Filmmaker Derek Doneen: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker
You care about your project more than anyone else ever can. Trust your gut, stand up for yourself and fight for the integrity of your work. Just because you don’t have tangible progress you can show at the end of a workday, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a productive day. Especially in the early days of an edit, I have to remind myself to let that anxiety go when I’m not making good progress. Sometimes reading a book or watching a movie for inspiration is and should be considered work.
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Derek Doneen.
Named one of Variety’s Top 10 Documentary Filmmakers to Watch, Emmy-nominated filmmaker Derek Doneen has quickly become known in the entertainment industry for his intimate, character-driven storytelling.
This summer Doneen is set to debut “Heist,” a serialized anthology docuseries that tells real heist stories from the perspective of the people who pulled them off. Told throughout six episodes (two per heist), viewers will see how the subjects select their targets, the meticulous planning that goes into the job, the sweet glory of success… and the boneheaded errors that lead investigators straight to the truth. Doneen serves as the showrunner and director, alongside his Academy Award-winning partners at Dirty Robber. The docuseries will release globally this summer on Netflix. Additional directorial credits for Doneen include episodes of AT&T’s “Religion of Sports” and ESPN+’s “Why We Fight.”
On the film front, Doneen made his feature documentary directing debut in 2018 with “The Price of Free,” which won a marquee Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. The film follows Nobel Peace Prize-winning Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi, whose team has liberated more than 86,000 children in India from child labor, slavery and trafficking. The film was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary and was also awarded at The Cannes Film Festival.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Doneen got his start in the industry as Participant Media’s first in-house filmmaker, directing award-winning content for Starbucks, American Express, The Center for National Policy, and The Gates Foundation. Doneen went on to edit Kobe Bryant’s “Muse” and co-directed the opening segment for HBO’s broadcast, “U2: iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE: Live in Paris,” alongside his mentor David Guggenheim. The esteemed directors met while creating ancillary content for “Waiting for Superman,” and soon after began a formal partnership. In addition, Doneen edited Guggenheim’s film honoring George Steven’s Jr. for the Academy Awards, produced “The Dream is Now” and directed “Spent: Looking for Change” which has over 12 million views on YouTube.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
Thank you for having me! It’s an honor. I was born and raised as an only child in Los Angeles to two loving parents whose love for each other evaporated early on. My mother was a journalist, father was a banker turned entrepreneur. After their divorce, my mom got me a black pug named Diablo who became my defacto brother, traveling to college and beyond with me. RIP Deebs.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I was passionate about basketball until I blew out my knee at 16, so I picked up a camera and started making short films with my friends. I’d stay up all night editing on the homie Ben’s dad’s G5 Mac computer with Final Cut Pro. His mom would keep me fed and sneak me the occasional margarita. My first documentary was about Venice Beach as it was undergoing a transformation. I fell in love with the immediacy of the storytelling and the connection I was able to make with my subjects. While I was in film school, I started going to a club night in LA called Low End Theory with my friends. I ended up shooting the first couple years of the club’s existence as the hub of the burgeoning Los Angeles beat scene. That footage became my senior thesis.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?
Funniest story! Man, that’s a tough one. Might have to be Oscar Sunday, 2014, Clarksdale, MS. I found myself at the local Country Club playing Bingo with Morgan Freeman. I won a game, he gave me a scented candle, then told me I was too young to be getting married.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
I’ve filmed with Kobe Bryant, Al Gore, U2 and Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi among many others… but just as interesting are the names you won’t recognize. The kids whom Kailash rescued, the people who pulled off some of the most brazen heists in US history, a world-class Icelandic soccer player battling severe anxiety and depression… I’ve got incredible stories from every shoot. The very best part of my job is the deeply personal connections I make with my subjects in all corners of the world. I’ve found the only way to properly do this job is to immerse myself in their lives — often without a camera — and see the world through their eyes, open myself up, allow myself to be vulnerable… only once that bond has been made and that trust earned, do I feel like I can get to the core of their humanity and make something that others will relate to and empathize with.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
It all started for me at Participant Media (now known simply as Participant). They gave me a shot as an intern when I was still in school and allowed me to grow with the company as their in-house filmmaker. My boss Chris Gebhardt trusted me to direct spots for Starbucks and AmEx while he was building the agency division and I’m super grateful to him for that. Later, Participant financed my first feature. I was a mostly unproven talent, but they believed in me and took a big chance, and I’m forever appreciative of Diane Weyermann, Elise Pearlstein and the rest of the company for their faith in me.
It was at Participant where I met Davis Guggenheim. I was making ancillary content for his film Waiting for “Superman” and he instantly made himself available to me for advice and guidance. When it was time for me to leave Participant, he welcomed me with open arms and gave me a space to grow and develop my skills as a storyteller. Davis very quickly became a close collaborator and mentor. Working with him felt like film school in the best possible way. Seeing how quick he was on his feet, how he made decisions, how he recognized what worked and what didn’t, how he put stories together, what information he wanted on screen, and more importantly, what he chose NOT to put on screen… it was a daily masterclass in documentary filmmaking. He gave me opportunities and put me in positions to succeed. I sometimes go back and re-read the note he sent me while I was en route to India for my first shoot on The Price of Free. One of the most meaningful things anyone has ever written or said to me. He’s been a great friend over the years, and I owe much of my success to Davis.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My grandfather’s marriage advice: give without expecting anything in return. It’s important advice for romantic relationships, but I’ve found it applies across the board. If you give all of yourself to your work, to your friends, to your colleagues without expectation of reciprocation, you’ll be rewarded. Not always easy to do, but the one piece of advice I find myself going back to over and over.
