Interview with Documentary Producer Anthony Brogdon

By Karen Hudson Samuels/Tell Us Detroit

Note: “The Great Detroit: It Was-It Is-It Will Be” was released in April 2014 and has been screened at various locations in metro Detroit. Anthony Brogdon is a first time filmmaker who spent three years bringing the documentary, which showcases the positive sides of Detroit, to the screen at a cost $15,000. He sat down recently with Tell Us Detroit recently to talk about public reaction to the film, how he got started and future filmmaking projects.

"The Great Detroit” has been out since the spring, what has been the reaction of audiences who’ve seen the documentary?

The reaction has been very positive. I think it’s a twofold reaction. One they were probably expecting that as an African American guy, the film would have an African American slant to it and that it does not. Actually there are more other races; it’s a very diverse film in terms of the people we interviewed. And there is a little surprise on how much they learn after watching film. Because once you settle in and the movie gets to going, after ten minutes on so you say, ‘Man that taught me something, I’m even more proud to be Detroiter’ so maybe they are a little shocked by that.

What did you discover about Detroit that surprised you as a native son of the city?

There are some facts I didn’t know, that Kiwanis International was started in Detroit, I didn’t know we had a man-made island, the land that the Detroit Yacht Club sits on...I didn’t know Detroit was a fashion capital because of fur trading and made hats for the King of England. You go into historical museums and you see some of those exhibits but I didn’t know how great Detroit that was or why it was founded. It was not just the fur trading. The land and the Detroit River were ideally situated to build a fort to stop invasions from the British; that was the initial reasoning.

From business to producing a documentary is a pretty big leap, how did you get started?

I got started by first having the idea to do it then after that watched a couple of YouTube tutorials which gave me a few tips, then after that I began to write a script and get an idea and overview of what I wanted the film to do in its most broad terms, the principal of the film is to be an educational piece. From there I began to understand the different areas I wanted in the film and I began to find people that I knew or didn’t know to plug them into those areas. I began to send them e-mails and make phone calls and ask them if we could interview them for the film.

What was your pitch to people you wanted to interview to appear on camera?

The pitch was, I’m doing a documentary about Detroit, its uniqueness, it’s all positive and would you please allow me to interview you for this film
Did you get any rejections to appear in the film?

I did get a couple of rejections because people were kind of hesitant they wanted to make sure I was saying it that it would positive so there was a little of that. But there are 55 people in the film so other than those one or two, I must admit some of them are a little disappointed that didn’t do it, but other than most everyone said yes.

During Q&A sessions following a screening, have there been questions from audiences that have caught you off guard?

Probably the only one that caught me off guard and I understand it is, there is one interviewee, the gentlemen who talks about the history of techno music appears wearing a mask. I got a number of comments in regards to -- Why is he doing that? it’s kind of intimidating. Even my Dad who did the still photography said he wished I would cut that out, he was that adamant about it. But I do have scroll under the interview that explains he wears a mask because it’s more about the music than self-acclaim. But he speaks eloquently and I think people can see that.

Was there a Detroit story you missed you would have liked to have included?

Yes, we talk about Motown (in the film) but I would have liked to interview someone from Motown. I kind of regret that didn’t happen. The Shrine of Black Madonna is another we didn’t include. Maybe a few more people in the neighborhoods but other than that I got everything that comes to mind.

After taking this huge leap to become filmmaker, are there more projects in the works?

Let me tell you I enjoyed this. It kept me up at nights but it was a sleepless night of joy. It was sleepless nights of doing research on the computer. I think I’ve kind of developed what might be my style, purpose, my principal. So there is one that I intend to do, I’ve already done the legwork, already gotten approvals by many of the locations that we intend to include in the film and it’s called “Black History Then and Now”. The short of it is there are 35 locations that played a significant role in the making of history of America, not just black history but history in general. And then the other is my first feature length film, not a documentary which is called “Foot Soldiers” I produced it as a play about six or seven years ago, staged it at a couple to small theaters here in Detroit. I’ve adapted the script and already finished that so instead of seven actors, its 35 people, all the locations have been scouted. It’s a film about mentorship, a relationship between a mentee and his mentor and how that relationship positively affected both of their lives. I’m going to make a little impact in this industry as a filmmaker. I’ve got another script I want to do, I started writing that it’s called “The Regal Man” The short of it is that its about a man with one girlfriend, he’s a good look guy, he’s been married, now he’s looking for one lady. And because he’s a good looking guy, and the connotations about men and relationships nowadays, the women don’t believe it. And so it deals with that dynamic.

The Great Documentary is available on DVD on Amazon Brogdon the founder/president of a strongproduction@aol.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzuoL9hQl1o