Ed Perkins, Oscar-nominated director, author of the Sundance award-winning documentary The Princess: Lady D, a blank canvas onto which we project our fears
From our correspondent
London – The Queen? We know less about Elisabetta, who has been on the scene for 70 years, than we did about Diana who died at the age of 36 – she says to the Courier British director Ed Perkins, already nominated for an Oscar for the documentary Black Sheep on racial hatred in London -. And of the queen it must be said that she did an amazing job because being Royal is difficult, with that obsessive scrutiny, constant exposure … dedicated to Diana Spencer who would turn 61 on July 1, without the tragedy of the accident 25 years ago. A documentary that in the year of Elizabeth, even if it talks about Diana, tells the (unresolved) relationship of a country with the monarchy. Not a historical documentary but something contemporary especially in this year of celebrations for Elizabeth II – continues Perkins -. Because Diana’s death drew a line in the relationship between the people and the monarchy. This film about Diana, but through Diana about our perception of the Crown, and therefore about the underlying debate that runs in British society today.
That is to say?
Do we want our monarchy like us? Normal people, transparent? Or do we want to preserve that sense of mystery and magic? If we want it different then it is easy to understand why the Windsors seem disconnected from our time. On the contrary, if they are exactly like us, we must resign ourselves to that they are the same as us even for tragedies and family traumas. And this can lead us to consider them as a soap opera, continues Perkins (chosen with The Princess, from the Biografilm of Bologna directed by Massimo Benvegn to open the 18th edition of the festival).
Everyday life and magic: is the monarchy in the middle?
He is trying to negotiate between these two positions: I don’t know what the right balance is but the debate going on in this Platinum Jubilee in London that if dedicated to the Queen, at least in the United Kingdom sees Princess Diana still on the front page.
The documentary turns the spotlight on Diana but how does she keep a lighthouse on the monarchy?
Exactly, it was designed in such a way that it would allow us to “turn the camera on us”, on our relationship with the monarchy, with our history, even with celebrities. We have not yet come to terms with all of this. There have been events that have happened in the Royal family in recent years in which the echo of Diana’s story was caught.
Are you thinking about Harry and Meghan?
Yes, there are parallels to what happened with Diana (and the media) that are reflected in today. And what Harry said after moving overseas I think makes one think: he feared that what happened to his mother could have happened to his wife, to his family.
And what would Diana have thought, or what role would Diana have played, in this Jubilee London?
I don’t think anyone has ever figured out what role in his life he would play with a series of ifs, if … an interesting thing that I noticed rather than normally after two years of working on this type of documentary eventually after studying a lot archival material after talking to many people who have dealt with the person, you end up knowing your protagonist very well. On the other hand, with Diana, I have the feeling that I still have not understood Diana, the inner person. There remains something enigmatic about her. More, perhaps it has been and continues to be a blank canvas on which we project our fears. But also a mirror that reflects our image, our being. Only such a deep relationship explains the truly unprecedented reaction that week after her death.
What do you remember when Diana died?
I was 11 when Diana died, I remember that moment very clearly. And there aren’t many other moments like the one you remember so clearly at that age. With my parents very emotionally affected by her death. I watched TV and saw hundreds of thousands of adults and children taking to the streets in London and crying for her. It is complex to understand, a huge reaction. I wasn’t old enough to understand, I was confused. I wasn’t sad but I felt dazed by this people’s reaction: why did families from all walks of life react that way? As if a family member were crying.
How did you work on this documentary?
With Simon Chinn (Oscar-winning producer in 2009 for Man on Wire and in 2013 for Searching for Sugar Man, ed.) We first think what story we want to tell? With what perspective do we want to tell it? And then we ask ourselves what form will allow us to best serve the perspective we have in mind. So we understood that drawing only on archival material without any narrating voice, no interpretation, allowed us to face Diana in a new way. So I have read everything that has been written about her, I have spoken to people who have known her or have come in contact with her. And then I looked for international as well as regional archival sources here in the UK. And in the end, we spotted thousands of materials, being the most filmed and photographed person for two decades. I looked at 8-12 hours of raw archive every day looking for those “subtle little moments”, those little revealing moments of the real princess.
And what did he get out of it?
Diana as a silent film diva. Like Greta Garbo, with her body language capable of projecting a story, with her head tilted, a smile from her … she has this extraordinary ability to make us understand her feelings about her. And the film tries to capture that body language, in short, to capture the subtitles of her gestures.
The Spencers, the Windsors: were they involved in your project?
They know about the project but have not been involved. And I am aware that for many Diana’s story is a public story, but for William and Harry this is a story about their mother and I understand the feelings involved. It is not a responsibility that I took lightly. So I have told the story in a way that is perceived by them as fair and balanced. It is a complex and difficult story. And I really hope William and Harry understand that.
Harry, who with Netflix also entered the world of cinema, what do you expect as an insider?
I’m curious to see his films, it will be fascinating. And I think it was interesting to shoot this documentary when the story of Harry and Meghan was on the front page, it reminded me of those days when Diana was alive and there was a constant conversation about her, it was the topic of debate at the bar, at home. And people had very clear and clear positions on the monarchy and Diana … and with Harry and Meghan it was the same. The film also tries to bring all that debate back to the surface.
Accident or conspiracy?
My idea that it was a tragic accident. I came to the conclusion that she was very normal in many ways, and just as extraordinary. Ordinary: the more you dig the more you see than fallible, it makes mistakes, vulnerable as we have not often seen public people. And at the same time it was extraordinary in the way she interacted with people, how she made people comfortable. She had extraordinary emotional intelligence. Her small gestures were capable of changing people’s lives. And her grand gestures were able to leave their mark on her, like her campaign against landmines, for HIV patients. And people felt they had a connection with her. She felt connected or responsible for what had happened. And that also explains why our relationship with history has been so complicated.
A story that began with a fairytale Royal wedding. With a tragic ending.
That in fact the other point: with Diana we saw the timeless myth of fairy tales become reality, before our eyes, with her Royal wedding. A millennial myth, but seeing it come true has had a very strong impact on us.
And what do the new generations think of Diana?
I have young children and I realize that for generations that were born after Diana she is the one from The Crown series. And I hope that my work without interpretations, mediations, offers everyone the opportunity to get their own idea of Diana. Twenty five years after his death this documentary comes after many films, the last Spencer. Why?
Because anniversaries always attract and there have been several films but each gave a voice to Diana by interpreting, trying to identify with Diana’s mind, in short, by doing a work of speculation, of imagination. While this work makes available to viewers only films from which each one can draw their own conclusion. But there is, moreover, for this growing attention to the princess: that we continue to be seduced by this story, by this character.
June 11, 2022 (change June 11, 2022 | 12:12)
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