Digital Filmmaking

Waiting for Armageddon

January 27, 2010 Waiting for Armageddon, waitingforarmageddon a documentary film that explores America's 50-million strong Evangelical community, opens at Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, MA, Friday January 29th for a week of screenings. Co-directed by CDIA's Filmmaker in Residence Franco Sacchi and co-produced by CDIA alumni Hermine Muskat and Roberta Dougan, the film is a First Run Features release of a Q-Ball Productions and Eureka Film Productions. As reviewed by NPR, Waiting for Armageddon "depicts the thinking of American evangelical Christians who see the end of days approaching in the Middle East". The New York Times calls it "spine-tingling". The Boston Pheonix describes the film as "Infuriating and frightening…an eye-opening look at what 50 million of your fellow Americans believe and are striving to achieve.” Says the Village Voice, Waiting for Armageddon is “Alarmingly good and incendiary.” Amidst these rave reviews and screenings nationwide, I caught up with with CDIA Film Alum Hermine Muskat to talk about her experience in the making of Waiting for Armageddon. How did you get involved in Waiting for Armaggedon? It began with a conversation in Dunkin' Donuts. Franco Sacchi, Roberta Dougan and I began talking in the Spring of 2005, and at that point we started to do research. As a psychologist, the idea of apocalyptic thinking was of great interest to me. After weeks of reading, talking, and throwing ideas around, we just decided to jump in and go to an Evangelical conference. Looking back, we went with just the Panasonic DVX-100A and our nerve - we asked for permission to film when we arrived! Next we went to Oklahoma to conduct interviews in early 2006. In June of '06 we traveled to Israel with an Evangelical study group - this was the highlight of the whole experience. This trip really solidified the story and purpose of the film. When we returned, we quickly put together our proposal and a trailer, and submitted to IFP - and that's when it started to explode. We got accepted to IFP, and then teamed up with New York filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner as Co-directors of the film. For all of us, our goal was always to let the Evangelicals explain themselves. We wanted to open up a conversation and bring it into the public arena, and I think we've succeeded in that. What was your role in the production? Did your experience at CDIA prepare you for the job? Along with Roberta Dougan, I co-produced the film. This is a very fluid role that ultimately involves implementing the director's creative vision. In addition to setting up shoots and contacting people, we had a lot of input into how story got told. One of my main functions was to create a liaison between us as filmmakers and the people we were filming, to build a sense of trust. I also did many of the interviews in the film. Aside from the invaluable technical knowledge I gained at CDIA, how to use the camera as an extension of one's eye, the climate at CDIA sets a welcoming and collegial tone. I think this sense of community enabled our teamwork. Throughout the production, we lived and worked in very close quarters and emerged as good friends. When you started the project, did you expect that the film would garner so much attention? I went into this project as an adventure. It sounded fascinating at first and the more I read the more interesting it became. I just became infected by the topic. I never expected we would get this far. I think it's very exciting, to actually have made a career change and go to film school, and then see a film from beginning to end. It's really amazing - the fact that Waiting For Armageddon started as a conversation and then we got to screen it at Lincoln Center in NYC and in theaters around the US. It's amazing to look up and see your film and all of the people you interviewed on screen. I hope a lot of CDIA students get to have that experience! Any insights for CDIA film students + alumni? When you're starting out, you've got to have the willingness to do work behind the scenes that nobody sees. There is necessary work that needs to get done that's just sweat work, but you'll learn so much from it. Also, be ready to work with all different kinds of personalities -  films can fail without good communication. Also, if you find an interesting story don't let go of it. There are so many interesting stories out there. Don't miss Waiting for Armageddon at Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, MA opening January 29th. Check out www.waitingforarmageddon.com to learn more. Watch the Apple Movie Trailers for Waiting for Armageddon.