Nick Broomfield filmography

[on Soldier Girls (1981)] Joan [co-director Joan Churchill] and I went through Basic Training for 14 Show more [on Soldier Girls (1981)] Joan [co-director Joan Churchill] and I went through Basic Training for 14 weeks. Frederick Wiseman lent us a tape recorder. D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus lent us a cutting room. We only got funding after it was shot. We both lost 20 pounds making it -- it was so hot. Hide

[on The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife (1991)] We lived in Ventersdorp in the Transvaal i Show more [on The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife (1991)] We lived in Ventersdorp in the Transvaal in a remote farmhouse. Barry's son was born while he was shooting the film. Barry [cinemtographer Barry Ackroyd] and Riete [producer Rieta Oord] are very charismatic and likable, I always think the people you work with have an enormous effect on the final film and the way your subjects respond to you. Hide

I was taught by someone who loved observational films where people are made to feel completely adequ Show more I was taught by someone who loved observational films where people are made to feel completely adequate about the way they are. That is what makes an insightful film. Hide

[on Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992)] CH4, who financed it, at first hated it w Show more [on Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992)] CH4, who financed it, at first hated it when it was filmed. Rieta Oord and I believed it mirrored our experience and refused to change it. They wanted experts in white coats giving their opinions, to make it more objective. It fortunately won the Royal Television Society Award. Hide

[on Who Cares (1971)] The first film I ever made. Borrowed the camera, got 'short ends' of film for Show more [on Who Cares (1971)] The first film I ever made. Borrowed the camera, got 'short ends' of film for free and set out with my friend Pete Archard to Liverpool. Pete is a sociologist and knew the subject really well. Took three months to shoot. Bernice Rubens the novelist helped me to piece it together. It took me one and a half years working nights to cut this 18 minute film. Sir Arthur Elton and the director Bruce Beresford got me £200 to finish it at the British Film Institute. Hide

My advice for first-time filmmakers: don't sit around waiting for the money to come your way; it's m Show more My advice for first-time filmmakers: don't sit around waiting for the money to come your way; it's much easier to go out and start. Nowadays, you can go out and shoot very inexpensively and discover whether or not filmmaking is your thing.[2014] Hide

Chaos is a creative place to work from. Chaos is a creative place to work from.

[on Driving Me Crazy (1988)] The first film I ever appeared in. I was so desperate in this out-of-co Show more [on Driving Me Crazy (1988)] The first film I ever appeared in. I was so desperate in this out-of-control situation that it was the only way I could think of telling the story. Rob Levi was an enormous support. It's a miracle it ever got finished. Hide

Dennis Potter once said watching my films was like watching somebody on the toilet. Strangely enough Show more Dennis Potter once said watching my films was like watching somebody on the toilet. Strangely enough, I think the same could be said about him. Hide

A film is a portrait of an aspect of society. A film is a portrait of an aspect of society.

It's like watching a schoolboy's fantasy of violence and sex, which normally Quentin Tarantino would Show more It's like watching a schoolboy's fantasy of violence and sex, which normally Quentin Tarantino would be wanking alone to in his bedroom while this mother is making his baked beans downstairs. Only this time he's got Harvey Weinstein behind him and it's on at a million screens. Hide

I'd never use "middle-class" as a term for describing someone. It's so meaningless. So bland. I'd never use "middle-class" as a term for describing someone. It's so meaningless. So bland.

[on Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)] In LA, it's strange that there are actually two cities - the s Show more [on Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)] In LA, it's strange that there are actually two cities - the super wealthy one and the other city which you don't go into, where the poor people live - and there's a complete abandonment of that part of the city. They don't interact at all. Lonnie's case bizarrely shows what happens when you abandon a people and they're no longer a functional part of the community. You get these kind of situations where it is possible for someone in a 25 year period to kill probably over a 100 people and not be caught by a police force because those people are not a political priority. So I thought it was fascinating and I wanted to meet Lonnie's friends and the other people in the community because I wanted to put a human face on this situation.[2015] Hide

[on films that inspire him] The Pink Panther (1963), Citizen Kane (1941), Titicut Follies (1967), Do Show more [on films that inspire him] The Pink Panther (1963), Citizen Kane (1941), Titicut Follies (1967), Dont Look Back (1967), La nuit américaine (1973).[2014] Hide

[on Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)] I think documentaries are so good at creating empathy between Show more [on Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)] I think documentaries are so good at creating empathy between an audience and situations that they don't know anything about. There's this real belief that people in South Central are like the bogeymen, that if you go there you're going to get shot. And I think what I like about a film is that these people come across as charismatic likable people, you have empathy for them, and they deserve a better deal than what they've been getting. And I think that's first and foremost what the film does. I think what the documentary does in terms of finding information that the police should've done just sort of underlines the fact that the police force is completely inefficient.[2015] Hide