DIRECTOR SUE GILBERT ANSWERS AUDIENCE QUESTIONS
Q. Are you available to present Beyond Greenaway for private screenings?
A. I am definitely available and love doing private screenings. I conduct workshops afterwards, called Legacy Workshops, which promote deeper discussions than the typical Q&A. If I can tailor my material to the organization’s need, that’s a bonus. Book me!
Q. How long did it take you to make Beyond Greenaway?
A. Counting my own pre-production time, it took 15 months. Seven months were spent editing.
Q. How much of the original film Greenway did you use?
A. Fifteen to twenty minutes.
Q. How many hours of interviews did you shoot?
A. We filmed fifteen hours of interviews, and worked with 316 pages of transcripts, including 18 pages from the original film Greenaway.
Q. What did your family think of Beyond Greenaway?
A. They loved it. I think they appreciated the work it entailed, the humor and quality of the presentation, and also the fact that it’s their own living history preserved.
Q. Is there anything that surprised them?
A. John was surprised at how differently we each remembered Mom’s and Dad’s arguments. Mary said that she didn’t really comprehend how strong our love was before watching the film.
Q. Is there going to be another sequel?
A. That’s probably best left to the next generation.
Q. Was the film all planned before you started?
A. Mostly. I had a long list of interview questions, some based on the topics covered in Greenaway, and some about how we all felt about Greenaway and our parents. But then I made room for whatever came up.
Q. What’s happening with Greenaway Island?
A. It’s still owned by the man my father sold it to in 1987, though off and on I hear it’s on the market. The last rumored price was 27.5 million.
Q. Have you been back since it was sold?
A. Yes. In 2003, I took my daughter to the end of the bridge to look at it. We were invited to walk around the grounds by the groundskeeper when he found I used to live there. I noticed the place was immaculate, the house freshly painted, but was sad to see that the great old copper beech had been cut down and many of my mother’s gardens were gone. It looked lonely, somehow.
Q. What’s happening with the original film Greenway?
A. It’s been digitized, color-corrected and sound sweetened. It’s now available on DVD on this website. It was recently used in a high school English class in a unit on The Great Gatsby and the American Dream. I hear the students were amazed to actually see a true version of Great Gatsby opulence.
Q. Where did the family money come from?
A. Oil and gas development, primarily.
Q. I didn’t get a real sense of philanthropy from this film. Are you just not into it?
A. We had quite a bit more about “giving back” in the first cut, but it began to look like we were too goody-goody and self-justifying. I left our various contributions intentionally vague, not wishing to plug certain organizations or put the audience to sleep with philanthropic anecdotes. In retrospect, I wish I’d chosen at least a few more examples. We are all active philanthropists, as our parents were.
Q. Did you ever reconcile your mother’s political beliefs with yours?
A. I’m not sure reconciliation was necessary. I don’t personally take much interest in politics. I think there are at least two sides to every issue, and I think you have to know a lot more than I typically do to make an informed decision - a decision that will affect the most good on the greatest number of people for the longest time. I worry that most politicians don’t consider long term ramifications.
Q. When you were kids, how much time did you spend off the island? Were you tutored there?
A. Well, the island was connected to the mainland by a bridge, so we were always free to go play with our friends. We went to local private schools, either by bus or carpool, and in the summer, starting at ten, we went away to summer camp for two months. I never felt isolated on the island.
Q. What are your next plans for a film?
A. No plans as yet. I’m engrossed in promoting this film and leading workshops.
