TTCFF Interview: Skye Borgman
“I want to hear diverse voices in film and I want to be one of those diverse voices…but even more than that I want to hire women. I want to be on sets where there are a lot of women and interesting people around.”
I am a massive true crime fan. I eagerly await the new episodes of My Favorite Murder and Casefile, I devoured Michelle McNamara’s book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and have watched too many true crime documentaries sleep has evaded me.
When ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT came across our emails I jumped at the chance to watch this documentary — and I was not disappointed.
This is a story that will make you cringe, panic and stare, mouth gaping, at the screen.
Abducted in Plain Sight profiles the Broberg family, specifically their daughter Jan, and the events that shook their family and small town in 70s when a trusted friend and neighbour betrays them. You watch, through beautiful reenactments, as Jan is groomed, influenced and kidnapped — twice.
The interviews are intimate and heartbreaking as the family recalls the traumatic events that led to Jan’s kidnappings, a marriage betrayal and the manipulation by a family friend.
This documentary is captivating and helps to open the difficult conversation around sexual assault and hopefully help victims feel comfortable coming forward.
This is Skye Borgman’s second feature documentary and in 2018 alone has won Best Documentary at the Newport Beach Film Festival and the Maryland Film Festival — Hagerstown and won Best of Fest at the Julien Dubuque Film Festival. Her first documentary Junk Dreams also won the Accolade of Excellence and Best Documentary. Skye has worked as a professional cinematographer for 15 years, has shot over 50 films and has traveled to over 60 countries to shoot a diverse range of people.
You can see Abducted in Plain Sight as the Opening Night Film at the inaugural Toronto True Crime Film Festival on Friday June 8.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved with filmmaking.
Skye Borgman: I was born in Alaska and grew up in a small town in Oregon. My father worked for the National Park Service and our family spent a lot of time outside, camping, hiking, playing… so to be living in Los Angeles, and making films seems pretty strange to me sometimes.
My love of storytelling really started in high school theatre. The whole process of putting a play together was fascinating to me. I loved the rehearsal process, figuring out how the show went together and then how to focus an audience’s perspective through lighting. It was magical. So I moved to Seattle to get my undergraduate degree at Cornish College of the Arts. It was a wonderful time for me because this was my opportunity to focus on something I loved completely.
After I graduated from Cornish, I wanted to experience what the world was all about and I wanted to travel. So I saved up some money and bought a ticket to Europe to do my grand European vacation. I was only supposed to be gone for 3 months, but I came home five years later. I travelled and lived all over Europe, Asia, and Central America.
That was the first time I picked up a camera and I loved seeing people through a lens. I loved the smiles that would come across their faces, happy but a little embarrassed. It was wonderful. So I needed to figure out a way to combine my three loves: travel, photography and storytelling. The only thing I could come up with was film making, so I came back to the States, moved to Los Angeles, and applied to film school. I started at USC the next semester… and I have been in LA, and working professionally in the film industry, ever since —18 years now!
Tell us about Abducted in Plain Sight. Where did the idea come from?
SB: The idea for Abducted In Plain Sight came from the book that the Brobergs self published in 2005 called Stolen Innocence. The book tells the story of a family whose daughter Jan was kidnapped by the best friend and neighbor. Twice. I just couldn’t understand how something like this could happen and I really wanted to figure that out. The whole film became much more of an investigative journey than I had originally imagined. We had the Broberg’s side of the story, but their recollections were 40 years old and their memories sometimes fleeting. So we acquired FBI documents and court transcripts and did a lot of reading and learned so much more to the story that really helped us put the pieces together. It was an incredible process and I have a newfound love for true-crime stories!
Why did you decide to do reenactments along with the interviews?
SB: I have always had a bit of a hesitation when it comes to reenactments; there have only seen a handful of documentaries where I felt like they really worked. I needed a way to transport the audience back to the 70s. Being a kid was different in the 70s. We didn’t have cell phones, we played outside, we didn’t hear 24/7 about atrocities in the world… we trusted people a little bit more. The reenactments help get the audience back to that time, especially because we shot all of them on 8MM film — so it feels very much like home movies from the 70s.
I also wanted to be able to see Jan as a little girl. We had quite a few pictures of Jan, but not enough to build a three dimensional portrayal of who this little girl was.
The film is structured around a lot of talking heads so I needed to figure out a way to bring some visual structure and depth to the film and provide us flexibility in the edit. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to unpack this story and move back and forth in time. Making that work without confusing the audience was one of the most challenging aspects of editing. We bend time a lot, and I wanted the forward momentum to be constant and intense. The reenactments really helped us transport the audience back in time and propel the story forward.
