John Hoffman (‘The Barber of Little Rock’) on building a trust with Arlo Washington [Exclusive Video Interview]
John Hoffman, the co-director of “The Barber of Little Rock,” says that the foundation of any documentary is trust in the relationships with the film’s subjects. The trust that Hoffman built with the film’s protagonist, Arlo Washington, helped make members of his community and patrons of his business feel comfortable being on camera. “You are calling attention to people who are experiencing a lot of hardship in their life and talking about money is something that people don’t necessarily want to do in a public way. But we have a lot of gratitude for these people who were willing to let us film them,” he tells Gold Derby during our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video interview above).
He’s also excited for the Little Rock premiere of the movie which will be screened at Bill Clinton Presidential Library and is certain to be packed. “What’s stunning to me is that I think the theater holds like 360 people and it’s sold out. There’s a waiting list to get in. So everybody who’s in the film and everybody who worked on the film, because there’s a lot of local crew, will be there.”
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“The Barber of Little Rock,” which Hoffman co-directed with Christine Turner, explores the racial wealth gap through the perspective of Washington. Along with running a local barber college, he also runs a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that aims to assist in giving loans to people who have been declined them at major banks. The short was recently nominated at this year’s Oscars for Best Documentary Short Subject and it marks Hoffman’s first career Oscar nomination. He’s also the recipient of four Emmys throughout his career for his work on “Children in War,” “The Alzheimer’s Project” and “Elaine Stritch at Liberty.”
When Hoffman got the news of his Oscar nomination, he was in the middle of taking care of some sensitive issues. “I don’t think my brother’s going to appreciate me saying this but I was in the parking lot of a strip mall in Connecticut where my brother was getting his colonoscopy.” He got the news and was able to text it to his brother before he was put under anesthesia and when he returned to the facility to pick him up, everyone there was congratulating him on the nomination. Hoffman also finds his mind blown by the fact that one of his competitors is his long-time former colleague, Sheila Nevins, who’s nominated for “The ABCs of Book Banning.” The two first started working together in 1983 when they were both at HBO and would be co-workers for 17 years. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Sheila would direct a film and I would direct a film in the same year and they would be nominated. But I’m very happy for her that she has the nomination. It just sort of makes your head go, ‘This is crazy!’”
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