Remembering Michael

As we mark the second anniversary of Michael Grigsby’s passing, I uncovered this from a filmmaker who was more or less Michael’s contemporary; who, like him, was making powerful documentaries showing life with an honesty and compassion that were remarkable; who, like him, had an early encounter with the Beatles and shared a link with Granada Television. To my shame, I hadn’t seen Albert and David Maysles’ “What’s Happening?” until this week. And sadly, I only became aware of it because Albert Maysles died last week. Here’s what he said of his film capturing the Beatles’ first visit to the US in February 1964…somehow, I sense Mike would have approved.

“This film began a new genre of documentary filmmaking by the techniques that allowed us to get so intimate with the people that we were filming. I’ve been told that it’s no longer possible to get into situations that are very intimate with the camera…that people are so savvy to a camera that they become too camera-conscious. I don’t agree. At least, it hasn’t been my experience. It depends on who’s trying to get the access, and how they approach people, how they look at people. If they, as I do, empathize with them, feel for them and want to represent them truthfully, people love that and they always will. That doesn’t change.”