Many people remember Marion Barry as the philandering, drug- using mayor of the nation’s capital who was famously caught in a 1990 FBI sting operation. Yet others know him as a folk hero, a civil rights champion and defender of the poor. Barry’s soaring achievements, catastrophic failures and phoenix-like rebirths have made him a symbol of mythic indestructibility. Who is Marion Barry, really? A hero? A scoundrel? Why is he such a polarizing force? And why do people still vote for him? For the first time, THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY reveals the complete unforgettable story, bringing into sharp focus Barry’s journey from Mississippi cotton fields to the corridors of power, from drug and alcohol addiction, cancer, four marriages, jail time and political extinction to dominance over Washington, DC city politics for more than 40 years. The film presents all sides of Barry—good, bad and ugly. Using archival footage and a verité look at Ward 8—the historically troubled and forgotten section of DC’s southeastern quadrant— during Barry’s 2004 campaign for city council, political passions and historical and contemporary perspectives collide. Just as importantly, Flor and Oppenheimer show how Barry’s story is inextricably linked with DC’s own twisted narrative—a black- majority city with no representation in Congress. Directors Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer are scheduled to attend along with subject Marion Barry.

Post-screening discussion with filmmakers and special guests: Civil Rights activist Lawrence Guyot and NBC4 News reporter Tom Sherwood, moderated by NPR news analyst Juan Williams.

Filmmaker Q&A

Introduce yourself:
Dana: I grew up in the Washington D.C. area. For the past 15 years I have worked as a news and documentary producer and director. I directed the Emmy award-winning documentary LATINOS IN BEISBOL, and the Emmy-nominated documentary CESAR CHAVEZ for NBC.  I also wrote and produced True Stories of the NYPD for the History Channel and Latin Jazz-The Perfect Combination for America’s Jazz Heritage and the Smithsonian Institute.  In addition, I’ve written and produced a wide range of stories for National Geographic, Reuters Television, Telemundo, CNN and others - covering breaking news throughout Latin America and around the world.  THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY is my first feature documentary.  I currently live in Washington D.C with my son and husband.

Toby: I was born and raised in the Washington D.C. area. For the past 10 years, I’ve been based in New York City as a director, producer, and cinematographer. I co-produced DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, the Emmy-nominated documentary film about Amish teenagers that premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. I directed THE CULT OF CINDY, an hour-long documentary film about the woman who’s had the world’s most cosmetic surgeries, for the AMC Project. In addition, I’ve directed, produced and shot numerous documentaries on a wide range of subjects for The Sundance Channel, A&E, The Learning Channel, The History Channel, VH1, Bravo and others. THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY is my first feature documentary. I live in Brooklyn, NY with my wife and daughter.

What inspired this film?   How did you find your subjects?
Dana: I came upon the idea of doing a film on Marion Barry by chance. I was doing archival research for another documentary and the wrong tape was put on my desk. It was a beautifully shot 35 mm film of Marion Barry as a young, handsome activist who spoke eloquently about the fight for civil rights in Washington DC. I was mesmerized, because most of what I had ever seen or heard about Marion Barry was largely negative: his arrest, the scandal, and the late-night TV jokes. My family, who has lived in DC for more than 40 years, certainly had no kinds words for him. So, the images on that old film were clearly at odds with what little I thought I knew about the man and it made me want to find out more.

It took a long time to finally meet and speak with Marion Barry. He was clearly not interested in having anyone do a documentary on his life, he wouldn’t answer my phone calls or respond to emails or letters. I was finally able to ambush him during a lunch at the Mayflower Hotel where I found him to be unfriendly and evasive. But at the end of the meal, he mumbled something about going to Mississippi the next day to visit his mother and if I wanted to come I could, so I did… That was the beginning of what turned out to be years of trailing Marion Barry wherever he would go…

Toby: I grew up in the Maryland suburbs so, like just about everyone who was raised in and around D.C. in the 1970’s and ‘80’s. I was fascinated by Marion Barry. My mother was an early, vocal supporter of Barry throughout the 70’s, so even as a young kid, I was very aware of him as a leader with tremendous natural charisma. Into my teenage years, the public twists and turns of his story grabbed all of our attention, but I was personally struck by how my mother continued to stick with him -- even in his darkest moments – often conducting loud, fiery debates at our kitchen table with many of her friends who had turned their backs on him. It’s that contentious passion Barry ignites in people of all stripes that fascinated me. So, when he came out of retirement to run for D.C. city council in 2004, I connected with Dana, who had already been working on a film about Barry by herself for a couple of years. We joined forces and have been partners ever since.

What were some of the biggest challenges/surprises?
Dana: Simply finding friends, confidantes and colleagues of Barry to speak openly and insightfully about him on camera proved very challenging. Many supporters refused because they were convinced that Barry would be portrayed in a less than flattering light. A lot of his critics didn’t want to appear on camera because they were afraid that in speaking out against Barry they would be accused of being racist or unfair. Many worried that Barry would be portrayed in a too positive light. And a lot of people just didn’t want to revisit an extremely painful period in their lives.

Toby: Raising the funds to make this film was very tricky. As a documentary subject about an African-American with a history like Barry’s, the story doesn’t necessarily fall into any grant-friendly categories. The dark sides of his story proved too “difficult” for most all funders and broadcasters we met with. That is, of course, until HBO finally watched a rough cut and thankfully liked it.

Who are some of your favorite filmmakers?
Dana: Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Jared Hess

Toby: Robert Altman, Laurent Cantet, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Haneke

What is your all time favorite documentary?
Dana: I don’t have one single favorite but I love CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS, BUS 174, TARNATION, 51 BIRCH STREET, BROTHER’S KEEPER.

Toby: Brutal question. I’m going to have to go with a handful – HEARTS AND MINDS, ETRE ET AVOIR, CHILDREN UNDERGROUND, JONESTOWN, MAN ON WIRE.

What other projects are in the pipeline?
Dana and Toby: A few different documentaries are in the works – a couple of which will hopefully be shot in the D.C. area – but too early to talk about.

Why did you become a filmmaker?
Dana: I started out as a journalist and a news producer and my travels around the world brought me in contact with some truly amazing characters with unbelievable stories. Many of these, alas, were not the stories I was hired to cover-and I found myself saying repeatedly, what an amazing tale, somebody should really do a documentary about this. After saying this a few dozen times, I decided that the somebody had to be me, because if it wasn’t, it seemed like these stories would never be told. Since then, I have felt tremendously privileged to be able to do what I do and to crawl into the minds and lives of so many fascinating people.

Toby: More than anything, I wanted a life that would allow me to travel and avoid as much monotony and boredom as possible, so this is a good career path for that. Also, I’m annoyingly curious about everything and wanted to be allowed behind the scenes of as many lives and meet as many people and hear as many amazing stories as I could. Also, I wanted to make little to no money doing all those things. So, docs are perfect at satisfying those cravings!

What are some of your creative influences?
Dana: My eleven-year-old son Luis, my travels in Latin America and my pigs and cows.

Toby: My 3-year old daughter Louise is number one right now.

Did you go to film school?
Dana and Toby: No.

What do you shoot on?
Dana and Toby: All different formats when the budget and style dictate – but primarily good old digital video because it allows you to be as low key and intimate with your subjects as possible.

What has been the most unexpected thing to happen since taking the film on the festival circuit?
Dana and Toby: This is proudly our first festival for the film.

Why did you want to screen your film at SILVERDOCS?
Dana and Toby: What better place on earth for THE NINE LIVES OF MARION BARRY to not only screen, but have it’s World Premiere at than SILVERDOCS! For all the obvious reasons, the film and the festival are a custom fit.