Today we’re speaking with Tony Villani about his wide-ranging and eye-opening documentary, Soldiers: Six Stories, Six Wars. In the film, Villani interviews six individuals who have all fought in or been touched by war. Thank you for speaking with us today.
Chris McClure, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): First off, where did you find these interview subjects?
Tony Villani (TV): Well, I first met Harry Shindler in 2016 when he spoke at a university where I was lecturing on film. I was so struck by his honesty, dedication, and stamina that I decided I wanted to work with him and maybe make a short film on his wartime experience. The idea soon turned into a broader scope project and I decided to cast people starting from my own backyard. Except for Harry and Vera they were folks I had known for some time simply as friends or friends of friends with no idea of how their experience in the military had shaped their lives. I wanted to find out and focus on their inner wars. I met Vera when I was Artist in Residence at Art Mill, an Center for the arts in Bohemia, Czech Republic. I found her personality and story fascinating.
(UM): Were there stories by other people you had to exclude from the
documentary?
(TV): No. I was pretty much set on the people I picked
(UM): What inspired you to make this film?
(TV): Though I never felt particularly close to the military, it has been clear to me for a long time what a constant and inevitable presence in our lives war is. We grow up surrounded by conflicts near and far and family talk and stories about them. I wanted to get to know veterans up close and find out from them what it was like to be a soldier…what the issues were and what words such as patriotism, duty, individuality, fear, sexism, abuse, loss and death really meant. Also, most of my film start with an inspiring encounter and when I met Harry Shindler I knew I had found that
(UM): Do you think the experience of war has changed over time?
(TV): The interviewees all speak about the fact that war seems to be a permanent
problem for mankind, but on the other hand, the experience of Terry, for
example, as a professional soldier, seems very different from the
experience of Harry, who is more of a ‘civilian’ soldier. The experience of war has changed considerably, especially that of inflicting death remotely vs. traditional battlefield warfare.
(UM): Melanie’s story is the only one about a female soldier. Do you think
women will ever fight in equal numbers alongside men in future wars?
(TV): Neither Melanie nor I really believe they will. While the nature of war shifts more and more to a technological real life computer game the glass ceiling for women in the military hasn’t really cracked with the same speed
(UM): Harry tells us that World War Two was a just war, while there are
mixed opinions about Vietnam. The documentary does a good job of staying
out of politics as much as possible, but do you think there is such a
thing as a just war?
(TV): Wars are usually not really fought in the name of freedom, ideals, values, and democracy and don’r represent people at large but the economic powers that seek expansion or fear interference. Wars that come from within to resist invasion are different World War Two was as close to a just war as one can think.
(UM): What surprised you most about these stories?
(TV): The honesty with which they were shared and the diversity they brought to the project.
(UM): Could you tell us about any upcoming projects?
(TV): Sure. I very often make films about Los Angeles and I have been working now for some time on stories and characters from Black LA. The structure will be somewhat similar to that of Soldiers with differences and the introduction of a new element: poetry. I believe it is my job to build bridges between and within people and that’s what I hope to achieve with this new film.
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.