JFK: A PRESIDENT BETRAYED – TO BOLDLY GO
By Briege McGarrity
Committed to keeping a finger on the pulse of the latest quality docs, IFQ recently watched JFK: A President Betrayed, an extraordinary educational documentary that chronicles the secret peace efforts of one of America’s most celebrated Presidents. Written and directed by Emmy winner Cory Taylor and meticulously researched by his team at Agora Productions, the film is an insightful and penetrating look at Kennedy’s secret efforts to achieve peaceful relations with some of the world’s most colorful and controversial leaders.
Audiences learn how JFK travelled to meet with Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev and was even willing to meet Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. These meetings were not supported by the American government, CIA or top military advisors, leaving JFK, who was not very well trained on foreign policy, to negotiate alone – in fact new evidence shows the government thwarted his effort to get out of Vietnam. We all know that The Bay of Pigs fiasco had an enormous impact on JFK, prompting him to declare the now-famous line “Victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan.” Through this never-before-seen-footage, new evidence and wonderful commentary, we see Kennedy as a courageous leader who was determined to improve relations with Cuba, remove the threat of nuclear war and withdraw troops from Vietnam to name a few ambitious objectives.
Narrated by Oscar winner Morgan Freeman and starring Dan Fenn, Sergei Khrushchev, James Galbraith, Candis and Andrea Cousins, JFK: A PRESIDENT BETRAYEDdeserves awards and very high ratings when it premieres this week on the Something to Talk About Series on November 7 on DIRECT TV.
Independent Film Quarterly (IFQ): Tell us how you got into the world of documentary filmmaking.
Cory Taylor (CT): In 1991, I started as a receptionist in the West Coast television office for the National Geographic Specials. It was an exciting place to be. Some of the world’s most acclaimed documentarians came through those doors to finish their films. As a junior employee in various departments, I got to watch them and learn. Executive producer Nick Noxon crafted the series and ran the operation with Teri Koenig. Under their tutelage, I was afforded extraordinary opportunities including filming tigers in Siberia, volcanoes in the Caribbean, and avalanches in Alaska. Later, when the award-winning editor Barry Nye started producing his own Specials, he asked me to be his editor. I learned so much from Nick, Barry and the rest of the team assembled there. I couldn’t have been in a better place.
IFQ: What kind of projects interest staff at Agora Productions?
CT: At Agora Productions, our mandate is to promote humane values, enhance critical thinking skills and expose people, particularly young adults, to positive role models. We’re interested in making films that fit these criteria – whether feature-films, television series or documentaries. Additionally, we’re pursuing projects that promote international friendship and dialogue. As we expand, we’re looking forward to working with inspired young people and providing opportunities for them.
IFQ: This was a very ambitious international and domestic production, tell us a bit about how you made this a reality, including getting access to secret documents and archival photos as well as the funding.
CT: We began this project with two years of research, reading as many books on the subject as we could. It was a bit like entering a never-ending labyrinth –so much material had been written about the Kennedys and the Cold War, we had to define our objectives early on or risk getting lost. We decided to focus on foreign policy. By cross-referencing sources and taking meticulous notes, a picture of Kennedy began to emerge that included significant details unknown to the general public. After creating a story bible for the documentary, it was time to go out and investigate, to round up the sources and see if their stories held up. But first we had to raise the funds to make the film. Fortunately we received a series of generous contributions from private donors who shared our interest in the subject material.
In pre-production, we started contacting our interviewees including former Kennedy and Khrushchev staffers, family members, experts and eyewitnesses. Then we traveled to Moscow, Berlin, Vienna, and multiple locations across America in order to conduct these interviews. Access to declassified top-secret documents came about as a direct result of meeting with these individuals. Archive footage and photos were obtained later in post-production.
IFQ: How hard was it to organize the material being that the film’s objective to uncover Kennedy’s secret peace negotiations had been overlooked in films?
