This is a sample from our Rita Mae Brown documentary from 1986. A number of people have urged us to release it so we've done so and it's viewable This is a sample from our Rita Mae Brown documentary from 1986. A number of people have urged us to release it so we've done so and it's viewable at vimeo.com/ondemand/rita.
Recorded 1984-1986 on her farm near Charlottesville, Virginia and on a promotional tour of Washington, DC for her book "Sudden Death," she talks about being an adopted child in a poor southern family; the difficult relationship with her mother; her expulsion from the University of Florida and the breakthrough of her first novel, "Rubyfruit Jungle." What emerges is a profile of an outspoken feminist who has used her life to create her fictions.
The project was a co-production between Yellow Cat and Joel Foreman. Our previous effort with Joel was a documentary with William Styron. The project was a long-term effort. We went down to her farm in Charlottesville, VA once a month for over two and a half years; I don’t think people get that luxury as often these days. It became quite a story. Time brought changes in Rita Mae’s life. We all got to know and like one other. Long, long conversations. The film is much more intimate for it. Rita Mae realized early on that she was authoring the story as much as we were. This is the opening.