Woman to Woman: Our Exclusive Interview with Filmmaker Sue Cohn Rockefeller
Tell me a little bit about yourself and your background as a filmmaker.
I started making films about fourteen years ago. My first film was about the rituals of the baby shower and the subculture of wisdom that is passed down by mothers through this often trivialized ritual. After completing that film, I went on to make many others which have variously aired on PBS affiliates, The Discovery Channel, HBO and won top prizes at independent films festivals. In one form or another, all my documentaries are concerned with kindness: kindness toward the environment or kindness toward one another. I love storytelling and I love the visual and collaborative aspects of filmmaking, so I was comfortable with the medium from the beginning. However, you are only as good as the team you put in place so you need to choose well and to carefully orchestrate all aspects of the process in order to end up with a good product.
How did you first learn about Dr. Hodes and his work?
A friend of mine went to visit Dr. Hodes and was so moved by his work that he began sending me information about him. A few months later, my husband and I were visiting Uganda so I thought, “Well, why not spend time in Addis Ababa and meet Rick?” It was a bit of perfect timing; that, along with a great crew, made the project come together so well.
How did the film project come about? What were the goals for the film?
After learning about Rick through a friend, I contacted the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee––for whom he worked––and they helped organize the logistics around getting the film crew there, etc. They were also the 501C3 that was necessary for the financing of the film. I wanted people to see that one person can make a difference and that, in the overwhelmingness of the huge problems we hear about every day, we can take small steps that make all the difference, from helping an elderly neighbor with groceries, helping a person cross a busy city street, tutoring a student or sibling and just be reminded of gentle acts of kindness that we can do in our daily lives and be inspired to do them through the remarkable work of one man.
The film touches on many aspects of his life and work. What was the most intriguing to you?
The most intriguing was his steadfast concentration to help all people in need while never seeming to tire from his work although his days were quite long and often arduous. I was moved by how he labored to save people who otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance at a healthy life. What gets Rick up in the morning is the opportunity to do God’s work, to save lives one soul at a time. His dedication was humbling.
Your film really depicts him as a special kind of man, educated, professional, compassionate in his work and in his personal life, creating a home and a life, being both mother and father to these children.
Yes, he is both mother and father. Yet, as he so poignantly says in the film, he has no personal life so, in a sense, he has sacrificed the opportunity for his own intimacy for the betterment of those whose lives he has saved
Of the many wonderful qualities Rick Hodes embodies, which one do you admire most? Which one do you think more men should aspire to?
I would say I admire Rick’s stick-to-it-ive-ness and his ability to live in a way that is more about the gift of giving to others than receiving for himself. I do think he could benefit from allowing himself to receive more but I’m not sure that is possible, given the focus on his work. So I acknowledge what I most admire about him is also the root of some difficult limitations in his life. Nevertheless, I think everyone could benefit from his altruistic impulses. If each person on the planet gave Rick one cent (!) to help save a child, he would be able to create a low tech clinic in Ethiopia and continue to save lives!
The eSSSence of Sue Cohn Rockefeller
Style: Classic, hippie, eccentric, with my own jewelry designs thrown in.
Substance: I need solitude in order to be creative, but not so much that I get lonely. I also strive for balance between family and friends, between time alone with my husband and the need for my curiosity to be challenged by the world at large.
Soul: Babies! They are our future and we need to nurture our young to be the caretakers of our old and of our earth. Also: Paddle boarding along estuaries and in and out of coves, checking out all the birds and fish.
[...] a fundraiser. Then they came out with this documentary, “Making the Crooked Straight,” [see our interview with filmmaker Sue Cohn Rockefeller in the Interviews section] and I thought that would be perfect to show at the [...]
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. It is wonderful to show what a positive difference one person can make in this world so we too can affect others lives’ positively.