Local Documentarians

Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker - residents of Sag Harbor and Manhattan, partners in life and as documentary filmmakers - were two of seven documentarians to speak as part of a Hamptons International Film Festival panel discussion Sunday afternoon.

The couple first got together in 1976 to work on "The Energy War," a trilogy produced for PBS which documented the 18-month struggle in Congress over President Jimmy Carter's energy proposals. Most recently, they directed "Moon Over Broadway," which takes a look at the high-risk adventure of producing a Broadway play, "Full Moon Over Buffalo." The film made its U.S. premiere at this year's Film Festival.

An earlier collaboration between the two was "The War Room," which followed the Clinton campaign. And Mr. Pennebaker was the director of a number of classic documentaries, including "Monterey Pop," a view of the Monterey International Pop Festival, and "Don't Look Back," a famous cinema verite film of Bob Dylan during a concert tour of England in 1965.

Real-Life Drama

Both Mr. Pennebaker and Ms. Hegedus got their starts in film before they met. Mr. Pennebaker began working for a director of abstract films, from whom he learned "how to look through a camera." Ms. Hegedus comes from an art background, having started as a camera person for what she described as structured, funny art films.

Though at first she wasn't interested in documentaries, Ms. Hegedus said that eventually she became enamored with the real-life drama of things.

With their solid backgrounds in filmmaking experience, Mr. Pennebaker said working on films together now is simply a matter of picking a subject and then "problem solving."

With the other documentarians on the panel, Mr. Pennebaker and Ms. Hegedus discussed their approach to making their films. Mr. Pennebaker, for one, said he never does research on his subject beforehand. "I want to have all of it come through the camera," he said.

Stay Out Of The Way

Ms. Hegedus said she does not stop filming if people are doing or saying something that might be embarrassing. Chances are, she said, "this really shows the person's character."

"In the end I think your greatest loyalty is with the film," Mr. Pennebaker said.

He considers making a documentary a joint venture, Mr. Pennebaker added. "I'm not making a film at [the subjects'] expense. We're making a film together."

Their style of filmmaking, unlike others', does not involve a great deal of interviewing, the couple said. Rather, they try to get their subjects to feel comfortable with them but then stay out of their way.

"While we're making the film we don't really want to interfere with their lives," Ms. Hegedus said.

Can he make a film about a subject he dislikes? "Personally, it's impossible. I couldn't do it."