“A Concerto is a Conversation” tells the story of Oscar-nominated composer Kris Bowers and his 91-year-old grandfather, Horace Bowers. It’s an intergenerational reflection about the choices that led the Bowers family to Los Angeles.
It’s a conversation, while a “concerto” is a musical composition form as a conversation taking place between a soloist and the rest of the orchestra.
‘For a Younger Self’
I spoke with co-director of the film, Ben Proudfoot, over Zoom about his film and how it came to be. Originally, composer Kris Bowers was the sole focus as a two or three-minute profile about him finishing his concerto, “For a Younger Self,” in time to perform it at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Bowers had some reservations about performing there.
“He had expressed to me that he had some inner tension,” started Proudfoot. “Just some misgivings about the fact that the concert hall is a classically white space and he’s a Black composer. People had been asking him like if it was going to be a jazzy concerto… Just sort-of dog whistle, racist remarks like that.”
Proudfoot explains that was something they would explore. However, it turned into something more special when Kris pointed to his grandfather and said, “None of it would have [happened]without my grandfather.”
In the kind of films I make, the writer is the storyteller in the film, [the person]speaking. They’re the ones creating these words, sentences, and paragraphs that create the piece.”ben proudfoot
That went into Horace telling his story about being a 17-year-old leaving Bascom, Florida. He then hitchhiked through Detroit, then Denver, and finally Los Angeles. Proudfoot found that to be a much more interesting angle.
“The drive of the film was always the same thing, which was to create a dedication to Kris’s grandfather and to explore Kris’s career and the context of that in his grandfather’s story in a beautifully crafted way,” said Proudfoot. “What most of us were holding our breath for was showing it to Horace and what he would think of it. I wasn’t there but the report was that [Horace] got emotional watching it. Kris said it was the first time he’d ever seen his grandfather shed a tear.”
O Oscar! My Oscar!
The “A Conversation is a Concerto” team will be attending the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles this year. Proudfoot reflected on some Oscar questions, especially when I asked if he expected any of the Oscar nominee glory.
Proudfoot explains that after making the film and learning of Horace’s reaction, it was the end of his involvement for some time. Then, it released with the New York Times at Thanksgiving (“people really loved it and responded well”). After that, it had its virtual Sundance launch, where Kris Bowers sent the film to his friend Ava DuVernay hoping for a simple retweet.
“When she watched the film, she just really responded to it and has been an incredible champion and friend to the film,” said Proudfoot. “That was such an incredible moment to have her join our team.” Proudfoot explains, as DuVernay has now become executive producer on the project. He cited it as “unbelievable” once the film started getting Oscar traction.
“I think it’s people responding to Horace and his story and celebrating that,” said Proudfoot. “Kris’ grandfather’s generation is called the silent generation, and this story was basically kept in silence for 70 years. I think people are recognizing that. That is a big part of this spirit that I think is guiding the success of the film. The Associated Press took photos of Horace in front of the Disney Concert Hall in his tuxedo and things like that. [It was] just so cool.”
The Oscar nomination reaction
Proudfoot also talked about where he was when he heard the Oscar nominees being announced, and he was visiting his mom in his birth province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
“We were in my mom’s kitchen watching it on the laptop,” said Proudfoot. “The crew had come onto a Zoom meeting and it was funny because Kris wasn’t there. I’m texting him like, ‘Hey, wake up. Come, come. Watch the nomination,’” Proudfoot said, laughing.
He explained that Bowers was probably up late writing the score for the upcoming “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and most likely missed his alarm.
“Sure enough they read the name of our film and maybe half an hour later, I got a call from Kris,” stated Proudfoot. “He’s like, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I went to bed at like four o’clock in the morning.’”
“I was so happy to be with my mom and give her a big hug,” said Proudfoot. “She had some flowers and champagne hidden in the garage, just in case, to be prudent. We were just totally over the moon and thrilled.”
Speaking of Kris Bowers, on top of being one of the film’s documentary “subjects,” he also provided an original score for the film. Proudfoot reports Bowers was inspired by themes from his own concerto, as well as the song “How Great Thou Art,” which Horace Bowers sings through part of the credits. Proudfoot explains that, usually, it’s tough to get the composer inspired by the material.
“With this, it could not have been a more profound setup for Kris to write this music because he was writing it for his grandfather’s story,” said Proudfoot. “Kris writes incredible music but I think this score in particular is inspired.”
About the “writing” and editing of the film
In documentary, there aren’t (usually) traditional writing credits like there are in narrative feature films. Proudfoot explains it’s more appropriate for documentaries telling a “macro story” with multiple interview subjects, or documentaries with narration or voiceover.
“In the kind-of films that I make, the writer is the storyteller in the film, [the person]speaking,” said Proudfoot. “They’re the ones creating these words, sentences and paragraphs that create the piece. Then, second to that, would be the editor.”
In the film’s credits, editor Lukas Dong is the second crew member credited after directors Bowers and Proudfoot. “He’s a brilliant filmmaker in his own right but we were lucky enough to work with him as an editor on this project.” With the editor, the directors collaborate with him to shape the organization of the storyteller’s words.
On the film’s IMDb page, Proudfoot is miscredited as writer. “I haven’t checked my IMDb in awhile, to be honest,” Proudfoot says with a laugh. “Maybe I should go correct that.”
