TIFF 2010 Q&A: ‘How to Start Your Own Country’ Director Jody Shapiro

If you’ve ever considered starting your own micro-nation, Jody Shapiro’s latest documentary, How to Start Your Own Country, is a good place to look. Featuring some interesting case studies from around the world — of those that have done this themselves, as well as its opponents — Shapiro has crafted a bold documentary that asks the question: What makes a country a country?

CityNews.ca spoke with Shapiro about the film. Read our Q&A below.

Brian McKechnie: How did you decide to cover this idea of people proclaiming themselves micro-nations?

Jody Shapiro: About eight years ago, I discovered a book at a second-hand book store in New York City called How to Start Your Own Country. It was written by Erwin Strauss and it was originally published in 1979. It was a primer for people who considered starting their own country and also contained an index of these micro-nations that have existed over the last 30, 40, 50 years. When I asked around if people had ever heard of [someone starting their own country, I learned that] most people hadn’t and I thought it would make a really interesting topic for a documentary.

BM: Was it difficult to find people who had started their own micro-nation?

JS: Not really. The first thing I did was Google “micro-nations” and I was really surprised to find hundreds and hundreds of these places. Everything from kids in their parents’ basements — declaring the basement their own territory — to people like Prince Leonard of the Principality of Hutt River that claims he seceded from Australia 40 years ago. I started approaching the micro-nations that we felt would work for the film we wanted to do.

BM: Were they all willing to talk?

JS: For the most part a lot of them were quick to jump on board, but there were two places in the film that took awhile to get access to. The Principality of Sealand, which you need to apply for a visa to go to to visit, and I got turned down three times. When I was in the United Kingdom, I finally managed to contact Prince Michael and arranged for a meeting and we talked and they eventually granted me permission. Another place was the Principality of Seborga that exists within the borders of Italy even though they claim they are not part of Italy. When we showed up, they assembled a council meeting with the Prime Minister and the other ministers. We had made arrangements ahead of time to go and shoot and got permission, but when we got there with the cameras, they [started] to change their minds and put it to a vote. We presented our case and they were willing to participate in the film.

BM: Did your view on these micro-nations change at all during the making of the film?

JS: When we started researching the film, one of the very first things we did was go to the United Nations and speak with someone in the Secretary General’s office. To get a grounding of how we wanted to shape the film and understand it, we asked how many countries are there in the world. Their official answer was that they are not an authority on this topic and [recommended] we consult our local library or world almanac. When we got an answer like that, we realized that the United Nations doesn’t deal with countries, they deal with members, and it’s up to those members to determine what are countries. It’s very hard to define what makes a country a country and that became a running theme. At first I thought that question, what makes a country a country, was a political question, and now I feel that it’s more of a philosophical question that is almost impossible to answer.

BM: How important is it to you to have ‘How to Start Your Own Country’ premiere at TIFF?

JS: For me it’s a dream come true. I grew up in Toronto and remember skipping the first week of high school to go see movies. I took film at York University and skipped those first weeks to go see movies. I think that every filmmaker who grows up in this city always has a dream of having a film of theirs premiere at TIFF. For me, it’s an honour.

BM: You’ve worked on many dramatic features as well. Do you have a preference?

JS: Personally, documentaries are my passion. I don’t consider myself a writer and I don’t know if I’ll ever gravitate to directing dramas. I love it when stories unfold and you piece them together in the editing room, and you find a subject and a deeper meaning to it and you learn when you make the film. I’ve been very fortunate in my career that I’ve been able to work with people like Guy Maddin and Isabella Rossellini. These are two artists and whenever I get a chance to work on real art projects that take place in the cinematic world, it’s a big joy. It’s a very creative process, there’s a lot of freedom, especially with Guy who breaks all the regular movie-making rules.

BM: Speaking of Guy Maddin, can you talk about ‘Keyhole’, his new movie you’re producing?

JS: It stars Jason Patric, Isabella Rossellini, and Udo Kier. It’s a film noir. We shot for two months in Winnipeg and it’s a talkie, the first one Guy has made in quite awhile. It’s very loosely based on The Odyssey.

BM: What do you hope the audience gets out of ‘How to Start Your Own Country’?

JS: There are two things that go on in the film that I hope they get. One of them is that at the heart of it, these are very personal stories about identity and presenting yourself and I hope they [learn] something from these people who have started their own countries. The bigger picture is that I hope people question what is a state and what is a country, how do I define myself, and what does it really mean? A country is more than politics, politicians, and lines drawn in the sand and I think that people don’t really think about that a lot.

How to Start Your Own Country plays next at TIFF on Wednesday, September 15 at 2:30 p.m. Check the full schedule at tiff.net/filmsandschedules. Find out more about the film at howtostartyourowncountry.com.

brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com

Top image: A scene from How to Start Your Own Country. Courtesy TIFF.

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