Steve James(II)

One of 115 invitees to join AMPAS in 2007.

(On Harlan County USA) There've been many documentaries over the years that have powerfully impacted me. I think this one came along at the time when I was more interested in being a feature filmmaker than a documentary filmmaker. So it came along at the beginning of a process of moving from an interest in feature film to documentaries, and that's where my career has taken me. It came along at the right time for me. It helped me see, "Ah, this is more what I want to do." There's something very alive about this film. What it's about and the degree to which the filmmaker courageously put herself into a situation that she was not from. You don't have to have known her history to know that she was an outsider. She had the courage to go into a situation, spend the time there, and really try to understand it. You feel that all through the movie. In many respects, she became a template for the kind of filmmaker I want to be.