Canada: Sarah Palin--You Betcha

National Post

Nick Broomfield goes rogue for his new doc on Sarah Palin
By Mark Medley

I’m not sure that I believe him, to be honest with you, but Nick Broomfield says he didn’t set out to produce a hit piece on Sarah Palin. This seems laughable after watching Sarah Palin: You Betcha!, an exploration and evisceration of the former Alaskan governor and one-time Republican vice-presidential nominee. In his new documentary, the British director portrays Palin as vengeful, ignorant, petty and dishonest — and those might be her better qualities.

“I’ve made a lot of documentaries,” says Broomfield, whose films include Biggie and Tupac, Kurt & Courtney and Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam. “I think each one is really a diary of the experience of making that particular film. And I don’t go in with a big preconception. I’ve learned that quite often people you might not initially think you’re going to like, you like. And I think that’s one of the interesting things about making films: you never really know what’s going to turn up. So when I got to Wasilla [where Palin was raised, once served as mayor, and now lives], I pretty much had an open mind about who she was, what the community is like. I didn’t go in trying to prove any particular thesis or idea.”

Instead, he wanted to answer a question that had been bugging him since she was unveiled as John McCain’s surprise running mate in the summer of 2008. “When she burst onto that stage with John McCain, and she had all those kids around her, and she gave that rather amazing speech that electrified the world, everyone was wondering who the f–k is this person? Why haven’t I heard about her before?”

Although she’s transformed herself into one of America’s most recognizable politicians in subsequent years, Broomfield “felt that I still didn’t really understand enough about how she’d been brought up, about what her real, fundamental beliefs were.”

So to Wasilla he went. Broomfield spent almost three months in the small, south-central Alaskan town, but despite his best efforts — he befriended Palin’s parents, who seem like decent folks — none of her close friends or acquaintances would grant his interview requests. Instead, Broomfield had to settle for former friends and co-workers, all of whom have an axe to grind, making the film seem as partisan as a Tea Party rally — the political movement she helped foster.

“I think one of the reasons for doing the film is she’s so indicative of the direction in which American politics has shifted,” he says. “She’s really a populist politician. And I think her driving force is this belief that she’s kind of supposed to be doing what she’s doing. She’s been chosen to do this stuff.”

In Broomfield’s two brief encounters with Palin (he approached her at book signings while she was on tour promoting her memoir Going Rogue) she comes across as charming, sweet-talking Broomfield and promising him an interview which, of course, never happens. Broomfield thinks she’s been burned by the media too many times — he includes clips of several of her media gaffes, such as the infamous Katie Couric interview. These days, Palin sticks to Facebook, Twitter and the occasional interview with Fox News. “I’ve often wondered: does she really understand half of what she’s saying? Sometimes, literally, she goes into her Palin spaghetti talk, where sentences don’t seem to even make sense. And you kind of wonder who she really is.”

The film might not have seen the light of day if not for Kickstarter; to help raise money in order to distribute the film, Broomfield turned to the website, which allows users to fund projects they deem worthy. He admits to having “great reservations” about this.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, supposed we don’t get any money. We’re going to look like damned idiots — do a belly flop into the mud.’ ” He buries his hands in his face in mock horror. “And I did have a few mornings where I’d wake up and it would have increased by about $1.”

They raised $31, 120 in the end, proving that just as many hate people Sarah Palin as love her.

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/09/13/nick-broomfield-goes-rogue-for-his-new-doc-on-sarah-palin/