How long did you follow Loretha Wiesinger, the doula you profiled?

I worked with Loretha for over two years. Most of my documentaries follow subjects for over a year. You really need that time to establish a trusting relationship with subjects, to allow them to feel comfortable with the camera, let down their guard and really get inside their stories.

How did you select the teen mothers you followed in the film?

We spent a lot of time with Loretha, going with her on home visits and to prenatal classes. She would sometimes point out girls we should talk to. And we would come before class and hang around. That’s how trust was built. Since we didn’t have to take a news approach – where you get your three shots or so and leave forever – we could stay and let them get used to us. And we did this for a few weeks before filming.

What were the greatest obstacles or challenges?

There were two main obstacles making this movie. One was the fact that Loretha was very private – dedicated and charismatic, but it was hard to get into her personal life. She was happy to present her professional life, but I needed that other part of her life to hold onto, and that was tricky.

The other problem was that the film started out with two subjects, but I realized during editing that one of the subjects wasn’t going to work. We had to cut out an entire part of the film. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my career, but I knew it just wasn’t going to work.

There was also a big question at the beginning: How can a white guy tell a story about black women? Beyond that, I have learned from previous projects that I made outside my own community that when you build up a trusting relationship with your subject, everything else falls away and I was able to achieve that.

How big was the on-site production crew?

I work with a very small crew. With vérité film, you’re always trying to get the subject to forget you’re there. So I worked with one camerawoman at any given time (I had two) and one soundwoman. I was the only man involved in the production. And for some of the birth scenes, I wasn’t present. I sent the camera and sound people, who I trusted to get the material we needed.

Any surprising developments? Character transformations?

A number of girls exceeded my expectations, in terms of stepping up to the plate as mothers and while being pregnant.

I think that making the film changed me. Before I started, I had my own preconceived notions about teen moms. Right after I started to research the film, I found out my wife was pregnant with our first child, which was big. It helped me understand much more –  here I was, a white guy in my mid-30s, with a stable life and solid network around me, and some of these girls had none of that. The film sucked me in differently than it would have if my wife hadn’t been pregnant. And I came away with little judgment for these young women, more understanding and much more respect for those who took the responsibility seriously.

What was the driving force through the long process of making this film?

Besides my wife’s pregnancy and Loretha’s dynamism, I was drawn in after initially talking to my friend, and going into the field, and doing research and watching films and talking to experts. I felt this subject was fraught with judgment and preconceived notions. Loretha approached it devoid of these things and my motivation was to represent her unconditional love, her ability to not to be judgmental or pitying.

Can documentary films be considered journalism?

If journalism is about collecting and presenting relevant stories, then documentary films count as journalism. The vérité type of filmmaking is about using real, compelling stories to illustrate a pressing issue. I think that all journalists are trying to tell a story. The type of documentaries that I make are about harnessing the power of the personal story to illuminate broader social issues: To highlight pressing issues, to make people pay attention to them, that’s journalism, isn’t it?