Katie Dellamaggiore got the chess story idea from a New York Times article about a talented chess player at Murrow High School, Brooklyn. “The neighborhood is just a few minutes from where I grew up…I had always been interested in making a film about Brooklyn”(Rooftopfilms). So Katie followed up and found I.S. 318, feeder junior high school to Murrow and I.S. 318 is only minutes from where she lives now in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Documentary is about real life, the world around us and people around us. Those documentaries are so awesome because they were made with true passion and made by those who really care. Josh Fox started to make Gasland because the oil company tried to make a well in his backyard. Moreover, I have a friend who used to be a business student in Szechuan University, China. In 2008 there was a deadly earthquake and he lost someone. Later on, he got into NYU and studied News and Documentary. He made a film about three families that lost their single children in the earthquake. One day I asked him: “If there wasn’t the earthquake, would you get into documentary?” He said: “No. I would become a cold-blooded investment banker or something. Destiny is interesting. ” His film is so touching because it’s about his hometown and his people.
I think one of the reasons why Brooklyn Castle is so bright and so uplifting is Katie’s love for Brooklyn and for the people there. Katie says: “I was born and raised in Brooklyn, so I’ve lived here my whole life. I never thought I would stay in Brooklyn I think as a kid you always imagine living somewhere other than where you’re from. But now, as an adult, I’ve really fallen in love with Brooklyn in a different way than I knew it as a kid.”(Brooklyn Magazine) When a documentary filmmaker can’t find a story, maybe the best and simple solution is to look around. The world is always full of stories and miracles.
Everything went so smoothly with the access. It’s not only because of luck but also because of Katie’s honesty, passion and determination. She spent a long time getting to know the school and the kids. It turned out so well. All the characters are three-dimensional. Katie not only focused on their chess life but also included their family background, future and “their own unique set of challenges and goals that went far beyond winning or losing on the chessboard” (Rooftopfilms). Then the lucky twist happened. “It didn’t really come into play until after three months of shooting, when we’d already committed to making this movie, that we found out the chess team was close to losing all of its funding for travel.”(Indiewood) Katie handled it well. “It was important for the issue to be an important part of the film, but we weren’t interested in making “an issue film.” We just wanted the issue to be at the heart of the story, at the center of it, but not front and center”(Documentary Channel). Many issue films tend to be artificial and unnatural. For instance, Last Train Home seems to manipulating to me.
Editing and the choice of music are impeccable, which make Brooklyn Castle such an effortless uplifting film. I think the fact that “Ms. Dellamaggiore produced “Brooklyn Castle” with her husband-editor, Nelson Dellamaggiore, and her brother-cinematographer, Brian Schulz….” (New York Times) make the film very natural and smooth. Same thing in Last train home, Fan worked with his brother and an old friend. Having a crew that works with one mind is crucial.
Katie inspired me. In class, I asked if she had other ideas before? She had lots ideas but no character. She said that the three necessary elements of a documentary: idea, character and story. As a foreigner, I was amazed how people could affect policymaking. I was never a believer in democracy but I saw how democracy let the people’s voice to be heard and government solve the problem in this case. It’s just amazing.
