interested in the film and the subject matter. One of the key reasons, to me, was the constant discussions Nick had with some of the Indian Yogis and gurus. Do you think these philosophical conversations helped Nick to appreciate yoga, more than the practice, as well as the audience?
Kate: Well, I think so. I think what’s interesting from all of these gurus we met, the ones that were really wise, or enlightened if you want to go that far, they could just talk to you about anything, and not just yoga. They could just talk about the many facets of your life, and that is what was interesting. There wasn’t a dogma about one certain way with them and when they talked with Nick, even though he kept asking what was the right way, they would respond there isn’t. We did have some people who were very emphatic about how it was to be done. But I think the film opened with that, and not just being about yoga and the practices, but you could take the exercise of meditation in anything in your life, not just yoga.
Jon: I was really fascinated by Gurusharananda.
Kate: We have on the DVD an extended interview with him, that’s nearly 20 minutes. His interview was a couple of hours long, and his whole interview could’ve been used. He’s great. He was a really special person to me, and I think everyone involved.
Jon: I know there was over 500 hours of filmed material, but was there any issues in filming the various gurus, or getting their permission?
Kate: Well, no. In America, it was all relatively easy. We just called and pretty much secured access to everyone. In India, it was a little more difficult, only because you couldn’t get them to confirm in advance. When we went to India, we had no idea if we could even get interviews with gurus like Pattabhi Jois and others, who are really great teachers and huge influence to the West. It’s important to see them and the only way we could get access to them, is to literally just show up on their door step!
Some we had to practice with them for weeks, before we could even ask them for a filmed interview. One we thought we had the interview and went there, only to be told it wasn’t going to work. Luckily, we had scheduled one with Patricia Walden, who was really supportive of the film, and after that got us some instant access. So there was a lot of moments in India where we didn’t know if we were going to get these interviews, and it was really taxing. There I was with Nick, the crew, and we didn’t know what was going to happen.
Jon: One of the things I personally noticed was the huge difference from the various schools and gurus here in America, compared to the ones in India, where I felt their genuine knowledge very appealing. Can you explain these differences?
Kate: I think it depends really, and it’s a hard question to answer. You have to be careful not to be to general about it. In America, the have this view that has evolved into a multi-million dollar business that can pitch a different style to people, and they get, for whatever reason, attached to a specific style. That’s the bottom line.
In India, what’s interesting there, is that people who practice there are mostly Westerns. Indians don’t go to the local yoga school and take classes, yoga is taught in schools there like gym class. But it’s much more a series of ritual practices in people’s lives, and that’s apart of the culture, where it’s in their houses and they grow up with it. It’s really different how we are in America, since we treat it as a physical factor, and it certainly can be in India, but yoga as we know it, is more studio based.
Jon: Since the film’s release, what has the Yoga community reactions to the film and has there been any people who have taken Yoga up do to the film?
Kate: A lot of people along the way told me from previews and Q and As, that are much more interested in trying yoga, even though at first they were dragged in to see the film. They said they were dreading seeing it, but then afterwards, enjoyed it so much, they wanted to try it out. We would hear that a lot, especially on the various social networking sites.
As for the yoga community, there was always a small percentage who would have an issue with the film, because either their teacher was included or felt we were making light or missing the point of something that was really serious to them. We did a number of screenings for yoga teachers and their students in various cities, and it would be usually 97% or so, that would really love the film. There would be that few that would have an issue or concerns.
Jon: Finally, I just want to say thank you for taking a time out to talk with Killer Film about Enlighten Up!, I know it’s late in Ireland.
Kate: No problem, and thanks for you interest, Jon.
If you have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment below or email me at jon@killerfilm.com