This story clearly still affects everyone involved, what was it like interviewing the family and how much time did you spend with them?
SB: We met Jan first and spent a lot of time with her, talking about her journey and she came to trust us and eventually introduced us to her family. The interviews were brutal, each interview lasted 8–10 hours and they were really emotional for all of us. I think that one of the biggest reasons the Broberg’s were able to open up to us was because we were three women who knocked on their door. We played with their grandkids, we cooked dinner together, we did the dishes. It’s an incredible honor to sit behind a camera and have someone tell you their story. I think it’s really a phenomenon of listening. It isn’t often that you are in a room with people and you can tell your story without being interrupted, without them telling their version of your story, without being judged, and to have another person listen intensley. I think it would have been really different if three men had walked through the Broberg’s front door. They are incredibly brave to tell their story.
What do you hope people take away from this film?
SB: Our goal has always been to start the conversation. There is such shame and denial surrounding sexual abuse that silence usually follows. If we can start talking about it then maybe some of those feelings start to fall away. If this film can start the conversation about child abuse, then maybe we can open someone’s eyes so that they can see that the same thing might be happening to their family or their neighbors family. And I feel like the film does this. We have been on the festival circuit for a year now and I have been to almost all of the screenings and the question and answer period after the film is always electric. People really want to talk and they don’t want to be judged. They want to understand… and to talk about sexual abuse in a theater full of mostly strangers is a pretty phenomenal experience. I am always humbled by it and the outpouring of emotions that come — because there are a lot of emotions that people feel after the credits roll. It’s intense.
Can you tell us about some/all of the other amazing women who worked on this film?
SB: There are a lot of incredible women behind this film! Stephanie Tobey, one of the producers has been on this film from the beginning and was the one that found the story and brought it to me. Emily Kincaid came on during the time that we were shooting the reenactments (she is even in the film!) and has taken over our social media and been a completely energizing force. Jamie Blank and Lissette Vargas traveled with us to do our initial interviews. There have been a lot of great men too, but the female energy made this film a reality.
Tell us about why you are a feminist and why it’s important to your filmmaking.
SB: I want to hear diverse voices in film and I want to be one of those diverse voices… but even more than that I want to hire women. I want to be on sets where there are a lot of women and interesting people around. Sometimes I realize that I live in a bubble because I hire women and I work with women that have the same mission, so a lot of my time on set I am surrounded by women. It’s funny, I had an interview a few months ago where I was in front of the camera (which is weird) and every single person behind the camera was a white guy and I thought, “Oh yeah… that’s right, this is how it is.” But it really does feel normal to be surrounded by diversity so I have to remind myself sometimes that this isn’t normal for everyone and the more I can do to make it normal—well, that’s my mission.
Who are your favourite women working in the film industry?
SB: Rachel Morrison — I love that she is kicking ass as a DP. Reed Morano — She has really managed to merge being a DP and a director in such an impactful way. Ava DuVernay — She has done so much for women of color and her canon of work is so diverse! Ellen Pompeo — Is a powerhouse at translating her acting career into a producing career. Shonda Rhimes — For making challenging and entertaining television with diverse female characters and empowering women to ask for higher wages, better roles.
What’s the best advice about filmmaking you’ve ever received?
SB: I am a director and a director of photography, so I spend A LOT of time on set — it’s probably my favorite place to be. The best advice I have ever gotten is to show up early. There is nothing like sitting in the space before most people arrive and gathering my thoughts and getting ready for the day, because once the day starts it is non stop decision making and negotiating. So this moment of solitude before the world turns upside down is wonderful.
What are you working on now/next?
SB: I am developing a true crime series that I will be pitching to networks in the summer and fall and I am always looking for ideas. I also have a women in wildfire fighting film that I would love to make — something heartwarming. Dealing with tragic subject matter can be a real drain so something beautiful and uplifting would be nice.
What kind of hat best describes your personality?
SB: A straw cowboy hat. Keeps the sun off on long days outdoors. Practical, sexy, nostalgic.
Finally, recommend one #MUFFApproved film for our blog readers!
SB: I have met so many amazing women on the festival circuit so I am going to run down my favorite festival films that I hope you hear about in the coming months!
Rust Creek (Dir: Jen McGowan)
Between the Shades (Dir: Jill Salvino)
Seeing Is Believing: Women Direct (Dir: Cady McClain)
Stumped (Dir: Robin Berghaus)
Acid trip (Dir: Jenny Waldo)
