Press+1's Alex Hutt talks to first-time filmmaker David York about being embedded in Wiebo's War

Written By Alexander Hutt

Wiebo Ludwig and his family are known infamously for two things, their ties with religion and their battle with the oil and gas industry in Alberta. The head figure at a religious compound outside of Trickle Creek, Alberta, Ludwig and his family came under fire when the oil and gas companies built oil wells within hazardous range of their homes. Several livestock died and five miscarriages occurred, and Ludwig was put under suspicion for eco-terrorism, as the oil wells were bombed and a teenage girl was shot on the site of the family range. Filmmaker David York (a TV producer since 1993, this is his first directorial effort) gained access to the compound and from his time spent there created the documentary Weibo’s War, following the Ludwig family as they battle against the Alberta oil industry.

Press+1: Though religion is a major set piece in the Ludwig’s lives, but you deliberately shied away from making it the focal point in the documentary.

David York: “Everybody is going to bring a different set of values to the film. One of my aims was to avoid leading the witnesses along. The way they talk to the cops shows how they avoid arraigning or inflammatory material. I wanted to have the audience be able to follow the story as clear as they could and get an insight into Wiebo’s character through his speech and body language. That way they can arrive at their own judgments.

“There is a divide between atheists and fundamental Christians that can’t really be bridged. You can’t address religion in rational terms, either you have faith or you don’t. I didn’t want to approach it from a fundamental atheist point of view, as there are mysteries in the world and there is good and evil. That doesn’t bring you any closer to the acknowledgement of a deity or make dialogue any easier, that’s a different bridge to cross.”

P+1: That was an interesting decision on your part, not the least because of a four hour discussion you had with Ludwig and two of his sons on religion and atheism.

York: “At one point I thought that I would certainly include the dialogue between me and Weibo on religion, but inserting a third storyline was asking too much of the audience. It’s already a long film and there’s a lot of material I would have liked to have had in the film. We are releasing a DVD that has an additional 75 minutes of material on it, some of which deals directly with the spiritual conflict.

“I don’t know if I will include that initial conversation. We shot about 8,000 hours over the course of filming and there will be tons of other stuff in the DVD extras. To me, a film is a story telling medium and you have to have narrative direction and momentum. That material speaks to a conflict but didn’t have much forward progress in it and didn’t fit into the framing device of the film.”

P+1: Could one of the reasons why was that Wiebo’s religion could be and has been used to paint a negative picture of him?

York: “It has been easy to vilify some of the things he has done, especially in the media. He has a set of values that are different from the mainstream society and it’s made easier for the oil and gas industry, the media and law enforcement to label him as a religious kook. Wherever you are coming from politically of spiritually here is a man with a very strong family and a profound conflict with some of the powerful forces in society. I am symphathetic with their struggle. The image of him has been used as a weapon by the oil and gas industry as well, against other legitimate protesters.”

P+1: One of the effects of this was separation from environmental groups, though his message is very close to theirs, right?

York: “Mainstream environmental groups steered clear of Wiebo because of his association with the bombings and the murder. There was more quiet support from people who lived in oil or gas areas under the same kind of assault. There is still tremendous divide between Trickle Creek and the Ludwig’s over the death of the 16 year old girl.”

P+1: The unsolved murder of the teenager was something that the Ludwig’s wished wasn’t highlighted so much in the film, but otherwise are you happy with the finished project?

York: “The arrangement with the Ludwig’s was that they wouldn’t have editorial control of the film, but I agreed to show it to them and give them the opportunity to respond to it in their own words. I screened it for them and they would have preferred that I spent less time on the death of the 16-year-old girl and give more insight on who they are. They did make a two minute response to the film, but at the end of the day they feel that the film is a fair telling of the story and were pleased with the response from the audience and press. Wiebo told me at one point that he would be happy if his kids and grandkids went through less vilification than he had and there would be more harmony in the community. That’s a positive outcome as far as I’m concerned.”

P+1: One of the misconceptions people have about the Ludwigs is that they are at a constant disconnect with society.

York: “They aren’t Amish as they have TV, radio, and internet. They have probably Googled themselves before. They aren’t cut off from the world and it is an interesting environment where three generations of the family are present at every meal and are all engaged in vigourous world debates and conversations.”

P+1: As far as the environmental situation goes, is the family’s plight less at risk than it is at the high point of the doc?

York: “When Wiebo got out of prison he met with some of the oil and gas companies in Canada, and they weren’t going to restore or do any new drilling around the Ludwig farm. There wasn’t a formal agreement but they would give them some breathing room. So right now the direct conflict has subsided.”

P+1: Your earlier work also took a considerable amount of time in relation to access, was it mostly due to his gravity towards complex and controversial subjects?

York: “Access is always tricky when it’s something that is controversial or hard to find. Access is always going to shape what a documentary is going to be, and is interesting to filmmakers, critics and students, but is almost never in the film. But that’s what we have DVD extras for. It took us a long time for the Ludwig’s to trust us enough and talk with us. At first they thought I was an undercover cop and potentially film something that was incriminating. You can’t rush it.”

The DVD for Wiebo’s War will be available from http://www.wieboswar.com/ this month.

Written by :

alessandro