Interview with Joe & Harry Gantz
for SEX WITH STRANGERS

February 4, 2002 at the Eduardian Hotel in San Francisco

I realize that many people hear the word "sex" and react one of two ways: (A) ooh, great, naked people; or (B) sick blasphemers, burn in H-ll!, but believe me when I say that SEX WITH STRANGERS will not make you react in either extreme. Yes, there is nudity and the content is blatantly sexual. However, the film emphasizes psychology and the dynamics of human interaction as it pertains to sexuality, not graphic pornography. BOOGIE NIGHTS moved audiences and made people look beyond the surface storyline that presented the lives of pornographers, to the story of a dysfunctional and untraditional family. SEX WITH STRANGERS takes a look at the impact of swinging on the lives of the couples and the individuals involved. The film is disturbing at times and there are moments when viewers will cringe, but most likely these instances will be in reaction to the emotions of the characters, not their sexual acts.

Harry Gantz claims that the key to documentary filmmaking is casting, from a production standpoint that is true. Yet, from a viewer's perspective, I would argue that establishing trust with the cast so that the events captured on screen feel genuine and honest to audiences, is the key to getting people to watch and appreciate a documentary. Without a doubt, the Gantz Brothers established enough trust with the cast of SEX WITH STRANGERS to get them to open up to strangers in audiences throughout the world. Even though this film may not entertain audiences like a major studio release would, it will definitely get a reaction from audiences which means that the filmmakers did something right.

Do you take a position when you make a documentary? Do you anticipate certain audience reactions?
Anyone who sees this film will have strong emotional reactions to the characters and the subject matter. I asked the Gantz Brothers if they were trying to set forth an argument with this film. According to Harry Gantz, they are not taking a position. He explains, "This is a film about their lives without judgment". Joe Gantz explained, "I don't find manipulative stuff interesting, and I don't like it when it's mean-spirited." (Joe Gantz in Daily News- December 2000). Instead, they just want to tell a story and capture the people behind the story with honesty, totality, and empathy.

How did you select the couples for this film?
One cannot help but wonder how the Gantz Brothers selected the swinging couples for this documentary. Harry Gantz explained that it was a treacherous two to three months interviewing and following a large number of potential couples. Eventually, the brothers were able to narrow it down to three pairs based on their openness to exposing their entire life without a hidden propaganda-related agenda. Harry asserts that "the key to documentary filmmaking is casting!"

How do you decide what to include and what to cut in the editing suite?
After following the lives of three couples for a year, the Gantz Brothers accumulated two hundred hours of raw footage. Even though SEX WITH STRANGERS is a documentary not a fictional narrative film, Harry Gantz explained that they made their editing decisions based on what would support a traditional three act narrative. They wanted to emphasize story and limit the amount of talking heads that so many audiences associate with documentary film. The first cut was three hours and only included action sequences no interviews. They had some informal screenings with friends, crew members, and some strangers, but none of the SEX WITH STRANGERS cast members, since they may have interfered with the creative process (too many cooks at the pot, so to speak). Ultimately, one hour and forty-five minutes of footage that told a clear and compassionate story while revealing the essence of the various characters, made it to the big screen.

Since the couples were not involved with post-production decisions, how did they react when they finally saw the release print?
Joe Gantz explained that all of the selected couples appreciated the film and believe that the Gantz Brothers depicted them accurately for the moments captured in the SEX WITH STRANGERS documentary. This is not to say that they did not worry about how audience members would react to their moments of weakness and examples of selfish or immature behavior, because they did (for example Calvin has need for concern). Yet, the film exposes the characters strengths and weaknesses, fairly and completely. One couple, James and Theresa, attended the Amsterdam Film Festival when Joe and Harry were making the festival run with SEX WITH STRANGERS. This couple thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching the film with an audience; they are also the couple that seems to be the happiest living the swinging lifestyle.

How do you plan to use the internet with this and other projects?
The Gantz Brothers have their own internet destination website at www.crushedplanet.com. "We wanted to be creatively free to make it interesting, or unusual, and to follow that to the creative end we were interested in." (Joe Gantz in International Documentary October 2000). This website houses a number of original reality programs including: CRUSHED PLANET, FIRST APARTMENT, THE WAR ON COMEDY, as well as clips from SEX WITH STRANGERS. They are also considering some exhibition and cross promotional deals with other internet companies.

Now that you have finished the festival circuit, and you are about to launch your US theatrical run, what are your plans for an international release?
The Brothers explained that after the United States, SEX WITH STRANGERS will hit Canadian and Australian theaters. They have not made definite plans about how to expand to Europe, but I think the film would be accepted and appreciated by European audiences, especially Western Europe.

How did the experience of creating this film compare with HBO's TAXICAB CONFESSIONS?
Even though Joe and Harry have enjoyed great success with HBO's TAXICAB CONFESSIONS, including Emmy recognition, SEX WITH STRANGERS is the first major theatrical film release for the Gantz brothers. They used a substantial amount of their own money to fund this project, the financial experience has been a flashback to their earlier days as independent filmmakers in San Francisco. "We wanted to own our own programming. It doesn't necessarily mean you'll make more money, but at least you own what you created." (Harry Gantz in Daily Variety- February 2000).

For TAXICAB CONFESSIONS they spend six weeks per episode. The production includes following the cab and directing the driver to lead the conversation a certain way (they are able to do this because they have an audio and video set up that enables them to see and hear the events as they unfold). They got the idea for SEX WITH STRANGERS when one lactating woman with breast implants described her experiences as a swinger. This inspired the Brothers to do further research in magazines and on the internet. They found that most swingers "do not wear their sexuality on their sleeves" (describes Harry); many of the swingers that they met lived conventional, traditional, even somewhat conservative lives. Two of the three couples in the film were married and one of those couples had a young child. They all had jobs, but many lost their jobs when their employers found out about this part of their lives.

What are your hopes for this film?
Besides the obvious desire to see the film do well critically and financially, Harry Gantz explained that he hoped the film would show how "sex is a part of someone's psychology... not just a compartment as seen in the media". SEX WITH STRANGERS strives to show the reality of sexuality not just a fictionalized exaggeration. Both Harry and Joe hope that audiences will appreciate the honesty of the film, even though many people may feel uncomfortable with the subject matter and the candor of the presentation.

What would you say to other budding independent filmmakers?
Although Joe jokingly said "turn back now", he and Harry both agree that there is no time like the present for a filmmaker or videographer to turn his/her vision into a completed work. Joe explained how much more cost effective equipment and rentals are, for example, one can spend $3,000 on a camera with comparable features to a camera that would have cost $80,000 a few years ago; editing software can now be obtained for $2,000, when not too long ago the minimum purchase price would have been $60,000. Harry simply stated that "if you have a vision, there are no excuses".