The Filmmakers
Michal Goldman and Ellen Brodsky
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From filmmaker Michal Goldman:
I think that the history of American radicalism deserves to be looked at head on, without sentimentality or obfuscation. AT HOME IN UTOPIA raises issues of economic justice and race relations that are very relevant to present circumstances. I hope it will reach present-day immigrants and working people, and that they’ll find this history relevant to their own struggles. I hope that it will confirm in people the belief that they have the right to beauty and community in their daily lives. And, I hope that it will encourage people to realize the value of working collectively.
Her three favorite films:
I have many more than three favorite films. I still adore Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria, which seems to me perfect and totally alive at the same time. I was blown away by Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, Wrath of God, which seemed like opera, myth and cinema verité simultaneously. Most recently, I’ve loved James Marsh’s Man on Wire—I loved the way he interwove home movies, news footage, interviews and re-enactments into something momentous. I guess I especially love films that bring an epic, almost tragic dimension to stories that might otherwise seem like minor moments in the larger scheme.
Her advice for aspiring filmmakers:
Cultivate your film friends, your film cadre—people with whom you can make films. Don’t fall for the myth that an artist can make art in complete isolation, without a great deal of input or help; you’re inevitably part of your place and time. Watch a lot of movies and don’t be afraid to imitate; just be aware that you’re doing it. When you find you need to do something you’ve never seen anybody else do, go ahead even though it’s scary. Keep a journal. Be honest about what moves you.
Her most inspirational food for making independent film:
Personally I find that homemade chicken soup with slices of avocado and fresh cilantro cut in just before serving works wonders. Really good coffee ice cream is also effective.
From filmmaker Ellen Brodsky:
I wanted to hear their voices.
Early in the project, we read about a lively debate during the planning stages of the Coops. One side couldn't imagine building homes and having to redirect resources from waging the revolution. The other side, many of them women, couldn't imagine raising the next generation of revolutionaries without living in a community committed to their radical ideals—and without cross-ventilation and a view from every window. These were passionate people, and I imagined I could hear their voices, often quite loud, perhaps with hands flying to make a point.
As a mom raising two kids in a cooperative day care for many of the eight years of working on this film, I liked listening to these competing voices in my head. And I am glad one side convinced the other, so we could spend so many years getting to know the place they created.
Filmmaker Bios
Michal Goldman
Director, Producer, Editor
Award-winning filmmaker Michal Goldman’s documentaries look at how people define and express the urgent issues of their times through the way they live their lives. She produces, writes and edits her films, which include A Jumpin’ Night in the Garden of Eden, the first film to document the revival of klezmer music; Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt, about the diva of Arabic song and her country; and Epiphany in Progress, about the first year in an inner-city Episcopal school. Goldman is founder and president emerita of Filmmakers Collaborative and founder of the Boston Jewish Film Festival.
Ellen Brodsky
Co-producer
Ellen Brodsky began filmmaking in 1995 after a 10-year career in education and public health. She co-directed the award-winning short Dental Farmer and directed Health is Academic, a 15-minute short about school health programs introduced by the U.S. Surgeon General. She has also produced short films about daycare and public education. In 2008, she worked as the media consultant for the LEF Foundation’s Moving Image Fund. Outside of film, Brodsky has led a national training center on HIV prevention for the CDC, directed sexuality education programs in over 40 school districts, taught English in the Congo and has worked as a teaching fellow at Harvard University for classes on sexuality and positive psychology.
