The Man Behind the Camera: ‘Mind Games’ Premieres June 17

When "Mind Games," a documentary film by Teo Zagar, premieres Friday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m., it will be the subject of intense local interest.

The filmmaker lives in Barnard, the subjects of the story live in Barnard, and the film will premier at the Barnard Town Hall.

It tells the story of the Thomas French family: Tom, a doctor with A.L.S.; his wife Jacquie, and their soon to be seven-year-old daughter Lauren. Through his film, Zagar invites the viewer to experience how they and their extended "family" of caregivers have turned the frightening progression of Lou Gehrig’s Disease into another reason to recognize and embrace the deeper meanings of life.

Tom and Jacquie offer a shining example of how love for life and hope for the future combine to overcome all odds. Their story also suggests the need for a paradigm shift in our country’s health care system, especially for those living with terminal and chronic illnesses for which there are no known cures. As Tom has proven since his diagnosis in 1996, lives can be significantly improved and indefinitely prolonged if patients have the options and means to make their own choices.

"Mind Games" is Zagar’s second independent documentary feature. His interest in filmmaking began as a teenager when he borrowed his mother’s camcorder to make skateboarding movies with his friends, discovering that he enjoyed the process of combining unique elements of images and sounds to create order out of chaos in his videos. He was given his own camera on his 16th birthday, unaware that it symbolized a turning point in what was to become his career.

This interest was put on the back burner when he went to the University of Vermont to study economics and business. He started a small skateboard company called Higher Ground with his roommate, making and selling boards and t-shirts to the many skaters who shared their passion, and decided to use skateboarding as the topic for one of his assignments in the only video production course then offered at UVM.

Skateboard Success

What began as a five-minute montage turned into a 45-minute film about the Burlington skateboard scene that was viewed by hundreds of people who packed into a theater on campus. This was the first time Zagar felt that he could pursue film and video professionally, and it led him to transfer to Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., which had a reputation as an alternative film school.

A Hampshire Zagar was challenged to extend his reach beyond skateboard videos. After viewing director Frederick Wiseman’s brilliant observations of human behavior and the highly influential "Koyaanisqatsi," he realized that he could make films that were both challenging and thought provoking.

After a conversation with his cousin, a former Special Forces medic stationed in Central Africa during a bloody civil war in the mid-1990s, Zagar felt compelled to make his first documentary film. "Medic" became a 15-minute narrative about how his cousin was court-martialed for medically treating orphans while deployed on a so-called humanitarian mission.

For his college thesis, Teo decided to weave a history of the war for independence in Slovenia, where he was born and holds where he holds dual citizenship since leaving at the age of two when his parents divorced. He saw the project as an opportunity to spend six months with his paternal family in the former Yugoslav republic. He quickly realized the daunting scope of the project and struggled to find the thread to bring the story alive.

While trying to make a coherent film with all the material he’d gathered, Zagar interned with well-known documentarian Ken Burns. As assistant to the editor, he recognized the power of editing and was inspired to hone this aspect of his talent. 

"The editor makes the movie, regardless of any formula or script, especially with a documentary," he says. "If you surrender all preconceptions and allow yourself to be an observer, the story will begin to tell itself."

Working with Burns provided the impetus for completing his senior thesis, "Ten Days, Ten Years: Slovenia’s War for Independence." When he presented his film at Hampshire College, his father and two half-sisters flew in from Slovenia. The film won the Best Student Film Award at the Northampton Independent Film Festival.

Zgar then worked with Larry Hott and Diane Garey of Florentine Films in Northampton, Mass., who had been making award-winning films for PBS for over 20 years. Afterwards, he decided to move back to his hometown of Barnard, and wait for direction to present itself. He earned an income working with his stepfather, a plumber, and had plenty of time to think long and hard about his future while working in basements and crawl spaces in the frigid Vermont winter. Eventually, he became involved in a couple of local film projects: "Ode to Joy," a film celebrating the 90th birthday of Barnard’s local icon, Bucky Joy, and "A Living Memorial to Maya," a friend of his mother’s.

One day, while filming a member of the group singing to her dying friend in hospice care far away, a spark was re-ignited in him. Not long afterwards, he began work on "Mind Games" and formed Longshot Productions.

Zagar contacted Jacquie French, who lived just up the road, to see if she would be interested in having her family’s story told on film. Cases of someone living with A.L.S. as long as Tom has are extremely rare.

Waiting To Be Made

There was never any doubt in his mind that this was a film waiting to be made, and the feeling was shared by many of the family’s friends over the years. Jacquie’s enthusiasm was ignited from the first time they spoke, though Tom was at first a little hesitant.

"Although Teo’s reputation as a filmmaker preceded him, I personally didn’t know him," says Tom, "I wasn’t sure if I wanted to open my life and Jacquie’s and Lauren’s lives to a camera." However, after meeting Teo and discussing common goals, the couple agreed. From the first day Teo began to shoot he was welcomed into their home and became part of the "family."

Tom and Jacquie's story could have turned out very differently had they needed to rely solely on what insurance companies and the government had to offer. Zagar says he hopes that his documentary will inspire others who are faced with similar obstacles and adversity, and through Tom and Jacquie’s example, find the strength to face these challenges with spirit and courage.

To reach the largest possible audience through the distribution of the film, thousands of dollars are yet to be raised in order to purchase the music rights for the songs he has chosen for the soundtrack.

Teo is hopeful that over time he will be able to raise the necessary funds to allow the story to be told far and wide. Area residents can help by attending the premiere of this amazing story Friday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Barnard Town Hall or at the Woodstock Town Hall Theater at a later date this fall.

