Producers Albie Hecht, Yael Melamede and director Sean Fine with their Oscar for the documentary Inocente.
What led you to film and co-founding the production company Salty Features? And why the name Salty Features?
I fell in love with Photography at Yale and worked in a photo studio after college. I went to graduate school in Architecture, and ultimately found my way back to the image through film. After a number of years in the business, I decided to start my own film production company with a terrific partner. We both had complicated names so we looked for something essential as our company’s name. We love salty food; I had a great love for a fairy tale based on the value of salt; and I love to try and balance a salt shaker on one grain of salt… Ultimately, we felt it represented our aspirations to make films that enhance the world, that are neither sweet nor sour. We wanted to make SALTY films!
Was film something that you always wanted to do?
I didn’t know what I wanted to do professionally. I had a great interest in law. But ultimately, I was drawn to film through the love of the moving image and the image itself.
How did your experience at the Lycée have an impact on who you are now?
The Lycee taught me how to work. It taught me to be disciplined and to reach for the very best in my work. More importantly, by being so thoroughly bi-lingual, I think it gives its students the potential to see the world always in more than one way. I think that’s a strength and privilege.
Tell me about the film INOCENTE and how you came to champion the project, which is about homelessness and art.
INOCENTE was a passion project that grew out of the desire to tell a story about homelessness that we felt hadn’t been told – through the story of teens. After finding Inocente and filming with her, we decided she was so special and her story so poignant, that we should focus entirely on her. Through her story, we are able to talk also about issues around immigration and the importance of arts education – among other issues.
Has winning an Academy Award for INOCENTE opened more doors to new projects?
I will know in the next year about how much it will actually make a difference to our business – but in the meantime it’s certainly a wonderful ride!
You developed workshops for schools based on content in INOCENTE. Can you describe the workshops? And will you be bringing them to the Lycée?
Together with a number of organizations, including Dreamyard (in the Bronx) and the High Museum (in Atalanta), we developed a number of arts workshop that were designed specifically from the film. Our experience in the field with workshops has been terrific. Teenagers are incredibly moved and engaged by the story and having a place to pour their emotions into after the film seems both effective and has been hugely rewarding and inspiring.
I’d love to bring the workshops to the Lycee – I believe that making something after viewing the film changes and enriches the experience in entirely new and exciting dimensions that affect the viewer and their memory of the film.
About the Author :
Claude’s goal is to develop a thriving program that alumni of multiple promotions will find engaging and compelling. Prior to coming to the Lycée, Claude co-directed the start-up and development of two Gates Foundation High schools, Food and Finance High School and the High School for Hospitality Management (HSHM). At these schools, he designed and implemented a work-based mentoring program for students. Claude is an avid Olympique de Marseille fan.