CT: Kennedy and Khrushchev’s behind-the-scenes efforts to reach an agreement and avert thermonuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis are legendary. But other episodes where Kennedy attempted to use diplomacy to diffuse tensions with America’s sworn enemies are not so well known. Some of these details have been forgotten; buried in books written long ago. Once we were acquainted with them, we sought out the experts, researchers and eyewitnesses who could talk about them. In the end, it was our commitment to reading that gave us access to the information. Much of it had been hiding in plain sight for decades.
IFQ: Who or what was most illuminating for you in determining what made Kennedy tick?
CT: It is very difficult to answer this question. In our research, we found JFK to be consistent and authentic in his concern for the basic welfare of people, whether domestically (e.g. Civil rights) or in foreign policy. This was illuminating. The people we interviewed, who knew Kennedy personally, shared this point of view. In particular, William Vanden Heuvel, former Special Assistant to Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Dan Fenn, former Special Assistant to President Kennedy humanized the president for us. Both shared their personal histories with JFK and their insights into his character. They retain the spirit and excitement of that time. We learned a great deal from them.
I would also like to mention the author Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, whose writings on Kennedy inspired us to look more deeply at JFK. Among other things, by consistently emphasizing the importance of dialogue in breaking down barriers and resolving conflicts, Dr. Ikeda helped us recognize President Kennedy’s behind-the-scenes efforts in diplomacy.
IFQ: Your candidates shared very interesting perspectives, especially, Alex Akalovsky, Robert Schlesinger, Viktor Sukhodrev and Dan Fenn. Was it challenging to get them to agree to on-camera interviews?
CT: These people were very kind to fit us into their busy schedules. At first, former Kennedy translator, Alex Akalovsky, wasn’t comfortable granting us an on-camera interview. Due to a mix-up in communication, we actually showed up on his doorstep before we became aware of this. However, Alex was kind enough to let us in for a conversation. Later, after we interviewed his counterpart in Moscow, former interpreter for Khrushchev, Viktor Sukhodrev, Alex had a change of heart and agreed to be interviewed for the film. As far as we know, this is the first documentary that features both interpreters …and this is significant because there were times during the Vienna Summit when they were the only other people in the room with Kennedy and Khrushchev.
IFQ: The documentary shows how the inexperienced Kennedy had the courage to stand up to leaders in spite of the threats of nuclear war. It will definitely result in viewers being critical of some of his advisors who were pro-war. What is your overall goal for the film?
CT: Our goal is to expose audiences to the information and provide them with the opportunity to make their own assessment. Personally, I don’t believe the hawkish advisers and generals who disagreed with Kennedy’s policies are villains such as the war mongering caricatures depicted in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. That isn’t to say that I believe they were right. From their experiences fighting the Second World War, many of these men learned that it was dangerous to take an enemy at his word. They advocated for a strong defense, and a willingness to use it, in part because the U.S. had been woefully unprepared at the beginning of WWII and many Americans had died as a result. This is mentioned in the film. At the same time, it is remarkable that young President Kennedy perceived what many of these men appeared to miss: That there could be no winners in a nuclear war, only survivors who would envy the dead.
IFQ: Do you think audiences will be surprised by your material that shows the lengths to which Kennedy went to for peaceful relations abroad with leaders such as Nikita Khrushchev and even willing to meet with Fidel Castro?
CT: President Kennedy’s efforts to forge relations with America’s so-called enemies were remarkable, particularly at a time when so many considered them to be dangerous. His use of private citizens to communicate messages to his adversaries is also significant. For those unaware of these details, I imagine the film will likely prompt a re-evaluation of Kennedy. That’s what happened to us.
IFQ: Morgan Freeman was an excellent choice for narrator, how was it working with this legend?
CT: Morgan Freeman is a consummate professional and a gentleman. We were very fortunate to have him.
IFQ: What distribution channels have been selected for the film, I would imagine there will be worldwide interest?
CT: For starters, this month (November 2013), JFK: A President Betrayed will screen in twenty theaters across the United States (go to: www.jfkapresidentbetrayed.org for cities, dates and times) and air nationwide on DirecTV’s Audience Channel on Thursday, November 7th at 8:00 PM. Additionally, the film will air on Al Jazeera in North Africa & the Middle East, and on NHK in Japan.