The Way We Get By

News

Feb 23, 2009

TWWGB Gets A SXSW Preview On SpoutBlog

Check out the SXSW Preview of "The Way We Get By" courtesy of SpoutBlog...

As SXSW 2009 approaches we'll be asking filmmakers to spill the superficial details about their films, to tell us all the deep personal details of what makes them tick, and -- new this year! -- reveal who they had to sleep with, in the incestuous conspiracy-minded secret society that is the wider SXSW community, in order to get their film programmed at the festival.

A Documentary Competition world premiere, Aron Gaudet's "The Way We Get By" follows a trio of senior citizens who, for the past six years, have shown up at the airport in Bangor, Maine to greet each departing and arriving plane full of U.S. troops embarking to or returning home from battle zones. Gaudet answers The 5 Questions We Ask Everyone.


SpoutBlog: Tell us about your movie. Who did you work with, why did you make it? Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, "It's like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!" pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out.

AG: "The Way We Get By" is like "Cocoon" meets "Coming Home"... but with my mom in it.

We follow the lives of three Maine Troop Greeters who go day and night to a tiny airport in Bangor, Maine to greet soldiers and marines heading to war and returning home - over 800,000 troops so far. But what we really get is an intimate and honest look at what growing old in America is all about, and how having purpose in your life can help you get through an awful lot. And yes, one of the three people we follow is my mom.

We made the movie with a very small crew. The producer/interviewer/my fiancée Gita Pullapilly has worn many, many hats over the course of the four years making the film. My friend Dan Ferrigan and I split duties as DP through production, going with a two-camera shoot almost all of the time. And then through post, Gita and I basically locked ourselves inside a little room at WGBH in Boston, where we were filmmakers in residence, and nine months later a film popped out. I can only imagine that it's similar to having a baby...only using cameras and computers.

SpoutBlog: Do you have a day job/a non-filmmaking occupation that raises money for your filmmaking efforts? Tell us about it.

AG: I've been working full-time as a filmmaker for the last year and a half or so, while just taking the random freelance video production job to pay the bills. I did work in local television news for 10 years before making the leap, but television pays worse than unemployment, so it was tough to fund anything with that job.

SpoutBlog: Have you been to SXSW before? If so, tell us about your funniest story from the experience. If not, what are you looking forward to re: the festival and/or the city of Austin?

AG: I have never been to SXSW or Austin, but I have wanted to go for a long time. I'm a big reader of Ain't It Cool News, so I'm always reading about these amazing screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse. I plan on spending as much time as possible there and elsewhere watching great movies.

SpoutBlog: Let's get hypothetical: You're on death row. The night of your execution, you're allowed to watch any two films of your choice. What would you pick for your last-night-on-Earth double feature?

AG: Maybe the toughest question I've ever been asked. My decision could be heavily influenced by the reason I am on death row, but let's just assume I have been wrongly convicted of murder. I'd have to go with "In The Name of the Father" as my token "prison movie", and then probably something that leaves a smile on my face like "Bottle Rocket". Or I may just go with the two longest movies I could think of to drag it out.

SpoutBlog: There's been some criticism that the only way to get into SXSW is by being a part of an "incestuous scene where everybody knows everybody." So who did *you* have to sleep with to get in? (Metaphorically or literally: are there any SXSW filmmaker(s) past or present that you're close with personally and/or professionally, and how have those relationships helped or hurt the process of producing your film and getting it seen?)

AG: Is this where I tell you about my drunken, one-night stand with Andrew Bujalski?

I've definitely heard and read things about the "incestuous scene", but to be honest, not only do I not know any SXSW filmmakers- I don't know very many filmmakers at all. This being my first feature and hitting the festival circuit for the first time, I am just now starting to connect with other filmmakers...Andrew included (hopefully). The few filmmakers I do know have been nothing but full of helpful advice and support, and I can't wait to return the favor.

Go to SpoutBlog to read the original piece and more SXSW previews.