by Linda Fisher

Although painfully honest and uncensored, The Witness is far different from the average animal abuse documentary. Instead, filmmakers James LaVeck and Jennie Stein tackle this difficult subject with such depth of character, artistic merit, and sensitivity, you'll not only want to watch it, you'll encourage others to watch it as well.

The Witness delves into the real life of Eddie Lama and his miraculous transformation. Eddie, a former macho tough guy, experiences an epiphany that changes his life, and consequently the lives of others. He poignantly tells us about his journey to real "manhood" and how he falls in love with a little kitten who ultimately transforms his life. He doesn't stop there though and neither do James and Jenny. Graphic footage showing the raw and shocking truth about the fur industry is also included in this video.

Most importantly, Eddie's message inspires us. He shows us how one person can make a difference. That people do in fact change. And that once we have "the knowledge", we can't turn back.

I was so impressed with the artistry and sensitivity of James and Jennie, I knew I had to meet them. This is a part of my two-hour conversation with them.

L: You describe The Witness as Volume I of the Animal People anthology, a four part series of documentaries about individuals helping animals in unique and inspiring ways. You also explain that these documentaries demonstrate how one person can make a difference and how each of us can play a role in creating a kinder world for both animals and people. Would you like to elaborate on this?

J: Sure. We believe that it's more effective to strengthen what is already positive in people's lives than to directly struggle against the things we find upsetting and negative in this world. So what we try to do is present a vision, through the vehicle of individual life stories, of what our society could be like. We want to encourage people to make a positive choice, not because they hate something, not because they're angry, but because when they look at the paths available to them, certain choices feel more whole and more faithful to what they care about most.

L: What made you choose Eddie Lama as the subject of your documentary?

J: It's interesting how it all happened. We had heard a story about a man who had driven a pig truck to the slaughterhouse for years. One day he was unloading the pigs but one of them got stuck while going down the chute. The pig wouldn't go, so the man stuck him with an electric prod. When he did that, the pig looked back at him and they had eye contact. Right then, something happened to the man. He said, "It felt like the hand of God was upon me." At that moment, he decided that he could no longer take these animals to their deaths. He quit his job, went to an animal organization and asked, "How can I help?" That story inspired us to conceive a project called "Waking Up: Journey to Compassion" (which eventually became the Animal People documentary anthology). In 1997, we attended the Animal Rights Conference in Washington DC, where, completely by chance, we met Eddie Lama. He told us his story, and we immediately sensed his courage and commitment. He spoke with an eloquence and sincerity that moved us. It moved everybody.

L: I was noticing on the video cover that it says, "Some people say it's too hard to change." Is that something Eddie said?

J: Actually that was a phrase from a preview we put together for The Witness.

Je: The preview also says, "Some people say it's okay to look away," and "Some people say one person can't make a difference."

J: The goal of the preview was to pose in the minds of the people watching it some of the main blockages that occur in resistance to positive change. We all know how difficult it is to change anything about ourselves, and many of us feel that it's impossible to deeply change. But when we look at somebody like Eddie and realize the almost incomprehensible changes he went through to become the person he is today, it becomes easier to imagine ourselves taking a step or two toward a more compassionate way of life.

L: I was noticing in the video that Eddie comments that he quit smoking. I thought that was an interesting parallel with his other lifestyle changes.

Je: So many things go on in the world, in a sense, because of momentum. The smoking story in The Witness, like many things in Eddie's life, is a teaching story. It's an example. What Eddie is saying is that he couldn't quit smoking for himself, but he could quit when it became clear that his actions hurt someone else. And that's what we've always loved about that part of his story.

L: There is an artistic element to the film. You want to watch even though parts of it present some unpleasant things to look at. It's done in a way that keeps us watching and listening and draws us in. It makes us want to know more.

Je: A great inspiration to us was the movie Schindler's List. This film goes into a very horrific and upsetting subject area - the Holocaust - through a single person's journey, a person who started out selfish and gradually found himself taking greater and greater risks trying to make things better for others. Beyond the story, the filmmaking was beautiful, so there was this difficult truth presented with such beauty that it allowed us to enter the experience with less resistance. I think that when people see something that appeals to their aesthetic sensibility they relax. They trust the person who is taking them on this journey because they feel that there is a greater whole that will be revealed to them in the process.

J: And we feel if our message does not include an element of inspiration, people simply won't hang in there for the process of learning more. We have to allow the audience to come out of the experience feeling stronger, or we haven't really helped. Because if people have been told the truth, but feel depressed or disempowered in the aftermath, nothing is going to change.

L: Can you give us a brief review of your background and how you got into animal rights?

J: For my whole life I've been interested in how people take what is painful in their lives and turn it into a force for positive change. That's been expressed by doing work in the fields of counseling and writing and the arts, and more recently, animal rights. Jenny and I both have a long-term interest in storytelling, as well, and feel that the most complex and important ideas that most people are able to comprehend come in the form of stories.

