Trial by fire: a journey with Richard Leiterman

• Published in: Take 1 (Toronto. 1992) Vol. 11; no. 37; p. 13
• Main Author: Cummins, Kathleen
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Toronto Wyndham Wise 01.05.2002
• Subjects: Cinematography; Documentary films; History & criticism; Leiterman, Richard; Motion pictures
• ISSN: 1192-5507

Now Leiterman has taken a mentorship role at Sheridan College, in Oakville, Ontario, in the Media Arts Program and the Sheridan Centre for Animation and Emerging Technologies, imparting his knowledge onto future filmmakers and technicians. The venture into teaching does not mean Leiterman is retiring from filmmaking. This summer he plans to shoot an independent feature. He is also in the process of developing a feature narrative he hopes to direct. Despite all the ups and downs of the Canadian film and television industry Leiterman has witnessed and experienced first-hand, he still wants to take the risk and make independent films. While talking with Leiterman about his work and travels, the themes of risk-taking kept resurfacing, as did the themes of collaboration and mentorship; themes that have navigated Leiterman and his lens across Canada and the world in the making of documentaries, feature narratives and television dramas. There would be other risk-taking opportunities, some of which would almost land Leiterman in jail. One such incident occurred while Leiterman was filming his reluctant subject, novelist and anti-war activist [Norman Mailer], for the documentary profile series Who Is? Mailer, accompanied by the poet Robert Lowell and fellow anti-war activist Dr. Benjamin Spock, were participating in a march on the Pentagon to protest against the war in Vietnam. As an observer, Leiterman was there to document Mailer's participation, part of which included Mailer threatening to cross police lines. Anticipating Mailer's act, Leiterman did what any good camera person would do to get the ideal angle. He crossed the line first and waited. "I thought this is the only way to show them crossing. Mailer spotted me and said, 'Okay you guys, I'm going.' Off he went across the line, and I was there walking backwards as he did. The police tried to stop us. They asked us where we thought we were going, and Mailer said, 'I'm transgressing the police lines.' And they said, 'Well, you're not supposed to do this.' Meanwhile, I'm still shooting. I don't know how far we got, about a 100 yards, when the police finally collared Mailer and said, 'That's as far as you're going, Mr. Mailer. We don't care who you are.' I captured most of this on film. As they carted him off, they were going to cart me off too." A Married Couple is a raw, amusing and at times disturbing look into the strained marriage of an ordinary middle-class urban couple, Antoinette and Billy Edwards. During the shoot Leiterman again felt like an intruder of sorts, even though Billy and Antoinette had granted full access to Leiterman and the sound person, Christian Wangler. Although Leiterman and Wangler never interacted or communicated with the Edwards, Leiterman found the experience problematic, both emotionally and morally. This came to a head when Billy became physically abusive toward Antoinette on-camera. During an explosive fight, Leiterman and Wangler almost dropped their gear, disbanding their role as observers of truth. However, because the fight was brief, they kept the camera rolling. It became the climax of the film, their marriage clearly beyond repair.