Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 2:42
SLOW MOTION DISASTER: Filmmaker John Paget Tells Stories that Save our Towns
Oh, my God. But then someone like Bruce Springsteen was able to give attention to Asbury Park and bring interest and money, and it revitalized. And you can go there now and it's just a great place to be. But it didn't happen by accident. It happened because somebody took interest. John is that guy, and he's taken interest in a few towns, specifically the history of Buffalo, New York
john paget
@JohnPaget · 3:09
But another thing is that I noticed that there were a few towns along the way that had managed to, against all odds, stage a comeback. And they seemed to have one thing in common, which is that the community knew its history and its civic story, and they were united around that, and they embraced that. And it gave them an optimistic vision for how they could meet the challenges they were facing and build a future together. And so that was something I keyed in on Route 66
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 2:17
What markers are you looking for from an artistic point of view, from a storytelling point of view, from, I guess, a journalistic point of view? And how do you keep yourself out of the results? I know that's a question that every documentarian is asked, but specific
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
john paget
@JohnPaget · 2:41
And I think that brings the authenticity to it. We are typically outsiders. Even in Buffalo, where I lived. I didn't grow up in Buffalo, and I did some, I think, of my best filmmaking and storytelling in Buffalo in my first years there, because it takes fresh eyes sometimes it takes that outside perspective. And so, yes, you have to be deeply immersed and do your research to understand a place, but it does help to have that outside perspective
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:03
And, you know, there'll be an art arc for people listening and I'm sure some new voices will come in. But this is my question I want to leave you with, which is for people who are in towns that are part of an arc of resurrection, if you call it that, or demise or whatever part of the curve they're on and they want to tell their story through film, what advice would you give them in terms of starting that process?
john paget
@JohnPaget · 1:58
It the advice I would give to someone interested in doing a film and telling the civic story of their town, probably, first off, is find a team or build or recruit a team of friends and collaborators who want to do that with you, even if it's a couple or three people, because film can be an ambitious endeavor. And the second thing is find your characters. And here I'm talking about your heroes
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:39
And we'll look for more questions here. And your voice here is extraordinary, so please don't hesitate to give us updates on the projects you're working on. You can create a new swell for that and we're here to listen. So thank you so, so much