{"id":14498,"date":"2017-01-20T22:08:45","date_gmt":"2017-01-21T06:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=14498"},"modified":"2019-09-06T10:24:44","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T18:24:44","slug":"filmmaker-james-solomon-witness","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/filmmaker-james-solomon-witness\/","title":{"rendered":"Filmmaker James Solomon Peels Back the Mythology of the Kitty Genovese Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Bill\n

The Witness<\/em> <\/a>\u00a0may be James Solomon’s first film as director, but his vast experience as a storyteller made him the perfect fit for reopening this case. The Witness<\/em>, which made the Oscar shortlist<\/a>,\u00a0took 11 years to make, patiently following Kitty Genovese’s brother Bill’s dogged search for the truth about her harrowing murder in 1964, as it turned into a personal obsession. Solomon’s previous projects helped develop his skill at revisiting historical cases with a new eye. This includes writing the screenplay for\u00a0The Conspirator<\/i><\/a>, directed by Robert Redford, the script for which he received the Humanitas Prize; and serving as lead writer and executive producer of ESPN’s critically-acclaimed mini-series, The Bronx Is Burning<\/i><\/a>, which, like The Witness<\/i>, is about a seminal moment in New York City history. While the story in The Witness<\/em> may be fifty years old, it very much has a resonance today, especially in light of the things discovered along the way.<\/p>\n

Richard Brody<\/a> of The New Yorker<\/em>, who named it one of the best films of 2016,\u00a0wrote, “This extraordinary documentary looks at one of the most infamous of all modern crime stories through the focus of another genre, the personal documentary. [It]\u00a0raises questions of wider and present-day import regarding the penal system, police procedure, domestic violence, and journalistic ethics.”<\/p>\n

Solomon took time out from his busy slate to talk to us about making this film, including about the new feature film adaptation of this story, working with great filmmakers, countering false narratives, and collaborating with Kitty Genovese’s brother for more than 10 years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When did you first learn about the Kitty Genovese case? Growing up in New York, did your family talk about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although I grew up in New York City during the 1970s, I was unaware of the case and how much the narrative \u2013 38 neighbors watched, none helped \u2013 helped to define not only NYC but all of urban America as both dangerous and apathetic. My fascination with the story of Kitty Genovese began in the late 1990s when Andrew Blauner, a literary agent and close friend, handed me a copy of Thirty-Eight Witnesses<\/a><\/em>, the seminal account of the case written by The New York Times<\/em>\u2019 legendary editor A.M. Rosenthal. (Rosenthal is credited with having first uncovered the iconic story of Kitty\u2019s murder.) I had no way of knowing years later that I\u2019d end up making a film which debunks Rosenthal\u2019s book. Ironically, I wrote the foreword for the most recent edition of Thirty-Eight Witnesses<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"The

The Witness<\/em> filmmaker James Solomon<\/p><\/div>\n

Where do you think The Witness<\/em> fits in with your previous work as a writer? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been drawn to writing iconic stories and characters we think <\/em>we know from the assassination of President Lincoln (The Conspirator<\/em>) to George Steinbrenner\u2019s New York Yankees (The Bronx is Burning<\/em>). In particular, I am interested in peeling away the mythology to reveal the real people who actually lived these moments \u2013 be it as parents, siblings, lovers\u2026<\/p>\n

The Witness<\/em> began as a screenplay but I came to realize there had been far too much fictionalizing of this story \u2013 including by the media that covered it. I determined the best way for me to tell this story would be to document those who were the most impacted by Kitty Genovese\u2019s death and life \u2013 none more so than her younger brother Bill.<\/p>\n

Thematically there are some parallels with The Conspirator<\/em> and some of your other work; how do you think it fits in with the things you are most compelled to make films about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had an inspiring English teacher who taught a seminar called \u201cDramas of Conscience.\u201d We read masterworks like Robert Bolt\u2019s A Man for All Seasons <\/em>and Jean Anouilh\u2019s Antigone<\/em>, which feature individuals confronted with life-defining moral choices. These are the kinds of stories and characters that most interest me as both a viewer and storyteller.\u00a0The Conspirator <\/em>is a drama of conscience set within the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.\u00a0A Union war hero\/lawyer is tasked with defending a Southern woman charged with conspiring to murder President Lincoln, his Vice President and Secretary of State.\u00a0Fact-based, the story revolves around the attorney\u2019s conflicting allegiance to the Union, his family, career \u2013 and conscience.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, the murder of Kitty Genovese is the ultimate drama of conscience. Dozens of her neighbors were confronted with a moral choice: do I help or not?<\/em>\u00a0 The most reputable news organizations reported that the answer was uniformly \u201cno.\u201d As a result, Kitty\u2019s death grabbed hold of our collective conscience and became a call to action. A half-century later, it still compels us to ask: What do we owe each other?<\/em><\/p>\n

My work is also about acts of great heroism borne of devotion and love. The Witness<\/em> has been likened to true crime mysteries like Making a Murderer<\/em> and Serial<\/em> but, at its heart, it is a sibling love story. It portrays a brother\u2019s relentless determination to reclaim Kitty Genovese\u2019s forgotten life from her infamous death.<\/p>\n