Producer Olivia Lichtenstein: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker

It makes me proud when a film has the effect of promoting change or increasing understanding. I made a film in the ’90s about drug mules, women from Nigeria who were driven by financial necessity to carry drugs into the UK, often unaware of what they were doing and what the possible repercussions might be — long UK prison sentences separated from their children. As a result of the film, which raised awareness for women, Nigeria stopped being used as a route for drug trafficking. I’m proud when I can help people, who might otherwise not have the opportunity, use their voices and be heard.

As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Olivia Lichtenstein.

BAFTA Award-winning producer Olivia Lichtenstein had a distinguished career at BBC Television before becoming a freelance documentary and drama producer/director and journalist. She lives in unalloyed bliss with her husband–who does not hide everyday objects in obscure places–and their two children in West London. Olivia’s latest film, THE LAST MOUNTAIN, directed by Chris Terrill and produced by Litchenstein and Emmy Award-winning producer Julia Nottingham, is now available to rent or own on digital platforms.

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?

I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to London, England with my parents and brother when I was 7, so I always say I’m a Londoner, but not really English. I read Russian at University and spent a year in St. Petersburg as a student, I then did my Masters at UCLA on a Fulbright Scholarship and, when I returned to London, got a job with ABC News in their London bureau when Peter Jennings was the anchor. After a brief stint as a reporter at TV-am, I joined the BBC where I worked for 18 years making documentary films before becoming editor of BBC ONE’s flagship documentary strand, Inside Story. I left the BBC in 2002 and have since worked freelance, making documentaries, directing TV drama and writing articles for national newspapers and magazines and two novels.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I’ve always enjoyed telling stories and always been intensely curious about people. An early reader, it wasn’t long before I started writing my own stories and the ability to use pictures as well as words seemed like a natural progression, so filmmaking is something that just seemed to develop organically and felt somehow pre-ordained.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?

My first job at BBC Television many years ago was to make a documentary series in the former Soviet Union. I was on a collective farm in Krasnodar in Southern Russia, being driven at breakneck speed in a Troika (a carriage drawn by three horses) by the enthusiastic farm director while he forced me to drink mare’s milk — not something I would recommend, but unforgettable nonetheless. More recently, I made a film about Teddy Pendergrass (Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me, available on Showtime) and reunited his band, The Teddy Bear Orchestra to play together for the first time in 35 years — it was so moving and they were so good!

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

Documentary filmmaking has to be one of the most interesting jobs going. I’ve had the good fortune to travel all over the world and to meet people from all walks of life; from members of the British Royal family to famous performers and so-called ordinary people who lead extraordinary lives. I’ve spent time with inmates on death row in the United States; in orphanages in Russia; with patients in Broadmoor, Britain’s high-security psychiatric hospital; in mansions and in palaces and had the privilege of helping people tell their stories in order to try and understand what it is to be a human being: what binds us and what separates us and how can we learn from each other and expose injustice.

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?

When I joined the BBC in 1983, I had the very good fortune to have documentary filmmaker, Richard Denton as my boss. He gave me the chance to produce and direct three of the films in the series Comrades, about life in the Soviet Union. I quizzed him relentlessly in my bid to learn the craft and he was a generous and excellent teacher. He remains one of my closest friends to this day.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

‘Always trust your instincts’ — Every time I haven’t I’ve regretted it. Particularly in filmmaking, if you think you need another shot, make sure you get it and, when shooting drama, if you think you need another take, do it — if you don’t you’ll be sorry in the edit. Trusting your instincts doesn’t just apply to work, it’s very important in all areas of one’s life.

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?

The problem of lack of diversity in film and television is at last getting the attention that it so richly deserves and which is long overdue. As a woman in the industry, I have had to work very hard to be taken seriously and to have a seat at the table. I can’t tell you how often men’s needs used to be (and still are) prioritised over women’s; as if what they are doing is somehow intrinsically more important. I remember so many meetings where I would say something and be ignored and a man would then say the exact same thing, only for someone to say, ‘that’s a very good point.’ I used to want to scream, ‘that is exactly what I just said; is my voice so high that only dogs can hear it?’