You’re trying to get something beautiful across that will inspire you for the rest of the day.”ben proudfoot
When it comes to the editing, Proudfoot and company knew where they wanted the film to end, with a pressed suit “imbued with a lot of meaning—the suit of family, of manhood, of wisdom.”
“We knew that was our North Star and as a short documentary filmmaker, it starts with a great respect for the audience’s time,” said Proudfoot, when asked if there was a longer cut of the film, as Proudfoot explained they’re not making a bloated film to take all of your day. “You’re trying to get something beautiful across that will inspire you for the rest of the day.”
A Canadian drinking American Kool-Aid
Since Proudfoot is Canadian-born (from Halifax, Nova Scotia), I was intrigued what it was like for him helping tell this American story.
“I think as a Canadian living in the United States, you do have somewhat of a different point of view,” said Proudfoot. “I’m kind-of romantic about the United States. I know this sort-of classic idea, being Canadian, is that Americans are rude and selfish. I’ve always had a very romantic view of America. I’ve always been attached to sort of the hope of what it means to be American.”
Proudfoot explains that so many American stories are about famous people but his films approach it differently. “I really, really love telling stories of ordinary, extraordinary Americans,” said Proudfoot, stating these stories are endless.
“It’s hard to examine myself, but my family and I would go to New York every Christmas and I would always look forward to that and [seeing]the real dollar bill,” said Proudfoot. “Every time I scraped together some money, I would go down to the bank and exchange it for dollar bills and have this little roll of cash, because we had Loonies and Toonies.”
“I totally drank the Kool-Aid, and I guess I’m still drinking it,” Proudfoot said with a laugh.
The look of the conversation
The documentary has an interesting look and an intimate feel with the camerawork and tight framing. Proudfoot has used this technique the past five years. Documentary filmmaker Erol Morris invented this interview method using a camera called the “Interrotron,” essentially a teleprompter.
Proudfoot explained it’s essentially a teleprompter where one could see the director’s face instead of words rolling down, as you’d look right through the teleprompter into the lens. “I just love that,” said Proudfoot. “I had always thought it would be really cool to do two of these at once.”
Proudfoot sat down to talk about it with Kris and there was some doubt in the process. Luckily, there’s always room for improvisation as filmmakers, especially as Kris comes from an improvisatory jazz pianist background.
Tinkering with the innovation
“He’s a fantastic improvisor,” said Proudfoot. “He’s one of the most open, creatively open people I’ve ever met. That’s where the idea was born of doing two at the same time, where Kris and his grandfather could be having this direct eyeline conversation.”
“It’s obviously a little weird, right? Even when we were cutting it like, it was like, “Huh, I don’t know if this works,’” said Proudfoot with a laugh. He described they kept tinkering with it until it worked for them. “I just find it incredibly immersive.”
I feel like we remember looking into the eyes of our conversation partner. That’s what was in my mind, that frame we created.”ben proudfoot
Proudfoot went onto describe exactly why I myself connected with this immersive aspect of the film.
“I think it reminds [us]of conversations that you’ve had in your life, where you’ve had the chance to sit down with somebody important in your life and you’ve had a really singular conversation,” said Proudfoot about that image ingrained in our minds. “I feel like we remember looking into the eyes of our conversation partner. That’s what was in my mind, that frame we created.”
The power of conversation
Driving conversation was surely a goal of the film. Specifically so when it comes to oral history and absorbing family member’s stories. Proudfoot suggested not thinking of your grandparents as ones from a different generation. They’re “genetically identical to you.”
“They’ve probably shared the exact same private thoughts you struggle with,” started Proudfoot. “More or less, your parents and your grandparents are your greatest user handbooks to life.”
“They have gone through difficult things and they have come out of the other side,” said Proudfoot. “Hopefully with some wisdom or at least a story that you can learn from. They may not have figured it out, but maybe you can. I think the more of that sharing and intergenerational sharing that can happen, the much better the world will be.”
Proudfoot also highlighted how interesting it is hearing about stories of ancestry and how your grandparents meet.
“There’s a lot of sort of inherent dramatic irony in those kinds of stories,” said Proudfoot. “You know what’s going to happen. You’re also in the story wondering and just being amazed [and in]awe of how easily the world could have been a different place.”
Planting a flag and overcoming
That’s surely the case for Kris Bowers and his grandfather, Horace.
“If his grandfather hadn’t planted his flag and been so ingenious in the ways that he dealt with the bigotry in the late ‘40s in Los Angeles, their family would be a different position,” said Proudfoot. “It’s amazing to think that he came with 27 bucks in his pocket. He hitchhiked to Los Angeles and [built an]incredible business and legacy and family. It’s amazing to witness in the film and amazing to witness in person.”
Horace dealing with that bigotry became an important part of the short documentary, too. Proudfoot thought that with the Black Lives Matter movement highlighted these conversations, “understanding [that]through this very intimate one-on-one conversation.”
We have to be talking about all these things. That’s our hope for the film. Spark conversation and have people discuss the various things that come out of this.”ben proudfoot
At times, Bowers doubted himself and his place in this space as a Black composer, which Proudfoot called “insidious” thoughts.
“We have to be talking about all these things,” said Proudfoot. That’s our hope for the film. Spark conversation and have people discuss the various things that come out of this. Maybe even pick up the phone, call their grandparents or their parents. That’s the hope and that’s the beauty of a short documentary.
“Maybe a 13-minute film can inspire a 45-minute conversation.”
*You can watch “A Concerto is a Conversation” in the window below:
