March 01, 2010 01:30PM EST

TC Doc Series: Bestor Cram on Johnny Cash

The joint will be rockin' at next Monday's Tribeca Cinemas Doc Series screening of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. Drawing from rock photographer Jim Marshall’s stark images of Johnny Cash's seminal concert at Folsom Prison, rare archival footage, and exclusive interviews with participants and observers, this film traces Cash’s rocky road that led to the concert and the torrent of stardom and political debate that came after it.

We checked in with director Bestor Cram for a primer on the man, the music, and the movie.

---

TribecaFilm.com: Please describe the story you tell in Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. What inspired you to tell that story?
Bestor Cram: Cash at Folsom is about Cash redefining himself as an artist and as a human being. Troubled by his faltering career and troubled by those he empathized with—the downtrodden, the disenfranchised, the imprisoned—Cash knew if he could sing his heart to those who lived his songs, he would have a great album. He didn’t know that he would change the course of his life and of those who attended that concert in 1968, but it did. And the film is about those transformations. It portrays Cash and two inmates who were in the audience and reveals how that intersection of lives had a profound impact on all of them.

I was inspired by a book called Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison by Michael Streissguth. I knew after reading it there was a great documentary to be made that would reach beyond the Cash myth. And Michael became a co-producer and writer of the film.

How has making Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison changed you in the long run?
BC: We used lots of animation in the film, and so making this movie has unlocked another artistic tool that fits with documentary filmmaking.



Making documentaries is not an easy road. What was the biggest challenge in getting your film made? How did you overcome it?
BC: Raising funds is always the biggest challenge. This was made with pre-sales from overseas broadcasters and money from PBS, which used the film as a pledge special. I was lucky in that I worked with a superb sales agent, Louise Rosen. So the answer is: raising funds from multiple sources.

What's up next for you as a director?
BC: My next film is about cyber warfare—the dark, nefarious and invisible arena of virtual espionage and digital terrorism.

What do you currently find most inspiring in today's film world?
BC: Animation and its ability to be evocative story illustration.

What else can you tell us about your film?
BC: Cash was part of the times that were a changing. He lived the rebel’s life. He was an absolute American original outsider who eventually became a singer and voice for all ages. As someone becomes more of a celebrity for good or bad, we become less aware of who the person is. I believe documentaries often can reconnect us with those we think we know in new ways that brings an entirely new understanding about what we admire in an individual and why. Ultimately, making our heroes more real allows us to see our own humanity reflected in their lives—in ways that make their art more personal, their legacy more enduring.

What makes Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison a must-see?  
BC: Animation, music, and a story of triumph over adversity. And the man in black we never knew.

---

Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
March 8, 2010
7:30 pm
Director Bestor Cram will be in attendance.
 The Tribeca Cinemas bar will be open before and after the screening—stop in for a drink and mingle with other movie lovers.