David Sutherland on the “Magic” of Filmmaking

Share:

February 14, 2013

“No one makes documentaries the way David Sutherland does,” The Baltimore Sun wrote in 2006. “And perhaps no one ever will; the toll is too great.”

In 1998, he brought FRONTLINE viewers The Farmer’s Wife, an unforgettable profile of an American farm family in crisis. In 2006, he followed up with Country Boys, a coming-of-age journey about two friends in eastern Kentucky.

On April 1 and 2, Sutherland returns with Kind Hearted Woman, a two-part series that illuminates the problem of child sexual abuse on Native American reservations. For three years, Sutherland followed Robin Charboneau, a 32-year-old divorced single mother and Oglala Sioux living on North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Reservation as she struggled to raise two young children while coping with the wounds of abuse she suffered as a child.

True to Sutherland’s trademark style, the film is an intimate and humanizing portrait. (Read an interview with Sutherland about the making of the film). As he explains in the above video, “My films are really about people and how they react. There’s a feeling you get where you feel what they’re going through. It’s like magic. To me it’s magic. It’s what makes me tick.”

Kind Hearted Woman is a special co-presentation of FRONTLINE and Independent Lens. Watch the trailer below:


Jason M. Breslow

Jason M. Breslow, Former Digital Editor

Twitter:

@jbrezlow

More Stories

Exclusive: Iran Won't Allow Nuclear Inspections if Sanctions Are Reimposed, Says Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator
In an exclusive interview with FRONTLINE, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator said the country will end its participation in international weapons inspections if sanctions are reimposed.
September 26, 2025
9/11, More Than 20 Years Later: 20 Essential Documentaries to Watch
These films, selected from more than two decades of extensive FRONTLINE reporting, probe that fateful day and its lasting impacts on America and the world.
September 5, 2025
Watch FRONTLINE’s 5 Most-Streamed Documentaries of 2025 (So Far)
Looking for some documentaries to watch as summer continues? We’ve got you covered.
August 6, 2025