Director Kenya-Jade Pinto’s terrifying techsposé The Sandbox reveals the sinister side of surveillance, and how Big Data has become Big Brother — especially in border-control operations. We posed our Qs à la mode to Kenya-Jade, and here’s what she shared!
If I had to describe my film using only three adjectives, they would be: Evocative, expansive, unflinching.
I wanted to make this film because: I was curious, it felt close to me, and I felt like I had something to say. I trained as a lawyer — focusing on refugee and international law — and I learned that, in Canada, we started outsourcing some of our most discretionary applications to algorithms in a pilot program. So I started tugging on this thread and unraveled a tapestry that was much larger and more ominous than I anticipated.
The thing that surprised me most while making my film was: So many things surprised me. But the resiliency of the human spirit has been an important one.
My favourite moment/scene/sequence in my film is: Ooh, tough pick. I definitely can’t pick a favourite, per se, but a memorable and impactful one for me personally was the three-or-so weeks Gabriela Osio Vanden and I spent filming on board the Sea Watch 5. Not only because this sequence is harrowing, but because I felt changed as a human being on a molecular level after this experience.
My most invaluable piece of doc-making equipment was/is: My notebook. The technical equipment shape-shifted depending on the access and footprint we were afforded, from iPhone to Sony FX9. But my constant from research and development all the way into post was my notebook. That’s where I kept all of my field-notes, observations, feelings, fears, connections, references, on-the-fly research and so on. It was invaluable to be able to bring that back into the edit suite.
My must-have snack to get me through hours in the editing room is: [Our editor] Jordan Kawai and I established a green tea and poke ritual that seems to have stuck!
One piece of documentary-filmmaking advice I’d like to share with aspiring documentarians is: Hard to pick just one. I am always trying — and failing — and then trying again to hold myself to a few values. Here’s a non-ordered, non-exhaustive list:
1. Stay curious and consistent. Try to do what you say you’re going to do.
2. Be flexible and let your mind be surprised and changed.
3. Greet your fears where they live, but don’t overstay your welcome. Too long here and it starts to affect #1.
4. Find your people and let them see you. Ask for their help when you need it.
Want to check out Kenya-Jade’s film or just learn more about it?
Get the scoop, and your tickets, here!
