- My name is Walter Mondale... ... does this mean anything?

- I'm looking for the thing around the thing, because the thing is interesting, right?

That is interesting, but it's the thing around that thing that's really interesting.

(upbeat music) I actually am not like most people where I was a movie fanatic.

I was a story fanatic and I was a journalist, a working journalist for 15 years.

... Melody Gilbert, Newsline 9, Neelsville.

I never went to film school.

A lot of people don't know that about me.

I teach in journalism and film programs, but I never went to journalism school or film school.

And I learned by doing.

I was on a shoot, and as soon as the camera went off, and as soon as the big camera men left, and the sound person went away, the person started telling me things that they wouldn't tell me when the camera was on.

And I thought, oh, that's what I wanna do, I wanna spend more time with people.

I wanna spend more time, get to know them better, learn their stories more.

♪ Going to the chapel and we're... ♪ My very first independent film was called Married At The Mall.

And I decided I needed to do something that was close, cause I was living in St. Paul.

I'm like, oh, the mall is ten minutes away.

And I decided I was gonna spend a year doing something instead of a day.

- [Voice On Film] ... every kind of diversity you can possibly imagine... - I spent a year filming weddings there and making a lot of mistakes.

So I did a lot of the camera work myself, but I work mostly with a wireless microphone and I had a ton of audio problems.

I had a ton of video problems from the camera.

And I was just-- learned by making a lot of mistakes.

I really didn't understand the business side of making films.

I just immersed myself in that world, and I started going to a lot of film markets and film festivals, and meeting all the film people.

I'm really honored to receive this award...

It is at that point, that I started realizing, oh, there was a whole business of independent film.

Okay, so yeah, I'm Melody, and A Life Without Pain, took about a year to make...

The most successful film I ever had that made me think I could actually be in the business and stay in the business for a while, was A Life Without Pain.

- People always think of pain, pain, pain.

Oh, if I could get rid of the pain, and I'm thinking you do not even know how lucky you are that you can feel it.

- I just wanna know why people do the things they do.

So, when I heard about people, who want to be an amputee, and I mean, I'm going to say that again, because it's like, they want to be an amputee, like really?

I kind of just needed to go find out.

- ... about the only way I would get through a day is looking at that longingly for some time.

That's about the only way I can get through a day, I'm a person that has a right to exist that way.

- One of the most beautiful things that happens when you make a film is sharing part of you with your audience.

- She is probably one of the most insightful, empathetic people I have ever met.

And she closely observes human behavior, and she does it in a way that doesn't disturb you.

She does it in a way that is so authentic.

- I just am really interested in what drives people.

And I wanna know what it is, even if I don't find out the answer, I want to understand it a little better.

- [Voice On Film] ...

I mean, it doesn't get any prettier than this.

- There were some moments filming during Silicone Soul that were a little uncomfortable.

(heartful music) - You know, I can live without somebody to love me, but I cannot live without somebody to love, somebody to spoil, and take care of and be good too, so I have Jackie for that.

- I really needed to find ways to balance that film from the men who have female companions, with other things that made it so it was humanizing for anybody to see.

- I mean, just, it's so lifelike and to them it is real.

- [Melody] You have to just find ways to focus on the question you're trying to answer, and that's what I do when I go out to film.

- She is able to bring out just with a single question, to bring out a response that is so evocative and revealing.

- [Voice On Film] How many people can you say in your life that you have a daily relationship, that you touch, feel, create together, every single day for 23 years... - And I still mostly work alone, I still enjoy working alone.

It's just me, the camera and wireless microphone.

Why do I like doing that?

It's because it creates intimacy with people and they trust me.

The really good stuff that I get in my films, I feel comes from those rare moments when you're just with someone.

- It's not a matter of public interest, it regards a matter of human nature.

- Mr. Mondale is so humble, and he did not want a film made about him.

His assistant and I kind of worked in tandem, and she would tell me, well, he's going to be at this event tonight or that event tonight.

And I just started showing up again with my camera, just me and my camera, no crew, no anything.

I started following him around and at one point he was like, oh, well, I guess you're making a movie about me.

- They try to argue about how I would like to see America go... - I guess what I would want people to think about when they think of a Melody Gilbert film, is that when you're done watching it, that it creates conversations.

It doesn't necessarily give you answers, It takes you on a journey, and it will make you want to talk after you watch it to someone else.

Hey, I just saw this, I can't believe it, it's something I never knew about before.

Let's talk about it.

(heartful music) - [Announcer] Funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008.

And by the members of Prairie public.