Ky Dickens—the out Chicago based filmmaker noted for her 2009 documentary Fish Out of Water, which put the Bible's seven references to homosexuality under the microscope—returns with Sole Survivor, a thought-provoking documentary that is playing at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., on Sept. 21 and 26. Dickens' film centers on four of the just 14 sole survivors of large scale airplane disasters—whom she aptly describes as members of "the loneliest club on earth."
Two of her interview subjects—George Lamson and Joe Polehinke—are scheduled to attend the Saturday, Sept. 21, screening, where they will meet for the first time. Dickens and producer Amy Clay will be at both screenings. WBEZ's "Weekender" host Allison Cuddy will moderate the Sept. 21 Q&A.
CNN has picked up the film for distribution, and it is expected to have a theatrical run early next year, followed by broadcast on the network and an eventual DVD release. The Siskel screenings are rare opportunities to not only see Dickens' remarkable film in advance of its release but a chance to meet two of the sole survivors in person. Windy City Times sat down with Dickens to discuss the film.
Windy City Times: Where did this rather provocative idea come from? Is there a personal connection to the subject?
Ky Dickens: It is personal, as a lot of these things are. In high school I was arguing with a good friend of mine over who was going to ride shotgun when a friend of mine got a new car. And I lost and about five minutes later my friend Carson—who won the battle to ride in the front seat—was in a car crash and died. I was in the car behind and watched as the car spun him to his death after hitting a pole.
I felt a tremendous amount of survivor's guilt from that. I was 16 at the time and so I've always taken an interest in survivor's stories. I realized in my early 30s that I had been crazy driven since that accident and I think part of it was because I felt I had to do something really great with my life since I lived and my friend had died.
At that point I had read a story about a sole survivor of a plane crash and I thought, "If anyone knows how to get over survivor's guilt it would be someone like that." So I found George Lamson on Facebook and we started a Facebook relationship. Eventually we met in person and at that point I told him I was a documentary filmmaker and he told me that he never really healed from his thing and that he was afraid to meet other survivors and their families. I told him I would film him doing that and he acknowledged that that would raise him to his bravest self and that's when the film started to take shape. That was in 2010.
WCT: The film follows George and his daughter as they meet the young French girl, Bahia, and her family, which is very moving. Then there is Cecelia Cichan, who's never spoken about her experience before. How did you find her and convince her to talk?
KD: That was fascinating. From the beginning of this, one aspect of the film was about connecting with the sole survivors but the other aspect was making sure that voices and experiences from the victim's families were in the picture because that's part of the survivor's experience. I'd already been talking to some of the families from Cecelia's flight—Northwest #255—and I started a relationship with them. A lot of these families have Facebook pages or community chatrooms where they keep in touch with one another and it got out there that I was making a film. Cecelia read it and she contacted me right after she donated to our Kickstarter campaign.
WCT: That's pretty incredible.
KD: It was. I mean, she's one of the most elusive people out there; a lot of news people have been trying to get a hold of her for years and when I saw that she'd donated on the Kickstarter page I thought, "What?!" Then there was an email from her saying, "I heard about this, why haven't you asked me?" I wrote back that I would love for her to be involved but that I thought she wasn't interested or wanted to be private. Something, I think, about seeing the trailer and seeing other sole survivors really moved her to the point of wanting to get involved.
She told me later the reason she agreed to do it—and she wanted to do it—was because her whole life she was the focus; she was singled out as the sole survivor; as this miracle child that survived this crash and here was the one situation where she got to be one of many stories of survivors. I think for her that felt a lot safer than anything that had come before.
WCT: It's no surprise that there's a haunted quality to the demeanor of all four of the survivors—especially Bahia, the young French girl.
KD: I think because her crash had happened the most recently, which is no doubt part of it.
WCT: Your tagline, that this is "loneliest club in the world," really struck a chord with me. I'm wondering, as a queer man, talking to you, as a queer woman, if you find that there's always something about this outsider status that resonates with Our People, as I do. Am I picking up on something there? Is that part of what attracted you to these people?
KD: Yes—I think you are so spot-on with that. For one, it probably is one of the smallest minorities in the world. Absolutely—there are only 14 people in the world who have survived a large plane crash and so they constantly think no one understands them; that no one could quite get it unless you've been through it, etc. There was a softening when Jim and when George and when Cecelia found out I was gay. I think they all just had a sense that I'm human like them; I understand hardship; my life hasn't been a cakewalk; I'm a person who's been hurt and who's been oppressed and who has been misunderstood and who has had to fight to have a voice and who has to fight to be recognized for who I really am.
And even though they went through something very different I think in some aspect it made them feel a bit safer with me. I can't exactly explain why but it was quite wonderful. At one point George told me early on, "I've never met another gay person. You're the first gay person I ever had a meal with and I think it's pretty cool." And I was like, "You're 40 years old, George, I'm sure you have met another gay person." [Laughs hard] That was a fun moment. So, I can't explain how or why but you're totally right that there is an outsider status that somehow they knew in their gut that I've been through and that they were like, "She's cool."
WCT: It's great that CNN picked up the film for distribution.
KD: We're thrilled of course because it means that thousands of survivors will get a chance to see it. We found that at festivals that many different types of survivors totally relate to this.
WCT: The film is a touchstone.
KD: Absolutely.
WCT: It's probably way too early to ask but are you thinking about your next film?
KD: Yes—I actually have a production meeting tonight. [Laughs] It's on a subject that I think is going to be the next great cultural war and it's very confusing and that's why I'm interested in it. It's a film about extinction. There are three scientists right now who are on the verge of bringing back species from the dead. Woolly mammoth is one of them, the Tasmanian tiger is another. Even though these scientists are so excited about it, it's still fantasy about being able to do this. But at the same time there's this element of, "But should we?" and "What does this mean" and, "If we bring them back, where do we put them?"
WCT: Oh, my God. It's Jurassic Park brought to life!
KD: Yes—in a documentary. It's truly the documentary version of that. I'm super excited about that. We've just started pre-production on it and getting scientists on board but it's going to happen in our lifetime. And another question comes to mind: is this a true slippery slope? If we can bring back animals can we bring back a person who died? If you're rich enough and we have the technology…it's crazy to think about.
WCT: That's fascinating; insane to think about—and it sounds like it might make a good film! [Laughs]
KD: That's the hope!
See www.solesurvivorfilm.com .
