Albert Maysles is a living legend, one-part of arguably the most influential documentary filmmaking team ever. In 2000, Chronicle contributor Anne S. Lewis spoke with Albert on the occasion of his visit to Austin; that piece is included in the newly published Albert and David Maysles: Interviews.

Part of the University Press of Mississippi’s ongoing “Conversations in Film” series, the new book (edited by Keith Beattie) collects a number of pieces about the Maysles brothers’ pioneering “direct cinema” approach to such films as Salesman, Grey Gardens, and Gimme Shelter. Lewis’ 2000 piece for the Chronicle – which you can read here – was published in conjunction with Maysles’ appearance at the Austin Film Society-sponsored Doc Tour screenings of Meet Marlon Brando and the little-seen What’s Happening! The Beatles in the USA.

“The cameraman has to have what I call ‘the gaze’ – empathy – the way you look at the people you’re shooting and how you establish their trust,” Maysles told Lewis. “Paying attention to people is an extremely powerful force of recognition and of love. And that’s documentary at its best. Without their trust, you’re just a walking zombie with a camera and your subjects don’t connect.”

Find out more about the book here.

This article appears in March 26 • 2010.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...