{"id":15346,"date":"2017-05-17T09:34:12","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T17:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=15346"},"modified":"2019-09-30T13:25:18","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T21:25:18","slug":"ben-lear-they-call-us-monsters-qa","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/ben-lear-they-call-us-monsters-qa\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Lear Shows Reality and Human Face of Juvenile Justice System"},"content":{"rendered":"

They Call Us Monsters<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>is Ben Lear’s first film as director, but he’s not new to the business. Yes, Ben is the son of trailblazing TV producer-writer Norman Lear of All in the Family<\/em> and Good Times<\/em> fame (and you can read more about their relationship and how proud they are of each other in this lovely LA Times<\/em> profile<\/a>), but he’s also been an accomplished musician who studied music composition at NYU, where for his senior thesis he wrote and performed a folk-opera with a 20 piece orchestra and light show.<\/p>\n

“Though his abilities as a filmmaker are entirely distinctive, Lear shares his father\u2019s gift for bringing dimension and context to people widely deemed by society as monstrosities,” wrote Matt Fagerholm on RogerEbert.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So how’d Lear end up going to prison, as it were, to make They Call Us Monsters<\/em>? The film goes behind the walls of the Compound, a high-security facility in Los Angeles for violent juvenile criminals, focusing on three young men incarcerated for violent crimes who get the opportunity to learn screenwriting from a filmmaker (Gabe Cowan).\u00a0Ben sits on the advisory board of InsideOUT Writers and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition<\/a>, teaching a weekly writing class within the Compound and mentoring former juvenile offenders upon reentry.<\/p>\n

Lear talked to us about what brought him to this project, about going back and forth between loving the boys and then completely questioning that love, and about an acting class the boys took that is not in the film.<\/p>\n

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Why did you make this film?<\/b><\/p>\n

Four years ago I sat in on a writing class in a juvenile hall for kids being tried as adults. At the time, I had never met anyone incarcerated, in a gang, or facing a murder charge. These kids checked off all three. And yet, they were kind and inquisitive, thoughtful and articulate. It was impossible to reconcile their age and demeanor with their accused crimes. And I found that fascinating. I decided I wanted to share this experience with a wider audience, introduce people to this population that, otherwise, would remain hidden forever. And the timing felt right, considering this was the first time in twenty years we, as a society, have begun to reconsider whether or not a juvenile should be incarcerated for life with no chance to parole. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"They

They Call Us Monsters filmmaker Ben Lear<\/p><\/div>\n

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in making They Call Us Monsters<\/em>? <\/b><\/p>\n

The biggest challenge in making this film took place in the editing room\u2014weaving the many narratives of the film together while maintaining a balanced approach to our subjects. Juan, Jarad and Antonio are certainly kids, but they\u2019ve also committed heinous crimes. If we strayed too far from the reality of those crimes, the film would lose its credibility. <\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge was to craft an authentic journey for the audience\u2014from loving these boys to learning about their crimes, being horrified and questioning that original love, to immediately being reminded what you loved about them in the first place and then reminded again why you questioned that love\u2026 That back and forth journey is the honest experience of getting to know these boys.<\/p>\n

How did you gain the trust of those three boys at the center of They Call Us Monsters<\/em>?<\/b><\/p>\n

I was 24 when I started making this film, not much older than Juan, Jarad, and Antonio. We were all “coming of age” in our own ways (granted my stakes weren\u2019t as high \u2013 I wasn\u2019t facing life in prison). When we started spending time together, we connected over that for sure. We also had a similar sense of humor. We laughed a lot. I made sure never to bullshit them. I was always straight up about my intentions with the film, making sure they understood their role\u2014as ambassadors for thousands of kids in their situation. From the beginning, they took a lot of pride in that responsibility. And I think it gave them the confidence to step up and really engage in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Was there anything you wished you could’ve included in the film that didn\u2019t make the cut?<\/b><\/p>\n

The main thing would have been a scene getting to know the victim of Juan\u2019s crime. Unfortunately, though, no one showed up in court to support him. I would go to Juan\u2019s hearings and he\u2014the perpetrator\u2014would have family and advocates present supporting him but his victim\u2014now deceased\u2014had no one. It encapsulated the problem of the victim all too often missing from the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Juan<\/a>

Juan swims in the pool, in Forever Pure<\/p><\/div>\n

On a much, much lighter note, another scene I would have loved to include was the day Juan, Jarad, and Antonio took a Meisner-style acting<\/a> class. They practiced “repetition” exercises with each other and the teacher, forcing them to talk about “what they see and what they feel.” At first, Jarad fully rejected the exercise. He couldn\u2019t take it seriously and he refused to talk about his feelings. By the end, though, he was totally into it, going back and forth, connecting with Juan, Antonio, and the teacher. The scene showed Jarad\u2019s entire journey in five minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have a scene in your film that is especially a favorite or made the most impact on you?<\/b><\/p>\n

My favorite scene in the film is the swimming sequence. A swimming pool is a surreal thing in the context of a prison. It poses so many questions. Do they deserve to go swimming? What about their victims? But it\u2019s also quite literally the last place they will get to act like kids (likely for the rest of their lives if they go to adult prison). I didn\u2019t get that until I saw them swim. Immediately, they all turned into 8-year-olds, splashing each other, tossing each other around. The epitome of that innocence most never got to experience as children.<\/span><\/p>\n

What’s a commonly asked question by audiences that you’d anticipate our audience will wonder as well?<\/b><\/p>\n

This will make sense when you watch the film: yes, in California, you are allowed to interrogate a juvenile without a parent or lawyer present. And yes, you\u2019re free to use any ruses and manipulative tactics you would on an adult.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are your three favorite\/most influential documentaries or feature films?<\/b><\/p>\n

My greatest influences for this film were Hoop Dreams<\/em>, Salesman<\/em>, Rich Hill<\/em><\/a><\/strong> and The Act of Killing<\/em><\/strong>. Each film uses this partially-verite style where the filmmakers embrace their presence in the footage. They knew that presence would alter the reality of the situation and so they went with it. Telling stories that, in my opinion, were much richer as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n

What film\/project(s) are you working on next?<\/b><\/p>\n

I am writing my first feature film. It takes place in prison and focuses on the other end of the spectrum\u2014aging and dying behind bars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have any updates on the main characters in your film you can share with our audience?<\/b><\/p>\n

I will [just] say that they are all doing really well, considering the circumstances\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[Editor’s note: You can read updates from Juan and Jarad on our site as well<\/a>.]<\/p>\n