L: Eddie had an epiphany. Suddenly he realized that more than humans mattered. Did either of you experience an epiphany regarding animal rights?

J: One day when I was a teenager, as I was getting off the school bus, I saw three boys who were older than me in an entryway of our school. They were crouching down and moving quickly. I didn't know what they were doing so I walked up closer to see. They had caught a mouse and were scooping him up and throwing him against the wall and laughing. The mouse would limp along and then they would grab him and throw him again. I immediately knew it was wrong, and I also felt terribly afraid of them. I sensed, "Here I am, younger and smaller than they are. If I try to stop this from happening, I'm going to get treated like that mouse." I didn't know what to do, so I walked away. I think that triggered something, a process inside of me that played out over many years. Slowly the resolve developed to not to walk away. I needed to find a way to respond to these situations that are so very wrong. I think that was a pivotal experience in my life.

L: What about you, Jenny?

Je: As a child I never wanted to eat meat. I grew up around a lot of animals and I don't think I ever really developed a denial around the fact that meat came from dead animals. It was very real for me. So as soon as I heard of such a thing as vegetarianism, when I was about seven, I told my mother I wanted to be a vegetarian, and she agreed. Very few people were vegetarian when I became one. In fact, I didn't even know one other vegetarian during my whole childhood. Other people were uncomfortable with my diet, and it made me self-conscious. So even though this concern was there for me early on, being a vegetarian was as much of a statement as I could make for many, many years. And then about five years ago, Jim and I came to a point where we knew our work had to be entirely about our values. Around the same time, we saw a documentary called "Animals: To Love or Kill," and it was a wake up call for us. It opened our eyes and showed us that this is really what we needed to spend our time on, helping animals. Although we had both been vegetarians for many years, it felt like that wasn't enough in light of what needed to be done for the animals.

L: You were speaking a moment ago about being different, which I think is how many animal activists feel who "bear witness" and take action. I noticed in the ending of the film, Eddie is driving his van down a quiet street at night. The scene expressed an aloneness that many of us feel. Was that the message you were trying to convey?

J: The concept of witnessing is really interesting. In our legal system of justice, when just one person is willing to stand up and say, "This is what I saw, this is what really happened," and they do that in a credible way, it can change the entire course of events. But to be a witness takes courage, and with Eddie's journey, there's a point when you sense, "Wow, this man had to go so far inside himself from where he came from, from the way he was raised." And then you watch as he realizes that changing his lifestyle isn't enough, and that even learning the whole truth about what happens to the animals isn't enough, that he now must find a way to tell the public what he's seen. There's this moment of solitude in that transition to taking action, a point after which there is no going back, no pretending to yourself or others that you don't know what you know. That to me is the essence of our struggle for animal rights.

L: In the editing process, was there a specific format or criteria that you used to select those segments of the film that are unsettling and painful to watch?

Je: We had to walk a fine line between showing what's necessary to make the experience accurate, but also not shutting people down with the stark reality. We are asking the audience to grow in this area, but from our experience, at this point in the documentary, the audience is ready to grow. And rather than taking away someone's innocence, it seems to have the effect of reconnecting them with their innocence. Because what took away that innocence was the idea that the world is cruel by necessity, that animals have to suffer for us to live. We all were told this somewhere along the line. So people are usually grateful for Eddie's story, because it reconnects them with their original instinct that it doesn't have to be that way.

L: Have you heard back from anyone who, as a result of seeing the film, made life changes?

Je: Yes, and it is one of the most wonderful parts of the work we do. We hear regularly from people who either saw it and changed something in their lives or who have shown it to other people who have made changes. One of the messages of the documentary is that, if enough people were to know that such extreme and widespread animal abuse is happening, things would have to change. And that's why the act of bearing witnessing is so important. We all can make the choice to let other people know what is happening, and give them the chance to become part of the solution. Once you have the knowledge, you're a witness, and it's hard to go back.

L: It makes you responsible.

Je: Yes!

L: So the bottom line is that The Witness isn't just about Eddie, it's about all of us.

J: Right!

L: Eddie is doing it his way, you're doing it your way, and I'm doing it my way. We each have our own unique skills and talents, and if utilized, can bring about change and awareness.

J: That is such a good point. I truly believe that no matter what your skills are, there's a way to use them to make the world a better place.

The Witness speaks of more than animal abuse. It also tells us that it is not just the poetic, the courageous, or the "skilled" that can make profound changes or work miracles. But rather it's the everyday, average person who not only can, but will ultimately be the driving force to make this world a more compassionate, kinder place for all animals and humans.

Thank you James and Jenny for your inspiring words and taking the time to share this conversation with me.

As each and every one of us continue our journey to make a difference, we will watch more miracles unfold.