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By Kim Furlong

When "Mind Games," a documentary film by Teo Zagar, premieres Friday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m., it will be the subject of intense local interest.

The filmmaker lives in Barnard, the subjects of the story live in Barnard, and the film will premier at the Barnard Town Hall.

It tells the story of the Thomas French family: Tom, a doctor with A.L.S.; his wife Jacquie, and their soon to be seven-year-old daughter Lauren. Through his film, Zagar invites the viewer to experience how they and their extended "family" of caregivers have turned the frightening progression of Lou Gehrig’s Disease into another reason to recognize and embrace the deeper meanings of life.

Tom and Jacquie offer a shining example of how love for life and hope for the future combine to overcome all odds. Their story also suggests the need for a paradigm shift in our country’s health care system, especially for those living with terminal and chronic illnesses for which there are no known cures. As Tom has proven since his diagnosis in 1996, lives can be significantly improved and indefinitely prolonged if patients have the options and means to make their own choices.

"Mind Games" is Zagar’s second independent documentary feature. His interest in filmmaking began as a teenager when he borrowed his mother’s camcorder to make skateboarding movies with his friends, discovering that he enjoyed the process of combining unique elements of images and sounds to create order out of chaos in his videos. He was given his own camera on his 16th birthday, unaware that it symbolized a turning point in what was to become his career.

This interest was put on the back burner when he went to the University of Vermont to study economics and business. He started a small skateboard company called Higher Ground with his roommate, making and selling boards and t-shirts to the many skaters who shared their passion, and decided to use skateboarding as the topic for one of his assignments in the only video production course then offered at UVM.

Skateboard Success

What began as a five-minute montage turned into a 45-minute film about the Burlington skateboard scene that was viewed by hundreds of people who packed into a theater on campus. This was the first time Zagar felt that he could pursue film and video professionally, and it led him to transfer to Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., which had a reputation as an alternative film school.

A Hampshire Zagar was challenged to extend his reach beyond skateboard videos. After viewing director Frederick Wiseman’s brilliant observations of human behavior and the highly influential "Koyaanisqatsi," he realized that he could make films that were both challenging and thought provoking.

After a conversation with his cousin, a former Special Forces medic stationed in Central Africa during a bloody civil war in the mid-1990s, Zagar felt compelled to make his first documentary film. "Medic" became a 15-minute narrative about how his cousin was court-martialed for medically treating orphans while deployed on a so-called humanitarian mission.

For his college thesis, Teo decided to weave a history of the war for independence in Slovenia, where he was born and holds where he holds dual citizenship since leaving at the age of two when his parents divorced. He saw the project as an opportunity to spend six months with his paternal family in the former Yugoslav republic. He quickly realized the daunting scope of the project and struggled to find the thread to bring the story alive.

While trying to make a coherent film with all the material he’d gathered, Zagar interned with well-known documentarian Ken Burns. As assistant to the editor, he recognized the power of editing and was inspired to hone this aspect of his talent. 

"The editor makes the movie, regardless of any formula or script, especially with a documentary," he says. "If you surrender all preconceptions and allow yourself to be an observer, the story will begin to tell itself."

Working with Burns provided the impetus for completing his senior thesis, "Ten Days, Ten Years: Slovenia’s War for Independence." When he presented his film at Hampshire College, his father and two half-sisters flew in from Slovenia. The film won the Best Student Film Award at the Northampton Independent Film Festival.

Zgar then worked with Larry Hott and Diane Garey of Florentine Films in Northampton, Mass., who had been making award-winning films for PBS for over 20 years. Afterwards, he decided to move back to his hometown of Barnard, and wait for direction to present itself. He earned an income working with his stepfather, a plumber, and had plenty of time to think long and hard about his future while working in basements and crawl spaces in the frigid Vermont winter. Eventually, he became involved in a couple of local film projects: "Ode to Joy," a film celebrating the 90th birthday of Barnard’s local icon, Bucky Joy, and "A Living Memorial to Maya," a friend of his mother’s.

One day, while filming a member of the group singing to her dying friend in hospice care far away, a spark was re-ignited in him. Not long afterwards, he began work on "Mind Games" and formed Longshot Productions.

Zagar contacted Jacquie French, who lived just up the road, to see if she would be interested in having her family’s story told on film. Cases of someone living with A.L.S. as long as Tom has are extremely rare.

Waiting To Be Made

There was never any doubt in his mind that this was a film waiting to be made, and the feeling was shared by many of the family’s friends over the years. Jacquie’s enthusiasm was ignited from the first time they spoke, though Tom was at first a little hesitant.

"Although Teo’s reputation as a filmmaker preceded him, I personally didn’t know him," says Tom, "I wasn’t sure if I wanted to open my life and Jacquie’s and Lauren’s lives to a camera." However, after meeting Teo and discussing common goals, the couple agreed. From the first day Teo began to shoot he was welcomed into their home and became part of the "family."

Tom and Jacquie's story could have turned out very differently had they needed to rely solely on what insurance companies and the government had to offer. Zagar says he hopes that his documentary will inspire others who are faced with similar obstacles and adversity, and through Tom and Jacquie’s example, find the strength to face these challenges with spirit and courage.

To reach the largest possible audience through the distribution of the film, thousands of dollars are yet to be raised in order to purchase the music rights for the songs he has chosen for the soundtrack.

Teo is hopeful that over time he will be able to raise the necessary funds to allow the story to be told far and wide. Area residents can help by attending the premiere of this amazing story Friday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Barnard Town Hall or at the Woodstock Town Hall Theater at a later date this fall.

By Kim Furlong