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A chat with Anat: the Beer Wars writer & director talks about film making, reality TV & beer
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Anat Baron, writer, producer and director of Beer Wars, a documentary on micro-brewers and their struggle to compete in the US marketplace.
“The biggest challenge in making this film,” Anat said, “was that so much changed in the industry while we were filming.” Most notably, the Big Three beer manufacturers became the Big Two when Miller and Coors decided to merge. “So I had to go back and re-shoot the end. Making the film was harder than I thought it would be. People told me when I started that it would cost twice as much, and take twice as long, as I thought it would. And they were right.”
Anat noted that independent film makers have a big challenge right now as there are little to no distributors for independent film, making it difficult, if not impossible, for these films to be shown in wide release. “Last year 16 independent films made more than $1 million; this year only six did.”
Beer Wars showcased a number of micro-brewers and their struggles to compete against the large beer manufacturers, but two in particular stood out: Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewing Company, and Rhonda Kallman, the fledgling marketer of Moonshot, and one of the two original founders of the Boston Beer Company, the makers of Sam Adams. We were wondering how each of these individuals were doing and was told that Sam was doing fine and that Rhonda was still struggling to find the funding she needs to promote her product.
‘Rhonda was a fascinating character for us to follow. Hers is a cautionary tale. She had it all: money, power, reputation. And she put it all on the line to start over with a new product. Look how hard it is for her to make it. I was intrigued by the story as I think we all are.”
“Sam’s star is written in a huge way. It will be interesting to see how he does, whether he continues to expand or sells out.”
When we jokingly suggested that perhaps a reality show about these characters would be a good follow up to the documentary, Anat reminded us that ‘reality television does not reflect reality; it’s all fake. The reason you care about the people in my film is because they are real people with real struggles.”
As to the future of craft or micro-brewery beers, Anat says she sees more interest from people, especially after they view her film. “Women, in particular, are getting more interested in the micro beers, especially those that are more fruity and smell like wine. Women are pairing food with beer, and learning that it’s a much more complex beverage than wine, with interesting ingredients that go well with so many different foods.”
And she pointed out Sam Adams is now the largest American-owned beer company.
What’s next for Anat? “Selling copies of the Beer Wars DVD, and getting the word out. The message of my film is giving people choices and people are responding to that. If I can influence people’s ability to try something new – not just beer – but other things, to look outside the norm, then that would be a really great thing.”
Beer Wars is now available on DVD at www.beerwarsmovie.com. You can also chat about the movie on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/beerwars, as well as follow the film on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/beerwars.
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