Director/Producer Ramona Diaz talks about Imelda Marcos’s attempt to ban the release of IMELDA, the challenges of filming in tropical typhoons and how people all over the world love shoes.

What inspired you to make a film about Imelda Marcos?

Although I wanted to make a film that went beyond the number of pairs of shoes Mrs. Marcos owned, the one thing I was not interested in producing was a historical film of the Philippines under the Marcos regime. My interest was in Imelda the character, her complexities and contradictions, and ultimately, her universality. I wanted to deal with the larger social and structural explanations for her illusions, like the postwar materialist culture, the celebrity culture of dictatorship, Cold War international politics and expressions of nationalism. Is Imelda Marcos unique or do all of us really have a "little Imelda" in us, as one shoe advertisement claimed?

You were able to get ‘up close and personal’ with your subject. How did you gain access to such a famous personality?

Mrs. Marcos, like other famous personalities, is addicted to the camera. She loves the camera and the camera loves her. So the idea of my making a film about her life, following her around with a camera, was not new to her. (In fact, a film crew accompanied her on all her trips so she was used to this “intrusion.”) I also approached her when she was no longer first lady and therefore I think she was missing some of the attention she used to get when she was still in power. It was reliving her glory days.

The one thing that the crew and I had on our side was time. We didn’t spend just an afternoon with her, we spent approximately a month with her. This really helps. Access opens up and everyone just calms down—the crew, the subject, the director most especially. Everyone just gets comfortable.

What was Marcos’s reaction to IMELDA?

When Imelda Marcos first saw the film, I had heard through her close associates that she liked it. She took issue with some things, but generally liked it. About a couple of months later, she changed her mind and decided she didn’t like how the film portrayed her and she tried to ban its release in the Philippines. By this time the reviews had come out and I can only surmise that she had read some of them and didn’t like what she read. Anyway, the court ruled that her charges of invasion of privacy were unfounded as she was/is a public figure and obviously a willing participant in the film, not to mention she signed a personal release.

The one thing I told Mrs. Marcos was that although the film was not a valentine to her, neither was it just going to be a laundry list of her sins. I was going to give her the room to explain her philosophy, more than just a sound bite. I believe this is the film I delivered.

How were you received in the Philippines?

The film did very well in its Philippine theatrical release largely due to the fact that Imelda Marcos called so much attention to it by trying to ban its release. The Filipino audience is such a privileged audience when it comes to Imelda Marcos that you can never really please everyone. Most of them had heard one version or another of the stories retold in the film, for example, most of them had heard about Mrs. Marcos’s picturegraphs. However, few actually had seen her tell it or draw it. So this was new. And the die-hard fans of the former first lady came away thinking that yes, she is still the greatest. People see what they want to see.

What were some of the challenges you faced in making this film?

Where do I begin? Everything was a challenge. Getting funding to make a film about an anti-hero who people thought was dead, getting equipment into the Philippines, flying a crew out, getting Kodak Philippines to order as much 16-mm film as we needed, getting the correct wattage/voltage down so we didn’t destroy the equipment, dealing with tropical typhoons, making sure the crew didn’t drink the water… Where do I begin? And then making a film about a woman used to getting her own way all the time. I could go on and on. But you get the picture.

What impact do you hope this film will have? What has the audience response been so far?

The audience response so far has been spectacular. First of all they are surprised that it is essentially a very entertaining film, and then they’re surprised to learn that Mrs. Marcos is more than just the shoe-loving figure the popular press would have you believe. And that she wielded real power and dealt with almost every important political figure of the 20th century. What is most satisfying for me as a filmmaker is when the audience sees Mrs. Marcos as a universal figure, not just Asian, not just a woman, and not just Filipino. They see in her a figure of absolute power gone awry and understand how a phenomenon like Mrs. Marcos can happen anywhere and not only in remote places like the Philippines.

I remember after a screening at the Sundance Film Festival, a woman came up to me and said “she reminds me of my mother!” Now talk about relating to a character.

What surprised you the most while making IMELDA? What did you learn that was unexpected?

The lesson I learnt was that a lot of people, men and women, love shoes.

The independent film business is a difficult one. What keeps you motivated?

What else will I do? My husband loves to say that I’m probably the most highly educated unemployable person he knows.

Why did you choose to present your film on public television?

Because public television is still the place for documentaries. And it always blows my mind that on the night of broadcast, more people will see it that one evening than all the film’s screenings combined all over the world.

What are your three favorite films?

That’s tough but let me give it a go. Rules of The Game, The Conformist, Pet Cemetery.

What didn’t you get done when you were making your film?

Let’s talk about what I did get done—I had a daughter. When I made my first pre-production trip to the Philippines for IMELDA, I was pregnant with my daughter Sabina. She just turned eight. Ask her what her mother does and she says, “Mama makes a film about Imelda Marcos.” Scary, huh?

If you weren’t a filmmaker, what kind of work do you think you’d be doing?

Maybe curating exhibitions for a modern art museum. Or I’d love to be a programmer for a film festival.

What do you think is the most inspirational food for making independent film?

The best editing food: squash seeds.

What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?

Never take no for an answer and try, try, try as much as possible to pay yourself.

Read Ramona's statement about making IMELDA >>