#LIGHTS OUT KOPPLE FREE#

And for me, it’s always so interesting to hear people’s stories. And it’s also about these guys who are heroes, who were willing to give up their lives and leave their families to save 52 Americans that were taken by the Iranian students and held at the American Embassy.

It’s a reminder of the horrors of war and the roots of conflict between the US and the Iranian government, which still goes on. Why is the story of the Iran hostage crisis important today?īK: Well, I just think that it’s history that people don’t know much about, and that it’s a story that really needed to be told. Hammer to Nail: And here you are now with a new film, Desert One. There are budgets, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, A&…I mean, it’s just a wonderful time for documentarians and I had to struggle and suffer so much, not that I still don’t, to raise funds, but it was really, really difficult back then. They’re really searching for that sense of truth. I mean, there were foundations and it just depended on what they wanted to fund. Could you talk about how the world of documentaries has changed since you started?īarbara Kopple: At the very beginning, when I was starting, which was actually with a military film called Winter Soldier, with a collective of people – it was Vietnam veterans giving testimony of what they did in Vietnam – there was no support whatsoever. Here is a condensed digest of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.īart Weiss: So, it’s been a long journey from Harlan County USA to Desert One. Joining me in the conversation was my Fog of Truth podcast colleague Bart Weiss (of Dallas VideoFest).

Using a mix of archival material (including never-before-heard audio tapes), interviews (including one with Carter, himself) and animated recreations, Kopple tells the compelling story of all that went wrong, both with that attempt and with our foreign policy.

#LIGHTS OUT KOPPLE FREE#

I recently spoke by phone with famed documentarian Barbara Kopple ( Miss Sharon Jones!) about her new film, Desert One ( which I also reviewed), which brings us back to 1980 and President Jimmy Carter’s failed attempt to free the Iranian-held U.S.

Lights out kopple