The truth is in the filming

The Ashland Independent Film Festival is bestowing its lifetime achievement award on Albert Maysles, dubbed by the New York Times as "the dean of documentary filmmakers."

This is only the second time in AIFF's seven-year history that the award has been given.

Maysles, 81, and his brother David, who passed away in 1987, were among the first to capture life as it unfolded before the camera without scripts, sets or narration. His work has earned him two Emmys and an Academy Award nomination.

Maysles, from his office in Harlem, said the goal of documentaries is to truthfully inform viewers in the most direct way about what is going on.

"That means getting behind the scenes, establishing a rapport with the subjects, getting heart to heart with what you're filming and not using narration," he said.

Maysles said many documentaries, even today, take a "point-of-view" approach.

"They're getting into propaganda rather than the non-point-of-view approach," he said. "Michael Moore would be more persuasive if he didn't limit himself to his point of view."

Maysles likes to let his films happen organically so the truth can reveal itself.

"We need to put forth information that viewers can judge for themselves. That way you'll end up with something closer to the truth," he said.

Maysles said documentary directors choose a subject because it speaks somehow to his or her heart. He said a director may have a vague idea about where the film will lead; but should be open to anything that presents itself.

"'Gimme Shelter' is a perfect example, when we ended up with a lot of violence we didn't anticipate," he said.

"Gimme Shelter," a landmark documentary from 1971, started out capturing the Rolling Stones, cultural icons of the '60s, offering a free concert at Altamont Speedway outside of San Francisco. The Hells Angels were asked to help maintain order, but intimidation and fear caused by the gang eventually led to the stabbing and death of an audience member.

Maysles film caught the killing on tape and has been studied by documentary film students ever since.

"If you asked us to guess, we probably would have thought it would be more positive than it ended up being," he said.

Part of the mystique of documentary filmmaking is in not knowing the ending, and not knowing how it will affect the filmmakers or the viewers.

Maysles said his film "Salesman" (1968), which is listed in the Library of Congress as one of America's 25 most important films, touched him and his brother in a personal way that they hadn't expected.

"The film follows salesmen who are all Irishmen from Boston," he said. "My brother and I grew up in Boston, where the Irish boys would pick on the Jewish boys. This film was coming to terms with friendships we didn't have growing up. (Michael) Moore would have taken it for an opportunity for revenge. We took it for an opportunity to become friends with our former enemies."

Maysles is currently working on a film about people who ride on trains.

"It's an ambitious project and I've already gone to about six different countries," he said. "I'm just looking for people's stories. It's not a political or social commentary film. It's me capturing stories. It's something I've always wanted to do."

Looking back on his 50 plus years as a documentary filmmaker, Maysles said he's more excited now than ever before.

"There's always something that needs to be filmed," he said. "Today, my skills are so sharpened and the cameras are so advanced — there's no way to fail."

AIFF will present the lifetime achievement award at its awards celebration banquet on Sunday, from 7:30 to 11 p.m. at the Historic Ashland Armory at 208 Oak St.

Reach reporter Michele Mihalovich at 482-3456 x226 or mmihalovich@dailytidings.com.