Seized: Sharon Liese on Community and Documentary Storytelling
How do you defend a free press when you dislike what your local newspaper writes about you?
In August 2023, police raided the Marion County Record in Kansas and the home of editor and publisher Eric Meyer. His 98 year old mother Joan, the newspaper’s co owner, died the following day. The raids attracted international condemnation, but within Marion, the response was more complicated.
For our Stockholm Film Festival coverage, Brian welcomes Emmy winning filmmaker Sharon Liese, director of Seized, to discuss the community behind the headlines and the choices involved in bringing its story to the screen.
Sharon explains how police body camera and surveillance footage helped reconstruct the raids, while a young reporter’s arrival offered a fresh perspective on the newspaper and the town it serves. We also explore gaining the trust of reluctant participants, allowing a protagonist’s flaws into the story, and finding humor and humanity amid a serious confrontation over press freedom.
In this conversation:
Sharon’s previous work includes The Flagmakers and Transhood.
Explore Sharon’s films at Herizon Productions.
Check out music from Moondog here: Moondog
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