Kindred
"Kindra worked as a bi-lingual social worker in Chicago. For a white girl who grew up outside Portland, that's impressive. Her main goal was to help kids in these neighborhoods who couldn't choose to live the life they were in. Her job was tough, but she was so good at it."
"When she was diagnosed with cancer in April of 2008 she started a blog. Initially to keep her friends and family in the loop on what she was going through. Then it became so much more. Kindra had a way of writing that was smart, conversational and funny. As you read her words you understood what she was going through."
"The blog is a really big part of the story. In fact, the blog was critical for all us personally during her illness. It was how her family and friends were able to cope. So I really wanted to weave the blog thematically throughout the film. We did this by alternating the focus between Kindra’s blog and the video of her undergoing treatment. Initially, we auditioned actresses to narrate the blog, but finally decided to have one of her friends read the entries aloud, so that it was more personal."
"I remember the initial plan after the diagnosis was that she would receive chemo, then radiation, and then consider a hysterectomy if the first two weren't successful. Well, the weeks seemed like days, and in July the hysterectomy became inevitable. By October Kindra's cancer had spread like wildfire. She didn't last long after that."
"When she died I knew that I wanted to do something, and that's what this film is about. It's not only about remembering her, it's also a roadmap for understanding how to deal with a disease like cancer. It really is terrible, but it's something that you don't go through alone. Your friends and family suffer as well."
"Right around the time she died I had just finished my first documentary 'Under The Ice' and I chose this as my second piece. In a way, it was to remember a great person and in another way, to let women who are suffering from cervical cancer know that they are not alone. It's a documentary that is close to my heart, which I'm very proud of."
"In making this documentary, I called upon Beth Bennett, my co-filmmaker on my first documentary 'Under the Ice.' Beth and I both wanted this film to inspire everyone and show how Kindra handled her illness with an incredible amount of grace. So we decided to take a different approach with this documentary, trying avoid the kinds of clichés audiences might have seen before."
"I went with Kindra's husband Mark, down to Belize to spread her ashes outside of San Pedro. I guess that's where the documentary process really started. After recording that moment in Mark's life, we came back to Chicago to interview her family and friends. After completing the film in 2011, we did the first screening in Portland where Kindra had grown up. We then did our next screening at Scottsdale in Arizona, where she attended college, and then in Seattle where I have family. At the Illinois Film Festival, 'Kindred' won the Best Documentary Short for 2011."
Michael's approach to telling this inspiring story was to allow Kindra's blog and dialog to silently direct the film. Being a story about a very close friend, has enabled Michael to understand the emotional balance and to develop a very intimate documentary.
