讲真实的故事
Sheena Joyce, 98年 has mastered 的 art of 的 must-watch documentary.
While interviewing Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce for an eponymous documentary, 制作人Sheena M. 1998年的乔伊斯遇到了困难, 说垃圾话的大个子在镜头前情绪激动, 露出不常被看到的一面.
这不足为奇. 大家都说这是乔伊斯的作案手法. 我做了20年的纪录片, 的 47-year-old 布林莫尔 College English major—and 的 Philadelphia-based 9.14岁的照片 production company she co-owns 与 business and life partner Don Argott, 51—have built a reputation for revealing 的 humanity of 的ir varied subjects.
That includes a Le Cordon Bleu–trained chef who divulges 的 rough start when she left home at 17 (In 的 厨房 与 哈利 哈姆林); a larger-bodied burlesque dancer who shares how her mo的r “broke her” self-confidence as a child over her weight (厚 皮肤); and 的 football player who tears up while recounting that day in 2018 when Philly threw its winning Super Bowl team a parade (Kelce). 最后一部电影, which follows Kelce as he weighs retirement even as 的 underdog Eagles head to Super Bowl LVII, is 的 most-watched documentary ever on Amazon’s Prime Video in 的 United 州, 第一次亮相. 2023年1人，抚养9人.14图片简介.
“We love telling intimate, personal stories, many of which seem hidden in plain sight,她说。.“这都是关于故事和角色的.”
It’s also about Joyce and her ability to build 的 trust that gets those characters to share 的ir real selves in front of cameras. 的5-foot-1, red-headed dynamo 与 an infectious laugh comes across as 的 down-to-earth, 永远风度翩翩的邻家女孩, even in 的 glittery gold Louboutin spike heels that she walks around in on this November day at 的 Callowhill office in a nondescript building.
饰演蕾妮·吉尔博, 这位受过传统训练的厨师也是哈里·哈姆林的侄女, puts it: A Joyce interview is like “a fireside chat 与 your bestie, 减去酒精.在射击时, 阿尔戈特摆弄着摄像机, while Joyce asked questions and held court behind 的 video monitor, suggesting shots as 哈姆林 and his niece cooked for family and friends at his Beverly Hills house. 的 In 的 厨房 与 哈利 哈姆林 Christmas special aired in December 2023 and will continue as a five-part series later this year on cable channel IFC.
“我不觉得自己是在舞台上,吉尔博说, “or doing anything o的r than being barefoot in Uncle 哈利’s kitchen.”
哈姆林同意. “你笑,” 他说 of 的 special that boiled down 20-plus hours of footage to a 22-minute story of family and food. “你哭. 你会学到一些关于食物的知识. 如何不切洋葱.” This last comment refers to a segment where 哈姆林’s less-than-masterful hacking is captured in a close-up, earning a shake of 的 head from 的 chef—的 kind of unrehearsed, 这个有趣的时刻充斥着该公司的大部分作品.
这种真实性在去年的纪录片中也有所体现 厚 皮肤, says Ka的rine Dore, vice president of creative for AMC Networks. “我认为希娜以一种非常真实的方式展示了自己的脆弱,她说。, recalling how Joyce shared stories of her own family members’ struggles 与 obesity 与 的 subjects, “所以人们认为他们可以对她敞开心扉…….我们都被人们的诚实所折服. 这确实证明了她的面试技巧."
代表项目, 性别监察小组, touted 的 production as “a must-watch for 的 powerful insights and storytelling.”
Dore says Joyce’s successes stem from a rare combination of compassion and curiosity, 还带点幽默, 这很符合她的面试风格.
在一个生动的场景中, 一个小男孩和他的妈妈正在拆杂货, 当他告诉她如果她吃了所有的卷心菜, 然后她会变胖.”
“Oh, 的re’s nothing wrong 与 chunky, honey,” 的 mo的r says, even as 的 child persists.
Argott ascribes his “o的r half’s” ability to peel away 的 armor to something innate. “她一直都是那样的人, 她和某人见面两秒钟的地方, 他们告诉她他们的内心, 黑暗的秘密, 他说. “这是她作为一个人的样子."
就乔伊斯而言，她把很大一部分功劳归功于布林·莫尔. "It's amazing how much a liberal arts education will serve you later in life,她谈到自己的学业时说, “对很多事情都知道一点. 我想是布林·莫尔教会了我如何写作， ...如何更批判性地思考. Both help me in how I conduct interviews and craft questions and approach subjects."
起初, 虽然, 的 younger daughter of a middle school English teacher dad and AstraZeneca data coordinator mom found 布林莫尔 a world apart from growing up in working-class Aston, Pa. "I was overwhelmed by feeling small in comparison to my classmates,这位前勤工俭学学生说. “我没有国际经验, 我有很多同龄人的社会经验. 我觉得自己有点力不从心."
That quickly changed as she made friends––several lifelong––and interned at local television stations, 尝试一下广播新闻, 尤其是生产方面. “布林·莫尔帮我找到了自己的声音，”她说.
毕业后不久, Joyce landed at 的 Greater Philadelphia Film Office as assistant to executive director Sharon Pinkenson. It was a behind-的-scenes deep dive into production that cemented her interest in film and first introduced her to Argott, 谁和另一个商业伙伴有一个制作公司. 当那个合伙人想搬到洛杉矶时.A.，阿尔戈特决定留在费城，成立了9.14岁的照片. By 的n, he and Joyce were living toge的r and would eventually have a daughter, Maeve, now 10.
“Every night, he’d come home and talk about a new project,她说。. “我会看他带回家的录像. 我会为他第二天的采访写问题. 我会和他一起去拍摄.”
“我们互为补充，”阿尔戈特说. 乔伊斯离开电影公司加入了9.14岁的照片. 从一开始, 她是一个善于交际的人, Argott补充道, maintaining relationships over 的 couple of years it can take to make a film and beyond.
“的re are lots of Christmas cards we get from past subjects,她说。.
和你的生活伴侣如此亲密地工作是什么感觉?
“I’ve said many times, ‘It’s a beautiful nightmare,’” Joyce says. “We have all kinds of disagreements on how things should get done, 谁应该带头, 在剪辑室里，场景应该怎么剪, 一切. 但最终，我觉得它能制造出更好的产品.”
Argott agrees: “We’re both strong-willed people and we both want what we want. 与此同时，你必须找到共同点.”
对乔伊斯来说，她的自信很大程度上来自她的大学生活. “我学会了更加相信自己，”她说. “我学会了如何贪婪地好奇. I learned I can move in circles and rooms that may not be my own and still be comfortable in 的m.”
这体现在该公司的电影记录中. In 2005, 岩石 学校, 的 pair’s first feature-length documentary about a group of unlikely would-be rock star adolescents, 首次亮相就获得了好评如潮. 从那以后，他们似乎解决了所有问题. 体育. 肥胖. 令人满意. 核反应堆(的 原子 州 of 美国, 2012). 真实罪案(斯佩克特, 2022). 和更多的. In 2009, 的 艺术 of 的 偷, about 的 Barnes Foundation’s controversial move, landed on Roger Ebert’s list of best docs. 2018年 信徒, about Mormon rock star Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons taking on 的 Church of Latter Day Saints over LGBTQ+ rights, 在圣丹斯开幕.
“You never know 与 whom or where you’ll be from one project to 的 next,她说。. “我们非常努力地不被归类……. 共同的主题是一个具有难以置信的访问权限的好故事, 尽可能真实地讲述别人的故事.”