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INTERVIEW WITH RORY KENNEDY
HBO: Why did you decide to make this film?
RORY:I had been interested in how the decrease in federal support to social service programs was going to impact the lives of children in need. We met the Threadgill family and were told that Robert, the 7-year-old child, suffered from depression, ADD, ADHD among other disorders and was not getting the necessary help. Soon, it became evident that Robert was not the only one in the Threadgill family to suffer from such disorders; that his mother and grandmother were also affected. The situation was further complicated by the fact that the mother, Robanna, and grandmother, Anna, were fighting for custody of Robert and his younger brother, Benji. Throughout the filming, we became increasingly aware of how mental abuse, poverty and geographic isolation were each playing a part in the family's dysfunction.
While the film strayed quite a bit from my initial vision, I think it is richer for it. And it is my hope that the film successfully touches upon a number of very important issues - issues that have not often been captured in such an intimate way
HBO: Why did you choose this particular family?
RORY: We started off talking to a number of different social service organizations and agencies that were involved in cases of children with mental illness. After an early phone conversation with Dr. Virginia Fee, Robert's therapist, we visited Eupora and met the Threadgill family. We were originally planning on profiling three or four families in the documentary, but they were the very first family that we met and seemed so interesting on their own, that we ended up spending two years with them exclusively.
HBO: Ultimately this film takes on more life than the initial custody battle over Robert. What other important issues do you see this film raising?
RORY: On a broad level, I think it also raises questions about the criteria under which social service programs decide to intervene. I think it becomes evident throughout the course of the film that while Robert's abuse is not physical, a very troubling mental abuse is going unchecked. I also think the film raises important questions about poverty and the kind of options available to dysfunctional or handicapped families with little financial means.
HBO: Robanna and Anna are both single mothers. Is this a significant issue in the film?
RORY: The town of Eupora, Mississippi is small, numbering only about 2,300, with 20% of the population being from broken families with little to no male presence. I think there are so many women today who are raising children alone and rely on extended family for support. A BOY'S LIFE illuminates how relying on extended family is not always the best option for women and, sometimes, can be quite damaging.
Thankfully, Robert did not fall through the safety net - he was caught by his teachers, his therapist, and social service programs. But Robert's mother, Robanna, who is a single mother of two, has a very difficult time coping. I think she evolves from when we meet her at the beginning of the film. She had suffered from mental, physical and sexual abuse and seemed to me to have very low self-esteem. She had a difficult time fending for herself. But, by the end of the film, she's able to look inward and discover a new sense of purpose, pride and self-worth. I think her story line certainly touches on single parenting and what it means to live in a rural community without a lot of jobs or resources for women.
HBO: Robert's been through a lot for a seven year old; do you think the exposure from being the subject of a documentary influenced his behavior in any way?
RORY: With verité documentaries, you always want to feel you are a fly on the wall, not having much influence on the actions that you film. But I don't think it's ever fully the case. In this particular documentary, even though it was a small crew (myself and Nick Doob), I think we did have an impact on the situation. For one thing, I think the filming had a positive influence on Robert and Robanna who both seemed to suffer from a lack of self worth. I believe having a camera crew just listen to their story was an enormously affirming experience for both of them.
HBO: When family therapist Dr. Fee first proposed that Robert's problems were related to being in his grandmother's care, did you realize the course of the film would change?
RORY: It did take me awhile to realize the trajectory of the film. When most audiences see the beginning of the film, they feel reassured that Robert is in the care of his grandmother, and that was my experience too. Most audiences feel differently by the end of the film. I also changed my opinion during the course of filming.
HBO: What do you think were the main influences in providing Robert with a more stable and promising life?
RORY: The school was really an extraordinary influence. Eupora Elementary became a beacon of safety for young Robert that proved crucial to his mental stability. The principal, and his teachers played a very important role in enabling Robert to turn his life around. I also feel that Robert's therapist helped him work through some very difficult psychological issues that were driving a lot of his behavior. And Robanna, Robert's mother, grows throughout the course of the film and emerges as the parent Robert always loved and very much needed.
In 1999, Kennedy's film AMERICAN HOLLOW was broadcast as part of HBO's America Undercover series and was nominated for a Non-Fiction Primetime Emmy® Award. Kennedy also directed for HBO's America Undercover, THE EXECUTION OF WANDA JEAN, about the final life and death battle of Wanda Jean Allen, the first black woman in America to be executed in modern times. Kennedy most recently directed and produced, PANDEMIC: FACING AIDS which premiered as a 5-part series on HBO in June, 2003. This remarkable series follows the lives of five people living with AIDS in different regions of the world and uses their experiences to put faces behind the numbers and to connect audiences with the heartache and triumph of living under the extreme conditions that AIDS enforces.
Read more about Rory Kennedy and her work at
Moxie Firecracker Inc.
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