It was not an easy decision on their part and they had to think long and hard about it, and I think some of them still feel ambivalent about participating… One of the results of… ‘In Cold Blood' is that we have a lot of sympathy for the killers, because of how Truman Capote told that story… not excusing them for what they did, but seeing them as three-dimensional human beings. ..[and] all of these films kind of celebrate the killers in a perverse way…. the family felt very violated by the experience. They felt violated by ‘In Cold Blood.’.

Joe Berlinger

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You have to remain open to the situation that you're filming otherwise you might miss the story.

Joe Berlinger

missing stories might

I felt like the universe was tapping me on the shoulder saying, "You're the guy who has to tell this story because nobody else is."

Joe Berlinger

shoulders guy stories

I actually have come to believe that if people were more connected to their fellow human beings, if we all felt more centred and fulfilled in our lives, maybe we would be pointing our cameras at a lot less social ills.

Joe Berlinger

cameras believe people

Any documentary; any capturing of a non-fiction event, is a hyper-realistic condensation of reality that hopefully reveals an emotional truth. It's never the actual literal truth of an event.

Joe Berlinger

events emotional reality

Life is much more complex than the black-and-white sound bites that you get on television. There are nuances and shades of gray.

Joe Berlinger

black-and-white sound television

The filmmaker is not telling you what to think.

Joe Berlinger

filmmaker thinking

I like to blow up stereotypes, like taking the icons of metal, the epitome of male testosterone and showing them as regular people.

Joe Berlinger

icons blow people

If a concert film is an experience of the musicianship without critiquing it, then this, too, is dropping you into a world and letting you experience it.

Joe Berlinger

dropping film world

What you hope, what you're trusting the filmmaker to do, is to capture the emotional truth of the situation.

Joe Berlinger

filmmaker capture emotional

If people spend two hours thinking about the direction of their own lives and can relate to the stories they see on screen, to me that's a success.

Joe Berlinger

two people thinking

I'm an observer in life, not a participant. That's why I'm a documentarian who looks through a camera. I'm not a touchy-feely person; I'm not a seminar person.

Joe Berlinger

cameras persons looks

The world is watching, and you better be fair.

Joe Berlinger

fairs world

There`s a fine line between balanced journalism and trial by television.

Joe Berlinger

lines trials television

I mean, "The Jinx" is an amazing piece of cinema and amazing television moment, it`s rare documentarians can feel the direct impact of their work.

Joe Berlinger

jinx impact mean

I don`t know the facts surrounding Andrew Jarecki`s work. I think it`s a triumph of television. But it does raise troubling issues that I think we as a documentary community, you know, need to address.

Joe Berlinger

issues community thinking

The Metallica film was like this incredible life experience where I learned the most through guys that stereotypically you would think couldn't offer much to you. That's what I love about the film: It explodes your stereotype of them - they're not just a bunch of lugheads banging on the guitar.

Joe Berlinger

guitar guy thinking

I never believe I'm presenting objective reality; I also don't want to delude people into thinking that my subject is talking directly to them.

Joe Berlinger

believe reality thinking

Chevron has wrapped itself in some pretty good arguments that make you scratch your head. The moral responsibility is certainly at its door. I leave it to other people to figure out whether there's legal responsibility.

Joe Berlinger

responsibility doors people

My attitude is, I am not a lawyer; I am not a doctor; I am not a scientist. I am a filmmaker and I want to present what each side is saying and let the viewer come to their own conclusion.

Joe Berlinger

doctors want attitude

I'm a filmmaker who is known for these ambiguous portraits that tell multiple sides of the story without really telling the audience what to think.

Joe Berlinger

portraits stories thinking