We still have a long way to go, especially as regards racial diversity. I was born in Apartheid South Africa, where my parents were political activists committed to fighting the system and I am appalled by how long it is taking for systems to change and for all human beings, whomever and wherever they are, to be included and able to share their stories. We are all enriched by inclusion and must cease to persist in attempting to dominate other peoples and cultures. Just think what we’ve been missing for so long and how unjust and impoverishing it is for us all if we can’t join our voices together and respect each other. TV and Film can be so influential — it’s vital that we have diversity represented both behind and in front of camera.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’ve just produced a film, The Last Mountain, working with director, Chris Terrill (someone I’ve worked with a great deal over the last 30 years) which tells the unforgettable story of the 30-year-old climber, Tom Ballard who disappeared on the so-called killer mountain, Nanga Parbat, in 2019. It’s now showing on Amazon, AppleTV and numerous other platforms. Chris and I are now working on a great story about a young man called Tito, whom we made a film about in 2000, when he was 11 years old. He is from India, is severely autistic and a great writer. He’s been living in the US for the past 20 years with his mother, Soma who is an extraordinary woman and has managed to open up the world to him — she’s a tigress and has pioneered ways to reach people with autism. We’re seeking funding for this film at the moment and want to portray the world as Tito sees it.

Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?

It makes me proud when a film has the effect of promoting change or increasing understanding. I made a film in the ’90s about drug mules, women from Nigeria who were driven by financial necessity to carry drugs into the UK, often unaware of what they were doing and what the possible repercussions might be — long UK prison sentences separated from their children. As a result of the film, which raised awareness for women, Nigeria stopped being used as a route for drug trafficking. I’m proud when I can help people, who might otherwise not have the opportunity, use their voices and be heard.

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. Build a great team. Early in my career, a friend told me that you need to get really good people around you and then stay out of their way! He was joking, but it is true that it’s really important in filmmaking to have a great team as it’s such a collaborative venture. I have a kind of film family and usually work with the same cameraman, Richard Ranken and sound recordist, Kuz Randhawa and editor, Jamie Hay. They are brilliant and we know each other so well and no-one’s egos get in the way of our shared endeavour.
2. Be Prepared. Make sure you know your stuff — I was once sent on an assignment when I was a young TV reporter and no-one had briefed me on the story I was covering. I was meeting the then Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Sir Sonny Ramphal and had to do some pretty nifty footwork to discern why I was there without him cottoning on to my ignorance. I got away with it, but It was an uncomfortable experience, which I made sure not to repeat.
3. Own it. If you make a mistake, own up to it, don’t just hope that no-one will notice. It’s almost unbelievable, but my very first day at the BBC, I overslept and my new boss had to call me up to ask where I was! Rather than inventing an elaborate excuse, I immediately confessed to my sleeping crime and rushed into work — now a close friend, he’s teased me about it ever since.
4. Feel the Fear. Filmmaking can feel high risk sometimes, you have to approach people who may not want to talk and try and persuade them to cooperate with you. I adopt the swan approach — always very calm on the outside, however much it may feel that my feet are paddling furiously below the water’s surface. Trying to persuade HRH Prince Philip to let you carry on filming when he’d rather you stopped in the face of his piercing, blue-eyed gaze was not for the timid. He won that one, I’m afraid! Trying to persuade Teddy Pendergrass’ bodyguard to give me an interview for the film I was making about Teddy was sticky (he had his reasons) and he put the phone down on me. He came round in the end (because the other rule is Never Give Up), we got on famously and he gave me a great interview.
5. Be Flexible. When you’re making documentaries, all sorts of unexpected things can happen and you need to come up with alternatives fast. That shot you’ve been waiting for since dawn fails to materialise and it’s no use belly-aching about it. You have to think on your feet, tell the crew it’s a DFI situation — Different F******* Idea and come up with a Plan B. This happens so often that I can’t even come up with a specific example!

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?

This has to be your own artistic vision otherwise you’re just a pair of hands doing someone else’s work. Making films is hard work and requires obsessive dedication and passion, you can’t do it well if you’re not doing it from the heart. Of course you have conversations with people and hear what they have to say, and if their suggestions are good, you’d be a fool not to take them onboard, but if what they’re asking doesn’t sit well with you and makes you feel inauthentic, you can’t agree to it. This is why it’s important to choose your partners well and work with people you respect and admire. You also have a responsibility to the people you’re making the film about too and need to honour their trust and the integrity of that relationship.

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. :-)

Wow, this is a hard one. I think with all the awful things that are currently happening in the world, it’s so hard to understand why people can’t get around a table and really talk to each other; find common ground and reach agreement. It’s unfathomable that we fail to learn the harsh lessons of history. I think I’d like to form a Be Kind movement — it sounds a bit corny, I know, but last year, I was quite ill and as I was lying in my hospital bed, I thought that the most important thing in life is to be kind.

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. :-)

Oprah Winfrey — I’d love to find a project to do with her. She is so impressive and has used her power and influence so effectively. I was at a BAFTA Q&A in London after the screening of a film she was involved in a few years ago and she was so interesting and articulate and seemed so approachable, I had to stop myself from going up to her to ask her to be my friend.

How can our readers further follow you online?

I’m on Twitter and Instagram @olichtenstein but I’m not all that active on social media, I prefer real-life interaction.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!