Facing Fear and Beating the odds
“Facing Fear” is a riveting documentary that has been winning awards at film festivals and was recently shortlisted for an Oscar! The film explores the unlikely friendship between Matthew Boger, a gay man who grew up on the streets of Hollywood and Tim Zaal, a former Neo-Nazi skinhead who was once part of a violent gang.
Filmed in West Hollywood, viewers learn that Tim was bullied at school and kicked out of the family home by his mother for being gay. Things get worse when Tim gets a savage beaten by Neo-Nazi’s in a back alley and is left for dead. In an unusual example of fate, the two men cross paths twenty five years later. Matthew works at the Museum of Tolerance while a reformed Tim delivers lectures about his past. The shocking realization of their past connection is delicately handled by newcomer Jason Cohen, yet he doesn’t avoid the ugly details. Matthew’s indelible memory is that of Tim’s menacing face and getting a vicious boot in his face.
With an atmospheric 80’s backdrop, telling insight into both of their lives and a myriad of deep emotions to navigate, Matthew and Tim allow cameras to document their journey. The doc examines the lasting effects of hate crimes, tolerance and most importantly demonstrates the power of forgiveness. IFQ enjoyed a brief chat with Jason Cohen’s critical human interest story that is definitely Oscar worthy.
Independent Film Quarterly (IFQ): Tell us a bit about how you got into the movie business?
Jason Cohen (JC): I went to school for broadcast journalism and while there started taking film classes as well. I enjoyed both and was turned off by broadcast news so decided I could meld the two by doing longer form documentary work. I got a job as an intern in New York at MTV on a really bad show and quickly met a DP who took me under his wing and taught me how to do sound and it just advanced from there. When I moved to San Francisco, I met Academy Award winner Steven Okazaki and we began working together on docs for HBO and others including “Black Tar Heroin.” I also spent years as a soundperson, cameraperson and producer in small crews traveling the world on all sorts of TV shows, docs and commercial work.
IFQ: Apart from the power of forgiveness and that hatred can be overcome, what are the key messages you hope audiences will go away with?
JC: The power of forgiveness certainly jumps out although I don’t necessarily want people to take from the film that it is the only way or the right way to go. We just want people to watch this story and see how it might play out in their own lives. In addition, I think a big theme is that of transformation and how people can change and why they do. We wanted to explore how the backgrounds and events in these mens’ lives shaped how they were able to become allies after such a vicious past.
IFQ: How did you stumble upon the two subjects and find out about their improbable friendship?
JC: My co-producer/editor Tom Christopher and I are doing a large project in collaboration with the Fetzer Institute which is a non-profit doing work around love and forgiveness across the globe. Matthew & Tim’s presentation at the Museum of Tolerance was one of the projects they were working with on some outreach efforts and the institute introduced them to me. When I first read and heard their story I was instantly drawn to it and knew it would make for a compelling doc. We have filmed 4 other varied stories around the globe that are part of a feature doc, “Four Women, One World” to be released in the next few months.
IFQ: I liked the insight into early 80’s Hollywood. What was challenging about organizing the film?
JC: We wanted to tell a story of forgiveness but we didn’t want to ignore the dramatic elements of their story. We felt we had to build some background on them and get to know what factors led up to their initial attack, and what influenced their decisions and emotions when they came back into each other’s lives. In addition, Matthew & Tim had some media done on them when their story first came to light and some of them were a bit sensationalized, particularly around the attack and the Neo-nazi angle, and it left a bad taste in their mouths. I had to build a trust with them that I was really coming at it all from a fresh perspective. We knew that when we told the story of the actual attack we wanted to take a very muted approach without doing an actual re-creation and it was challenging to get the right tone for that scene but in the end we were happy with the result.
IFQ: Do you hope to expand into a feature film – it seemed to be over too soon?
JC: We don’t have plans to expand it into a feature documentary. It was always going to be a short. There has been some interest to turn it into a feature narrative and Matthew & Tim are open to that.
IFQ: How will this film reach audiences at least at a domestic level?
JC: For now, we are busy doing film festivals but ultimately we hope for some sort of TV distribution and then VOD, DVD, etc. The end goal though was always as an educational tool. Matthew & Tim already speak at schools and prisons regularly and we hope to go out with the film and continue that. It has a huge impact on kids when they are able to hear their accounts firsthand and meet them as a living example of the power of forgiveness and transformation.
IFQ: The relationship between the two leads, in spite of the barbaric attack, is amazing. What did you notice about their connection on and off camera?
JC: Matthew & Tim have a great relationship and they have an amazing bond where they do trust each other as family. They have been doing their presentation now for seven years and when they are in front of a group there is a real chemistry between them that engages the audience. All that being said, it’s not the sort of friendship where they hang out outside of their work. They are not “buddies.” They live very different and separate lives but they always know they can call or reach out to each other in the toughest of times.
IFQ: Facing Fear won an award at Outfest and now it has been shortlisted for the Oscars!! Are you surprised by the level of interest in the film?
JC: We’re a little surprised by the amount of interest but we also know it’s a deeply moving story that touches a nerve for people. We all deal with these issues on our own level whether it be forgiveness, reconciliation or the themes of bullying and homophobia which unfortunately are still extremely relevant today. I think anyone who sees the film can take something away from it that they can apply in their own life. We had someone say after a screening “I am not convinced that forgiveness is the right answer” and my response was “We’re not here to tell you it is the right answer”…I just hope people think about it after they leave the theater, start a discussion with their friends and see if it applies in any way to their own circumstances.
IFQ: What’s it like being shortlisted for an Oscar?
JC: Of course it’s an honor and exciting but it certainly was not our goal when we set out to make this film. Our goal was to get this story out there and hopefully inspire people to think harder about all the issues brought to the surface. If this recognition brings more interest and helps get the film and its message out to a wider audience then that would be the best possible outcome of it all.