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HBO: Tell us about ANCHOR And how you became involved with this project?
Matthew Makar: ANCHOR is this incredible Long Island-based program for the disabled.
Their main feature is a summer camp on the beaches of the south shore of Long Island. They also have a sports program, a drama program, fitness program, bowling, dances, and other social functions. It is a world that for some of the participants is their entire life. I became involved in the summer of my freshman year of high school. I volunteered at the summer camp in the junior camp. Ironically, Chris Ledour who plays the Mayor of Munchkin City was in my group. He is still the same as he was back then.
When I graduated college five years ago I helped start a sports program with the staff at ANCHOR. I was the only volunteer on the staff at sports.
They tried to pay me each week and every week I declined even though I was barely getting by as a production assistant. I felt it would be wrong for me to take money for something like this. It was a way for me to spend some time with my brother and all of the participants who I became very close to.
One day my brother announced at the dinner table "I am quitting my acting career because I was cast as an ompa lumpa" in ANCHOR's production of Willy Wonka. I responded to my brother and said "If you stay involved I will film you and screen the performance in a movie theatre for you and all of your friends as a 30th birthday present." My friends and I filmed the performance on Super 16 film. I then needed to edit the play for them.
I called Keith Rondinelli (Co-director and Editor of Yellow Brick Road) and asked if he could cut a trailer so I could raise some money to complete this birthday present. We both agreed that ANCHOR Drama would make a great subject for a documentary film but we needed to get the whole entire five month process captured on film. Keith agreed to co-direct and edit the film. ANCHOR agreed to allow me to film the documentary. I then found a job at a camera rental house in NYC and it was there where the sound and cameras were provided. I also cashed in savings bonds and cracked a Mastercard into pieces because I was charging everything on the card. With some additional help of some friends and family, Keith and I began production on Yellow Brick Road.
HBO: How did you gain the trust of the individuals in the production?
Matthew Makar: I knew most of the cast prior to filming from my days of volunteering at ANCHOR and working with the Special Olympics. The rest of the group knew that I was Danny's brother so that helped a lot as far as trust was concerned. We weren't this outside film crew invading on their acting group. Keith and I selected a crew that were all very friendly and respectful towards the actors. We used a verite approach in the filming process. Also a lot of the actors were complete hams when there was a camera in front of them.
HBO:
What was that process like?
Matthew Makar: The process was extremely intense for us. Neither Keith nor I had ever made a film before. Almost everything was a first time experience and we learned quickly what worked and what didn't work. We would take the LIRR from midtown every Wednesday with the equipment over each shoulder. We would be carrying cases upon cases through rush hour in Penn Station hoping not to get stopped and checked by police and military personnel, otherwise we would have been late getting to the rehearsal. We were only allowed access once ANCHOR staff was in the building. We would then have 20 minutes or less to set up all of our equipment. We used two DVX 100 DV cameras and we had two audio techs or friends who would hold a boom. I would walk around and find the stories or sometimes the stories would find us and unfold in front of the camera. We would shoot for 3 hours straight with out any break. We tried to get the most footage possible. Early on we knew who our main focuses were going to be. It was just a matter of getting enough footage to make them the main components of the film. We decided to go home with these main characters and film them outside of the theatre. It was like we attended "Al Maysles" documentary boot camp and it was the greatest experience I could have expected out of this process. Keith and I learned so much from this process that it became our film school.
HBO: The cast and crew of the production overcame many challenges and difficulties in mounting the show. What was the greatest difficulty or challenge you faced in documenting it?
Matthew Makar: I think our greatest difficulty was creating our story during the editing process. Keith and I sat down with about 160 hours worth of material. We logged every piece of footage and made this spread-sheet highlighting all of our material. We then began to piece the story together. We really wanted to make a documentary that wasn't like any of the conventional documentaries about the disabled. We wanted to celebrate their lives through this film. We were concerned with some of the funny scenes, which we felt might come off as exploitative. But we felt that if they were all laughing in the film then why shouldn't the audience share in that moment. We really wanted to make a film about the disabled that made you walk away with a feeling of happiness and appreciation for their accomplishments in life.
