Variety<\/i><\/a>) Pollard discussed what prompted him to create a film on the relationship between Martin Luther King and the FBI. \u201cI had never thought about looking into the relationship that J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI had in terms of trying to undercut and destroy Dr. King\u2019s reputation. And it wasn\u2019t until 2017 when my producer Ben Hedin read this book by David Garrow about the FBI and Martin Luther King that, all of a sudden, it became clear to him\u2014and to myself\u2014that this should be a film.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nBut why now? Is there still an audience for this story? Pollard agrees that it is a work that perhaps should have been done 15 years ago. On the contrary, he says, \u201cDr. King is seen as an icon, not only in America but in the world, and we wanted to look at Dr. King in a much more complex, human way, and this just seemed to be the right time [to do that].\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nFurthermore, 2020 appears to be filled with relevance as we watch history repeat itself. \u201cIn some ways,\u201d said Pollard, \u201cthings haven\u2019t changed, in terms of the American political landscape. When we were shaping and editing the film, we didn\u2019t realize to the extent that it would be so resonant and relevant today. I mean, we knew it would be relevant, but with all the things that have happened in the last nine months\u2014 with the pandemic, with the narratives of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and others, with Trump pulling out the trope that white America should be afraid [because] the left is going to destroy the suburbs\u2014it just shows you that America is still, in some ways, socially and politically, a very backwards country.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nWith a career spanning over 30 years, Pollard has sound advice when it comes to how he managed to maintain a strong work ethic. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to keep pushing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about understanding that we\u2019re always in continual struggle. You saw with Dr. King, you saw with the civil rights movement, that there\u2019s always a struggle, that every time you take two steps forward, you end up taking three steps back. And as a freelance documentary filmmaker, I understand that. It\u2019s a struggle, it\u2019s a struggle to get these films made, and it\u2019s a struggle to get these stories out there. And when the story connects, you feel some sense of [satisfaction]: \u2018Ah, I finally made a dent. Even if it\u2019s a little dent, I made a dent.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nWatch the trailer for \u201cMLK\/FBI\u201d below:<\/strong><\/p>\n
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