Spotlight on ...

Many students hope the Wilson School will accept their applications, but Andrew Perlmutter '06 waited for the prestigious department to come to him. A religion major, Perlmutter has been asked by the Wilson School to create a documentary on religion and ethics, making for a creative mix of three and a half years of academic and artistic study at Princeton. Veronica Thew '08 sat down with Perlmutter to discuss his experiences creating the documentary, and his thoughts on film in general. The following are excerpts from the conversation:

Street:

Tell me a little bit about your thesis. What exactly are you doing?

Perlmutter:

I've been commissioned by Woody Woo and the religion department to make a video on religion and politics. Specifically, the video is on the ethics of life and death; abortion, stem cell research, euthanasia and militarism are the focus of the piece. I also focus on Princeton University voices, so it's really a group of interviews and dialogues with faculty who think professionally about those sorts of issues.

S:

And what has this project entailed so far?

AP:

The project has really lasted the entire year. I started shooting in November, but the first thing I had to do was raise the money for the project. I had to put together a budget and work with [a number of departments and groups] to buy and rent equipment. I had to secure and prepare for all my interviews — there was a lot to read up on. Then I had to conduct each of the interviews. I started interviewing in late November and most of the interviews were finished by the end of January. Now I am finally in the editing stage.

S:

Why did you choose to involve yourself with the production of movies? How and when did you start?

AP:

I've always really loved watching movies and I decided to take a course on production freshman year and really, really loved making films. I was in film classes my freshman and sophomore years, and my sophomore summer I worked post-production on an HBO film called "The Notorious Betty Page." I was not planning on making a film thesis; I really just sort of stumbled onto it when it was pitched to me by my advisor.

S:

What are your favorite elements of film as a medium?

AP:

I like all of it, but I love editing because of the way it allows you to convey your message, to manipulate an audience or to take images and give them meaning by the way you put them together.

S:

What do you find to be the biggest problem with popular films today?

AP:

Generally speaking, popular films are very predictable; they're templates and you run across the same story line. Mainstream Hollywood films are about making money and drawing the largest audiences. A lot of times, mainstream cinema misses out on a lot of excellent, more experimental stuff because profit is the ultimate concern.

S:

What do you think sets film apart from other media?

AP:

Well, initially when film was first developed in the 1890s and early 1900s, people did not believe that film was in fact its own art form. I think it definitely is and what really sets it apart is its ability to present art that feels more like real life than any other art form. While watching a film, it's easy to feel like a part of it. It really feels more like its own reality.

S:

With the Academy Awards right around the corner, I'll ask you the question on everybody's mind: what was your favorite movie this year?

AP:

My favorite this year would have to be "Mad Hot Ballroom."

S:

And your least favorite?

AP:

"Get Rich or Die Tryin'" ... God knows why I went to that movie.

S:

And what would you say is your favorite movie of all time?

AP:

It's a movie called "Blow Up," directed by an Italian guy named Michelangelo Antonioni, filmed in the late 1960s. I say it's my favorite because it made me really love less mainstream movies. It was really my introduction to what you might call "art cinema".

S:

In your own words, why do we watch movies?

AP:

Certainly people watch movies to escape from reality and be excited for a couple hours but more than that, I think people really want to be moved in some way. Not necessarily "touched" in their hearts and cry, but just to really relate to a character. I feel like it's the same reason we sometimes listen to music when we feel a certain way. There's something about there being some artist or director who has adequately tapped into something that we're feeling at the time, and I think it's really nice to know that you're not alone in feeling what you're feeling. And I certainly watch movies, additionally, just because I just love the art form. I love the composition of it. I love watching the way people edit. I like it as an intellectual pursuit in addition to everything else.