Christine Vachon on What Makes a Great Filmmaker and Films Such a Unique Art-Form

Killer indie producer Christine Vachon, who describes herself as a “great enabler”, who is behind art-house films that have left their marks over decades (Boys Don’t Cry, Far From Heaven, Kids), despite their niche and/or ‘anti-mass-entertainment’ topics made an apparition during Todd Haynes talk at the Walker Art Center.

Vachon has produced all of Haynes’ work, including his latest feature, Carol. During her 20 minutes or so intervention, Vachon talked openly and genuinely about different aspects of her job and the changing landscapes in the industry, from how the new distribution platforms affect filmmaking to why filmmakers shouldn’t call themselves that way anymore.

Her talent? To find potential in films.

Her skills? To help filmmakers achieve their vision all the while producing viable films.

There is a lot to say about Christine Vachon’s talk, and I will get back to it in other articles, but I’ll start with her answer to the latest Q&A question. She was asked how she decided to move forward on something she loved instead of keeping it to herself.

And here is what Vachon said:

“Nobody makes movies except to show to other people. That’s kind of the fascinating thing about this particular art-form, it’s all about the audience.

And even people like Todd (Haynes), who you’d think like “He’s Mister Art”, you think he doesn’t care about the audience? He cares deeply. And if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be as good at what he does.

We showed Carol many, many times to different audiences, not for them to dictate what you saw on the screen at all, but to get a sense of their experience so Todd could say ‘ok, this is the experience they’re having, I’d like them to maybe have a slightly different experience, so I’m going to adjust the film in this way so that their experience will be this way or that way.’

I mean that’s what a great filmmaker does. Great filmmaker, I believe, completely takes his or her audience into account without being necessarily dictated by them if that makes sense.”

I love this idea of using test-screening not to change the movie to please the audience, but to make sure you’re embarking them on the right journey. It feels like a shift in thinking.

Below is the full conversation, that I loved and recommend. And if you are interested by my personal highlights, read about Todd Haynes’ process to create his films’ look.