The other is a quote from Jim Jarmusch that perfectly embodies how I approach my work:
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery — celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from — it’s where you take them to.”
I am very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
There are about a million reasons why diversifying your crew and the kinds of stories we’re telling is a good idea. Entertainment has immense power to inspire and compel social change and shift attitudes across the globe. For way too long, our industry has consolidated power and stifled female and minority voices. Amplifying their voices will have a profound impact on the way people view the world around them, inspire generations of young filmmakers and more bluntly: make the films better. Speaking personally, I crave voices in the room who offer different perspectives and life experiences than my own. After all, I’m not just making films for people who think and behave like me. I’m trying to reach a broad audience, and the best way to do that is to include as many people from as many different backgrounds as I can on my team… from development through finishing. Level the playing field for everyone and make better entertainment in the process? Feels like a no-brainer.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I wish I could talk about them, but I’ve got a few things cooking that I’m very, very excited about.
Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?
In a general sense, it’s the connections I make with my subjects. Great documentary filmmaking is intimate, personal, vulnerable and empathetic. It’s about exploring the nuances of the human condition. And the only way to do that is by forming deep bonds with the people whose stories you’re trying to tell. The two stories that come to mind are:
Filming with recently rescued child slaves. Knowing when to have the cameras on and when not to. We couldn’t communicate verbally because we didn’t speak each other’s respective languages, but we still found ways to connect. There were some incredibly intimate moments as they relived the trauma of their past to rediscover their childhood, that I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed and captured that on film.
When I was editing Kobe Bryant’s Muse, he didn’t want to keep the scene of his childhood in Italy. It dealt with some of the early issues he had with his father, and he was worried about having to deal with questions about it in the press. To me, it was the most important part of the film. It was his origin story, what lead to the Mamba mythology we all know today. I walked into his office and pleaded with him to reconsider. He said, “The scene’s not good enough yet, but you’ve been working your ass off and I respect that, so I’ll give you half an hour to go recut it and then I’ll come take a look and give you a final answer. But just know that my mind’s already made.” He came in a half-hour later and watched the recut scene with Rob Pelinka, hit me on the shoulder and said, “You motherfucker. I was all ready to pull it, but the scene stays.” One of my proudest moments as a filmmaker.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. It’s ok to not have all the answers all of the time. As a director, you’re answering questions all day, every day, from every department. In my early days, I thought I needed all the answers. But I’ve learned when to say “I don’t know” or when to:
2. Lean on your collaborators. Often the best ideas come from the people you surround yourself with. In documentary especially, you come up doing a lot yourself. For years, I was shooting, cutting, producing and directing… so it took some time to trust other people as much as I trusted myself. But when I finally started doing so, I realized how much better my work became. I’m always looking for collaborators who think like me, can take my ideas, inject their own and ultimately make the final product better than if I’d gone at it alone.
3. Failure is a crucial part of the creative process. Especially in documentaries. I fail all. the. time. In nearly every step of the filmmaking process. It’s about learning from what doesn’t work, and not getting down on yourself to find the formula that does.
4. You care about your project more than anyone else ever can. Trust your gut, stand up for yourself and fight for the integrity of your work.
5. Just because you don’t have tangible progress you can show at the end of a workday, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a productive day. Especially in the early days of an edit, I have to remind myself to let that anxiety go when I’m not making good progress. Sometimes reading a book or watching a movie for inspiration is and should be considered work.
When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?
All of the aforementioned forces factor into the final product in a big way, but the largest impact has to be your own vision. Financiers are generally buying into your vision from the outset. They’ll weigh in along the way, and when you find good partners, they will usually have productive notes that make your show better. For HEIST, I can say confidently that Netflix made the show better with their notes. They supported the creative vision that we pitched from day one but offered ideas along the way that were very good.
I always create with the audience in mind… I want to reach as many people as I can, but that goes hand in hand with the overarching vision. Heist stories are inherently slick, and I knew we were going to inject a ton of style into the show — that was always part of the plan — but, I wanted to stay true to myself and what I care about as a storyteller. That’s why we landed on the two-episode format. It allowed us to dig beneath the surface and tell deeply nuanced human portraits. It allowed me to have some fun as a filmmaker but explore larger themes at the same time. Fun true crime, with a whole lot of heart.
Finally, I don’t think you can think too much about critics while you’re creating. It will only cloud your vision. Just stay true to yourself and make things that are meaningful to you, that inspire you, that make you excited and proud about the work. You’ll rarely please everyone. Let the chips fall where they may.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Just be kind to one another. Respect one another. We’re all human. We all want the same things… happiness, success, love. Find the common good in your neighbor.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)
Larry David. Top of my bucket list is to get into a petty argument with him, so we’d probably bicker about who’s gonna pick up the tab and it would make me very happy.
How can our readers further follow you online?
IG: @gummysharks
derekdoneen.com
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Thank you so much!
