Bahrani interviews people who lack healthcare resources\u2014a combination of financial woes and a lack of access to hospitals\u2014but its central protagonists are two women doctors operating a healthcare wagon that visits rural communities without a hospital and, to the best of their ability, serving the needs of the populace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bahrani spoke with me about the documentary and how it fits into his overall body of work.<\/span><\/p>\n I had been reading a lot about hospitals closing in rural America. In my research, I came across the health wagon and was captivated by the female doctors in the film. They were so charismatic, lively, and funny, and dedicated their lives to something difficult and inspiring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I also had a personal connection. I was born in North Carolina, my dad is a physician, and I recall as a child going into Appalachia. He was seeing rural patients like in the film. I thought it was an opportunity to interview those same patients I saw in the waiting room as a kid. I\u2019m Iranian by heritage. My dad became a doctor in Iran. He went to the big city and became a physician. The first thing he did was go back into the rural areas [of Iran] where people had barely seen a doctor. He\u2019d drive into these communities with a jeep and medicine and provide free healthcare. I thought this was what these women in the health wagon were doing.<\/span><\/p>\n A 4th generation coal miner with black lung disease (East Tennessee). [Credit: Ken Ortiz]<\/p><\/div>\n You never know why it is you do what you do. My father\u2019s background, I feel, had something to do with it\u2014his upbringing and the patients he saw were of a similar, working-class nature. Maybe that led me to want to tell stories about working-class characters, immigrants, or characters struggling to survive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The question could be: Why are there not <\/span>more <\/span><\/i>films about people like this? These types of stories can be funny, surprising.\u00a0<\/span> Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani<\/p><\/div>\n I think that\u2019s accurate. It\u2019s something most of us experience. It puts people in tight, tough situations, which makes for good storytelling. Characters are forced to do things they might not normally have done. I think day-to-day life is so captivating. It\u2019s a rich source for great characters and stories.<\/span><\/p>\n How did the topic of dreams come into play? Most of your subjects\u2019 dreams here border on desperation<\/b>. <\/span>What do you think it says about our healthcare system that so many people\u2019s dreams are merely those of survival?<\/b><\/p>\n I think the sobering one was the person who didn\u2019t even have a dream. She couldn\u2019t even conceive of a dream. This was so sad and disturbing. When I meet people, I\u2019m interested in hearing what people\u2019s dreams are. This illuminates people to me. A lot of people don\u2019t dream now, maybe because they can Google everything or they\u2019re just overworked and stressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nWhy did you want to make a nonfiction film about rural health care?\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IFDWL-coal-miner.jpg\")
It is mentioned in <\/b>If Dreams Were Lightning<\/i><\/b> that the communities you visited have been “left to fend for themselves.” This could describe many of the characters in your films. What draws you to these stories?<\/b><\/h4>\n
\nMore people are living precariously these days. Fiction filmmaking seems to ignore the majority of people in this country. When people say they feel left behind, they\u2019re talking about a lot of things\u2014access to medical care, jobs, education, sanitation, or representation in media and film.<\/span>
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Your films also focus on systems that aren\u2019t working\u2014for example, the housing crisis in <\/b>99 Homes<\/i><\/b>, or corruption in <\/b>At Any Price<\/i><\/b>. This documentary focuses on a failing system, too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n