HBO: What was the most rewarding aspect of making the film?
Matthew Makar: I would have to say the most rewarding aspect was when Keith and I sat in a room with the main actors from the program, and their families, and watched the documentary for the first time. It was an incredible feeling to see all of them enjoy something we had worked so hard to bring to them. They would go from extreme laughter to tears and back to laughter. Keith and I watched the joy they all got out of seeing themselves on screen. This is the biggest thing to ever happen in all of their lives, and I am glad that we have provided them with it.
Also, the other day my brother and I were watching the commercial air on HBO. Just watching his reaction to seeing himself on TV was one of the most rewarding moments I have had. It's not everyday that he's on a television commercial. This is one of the highlights of his life. He thinks he's ready to become this big Hollywood actor. It's incredible for me, the legacy that I have created for my brother. While we were at the Full Frame Festival I noticed a crowd of people getting autographs. In the middle of that crowd was my brother Danny. I wasn't surprised that he was giving out autographs. This is his moment and he's embracing it to the fullest just like he does everything else in life.
HBO: What are the stigmas and stereotypes about people with disabilities?
Matthew Makar: When I was a child growing up with my brother Danny who has Down syndrome, I just viewed him as my older brother and never really realized that he was different from the other kids. One day we were eating in a restaurant and kids were pointing and laughing at him. I feel that there are so many people out there that have no idea of the capabilities of the disabled.
I've heard so many people say "Hey your brother has Down syndrome, I'm sorry to hear that he's in a wheel chair." No actually my brother goes to work and dances and has more of a life than most people out there. Ever since that moment in the restaurant I've wanted to break down whatever stereotypes and stigmas people had about disabled people. Yellow Brick Road is my way of doing this. Once you get to know them you really walk away with a different outlook on life.
HBO: Sandy Braun A.N.C.H.O.R's drama director, said, "The great stuff comes in the possibilities, not in the guarantees." Can you elaborate on her statement?
Matthew Makar: Some things are accepted each year when they put on the play. This is the 15th play that they have put on so some things are just guarantees. But it is those unexpected moments like when David Tindal who plays the Tin Man got out of his wheelchair and took the curtain call standing. That is one of those moments that is truly in the possibilities and not in the guarantees.
HBO: When opening night finally arrived, what was that experience like for you and everyone in the cast?
Matthew Makar: It was a truly magical evening. The group was finally getting to perform what they had been working on for 5 months. The auditorium was filled to the brim with proud parents and relatives of all the ANCHOR Drama participants. We had been with them throughout the entire 5-month process. We watched everyone struggle to remember his or her lines. It is wonderful to see the accomplishment of the actors as they all got there lines correct and put on one of the most memorable performances in Anchor Drama history.
As for us, it was the most difficult aspect of the production process. We had almost 10 cameras filming the entire night. We had about a 40-person crew as opposed to our normal 6-person crew. Keith and I had to direct the 5 cameras that were covering the play. We wanted to get every angle so we could invite the group to screen their play in the movie theatre, just like we had done with Willy Wonka the year prior. My most memorable moment of the evening was when the actors started the encores. I don't think there was one person in that room that wasn't crying from happiness of the accomplishments of these actors. It was truly an unforgettable evening for everyone that was in the auditorium.
HBO: What do you hope audiences will take away from the film?
Matthew Makar: I am hoping for audiences to understand how important programs like ANCHOR are to have in existence. It really helps to develop their social skills and their confidence. It also provides them with a sense of pride, accomplishment, and community. Programs like this haven't always existed, and it is important that they continue to be a significant part of people with disabilities lives. Everyone I know who has watched this movie has truly fallen in love with all of the actors in the group. It introduces people to varying types of disabilities. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to have gotten to know all of the actors. Their incredible outlook on life has forever changed my life and the way I look at things.
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