When you read a headline like “Children Exploited at MTSU,” your ears prick up. When you find out it’s a lie to sell papers, you hopefully want justice for the slandered. That’s why The Murfreesboro Pulse sat down with film director and MTSU professor Bob Pondillo to discuss his new film, The Miracles on Honey Bee Hill, and the controversy it has stirred up.

MP: So you’ve been making films for what, seven or eight years?
BP: Since 2005.

MP: And all short films?
BP: Yeah, all shorts so far because there’s no money to make longer ones. We’d love to do a feature. I have a feature written . . .

MP: You work with students a lot. Is it hard to budget your time with students, to work with them when they come and go so quickly?
BP: Well, occasionally. It’s a joy to work with students because they’re enthusiastic, and if they’re really committed and passionate, those are the students I want to work with. Everybody’s got a camera, but do you have anything to say? It’s not about the tool; it’s about the story.

At MTSU we produce a lot of good technical people, and they’re excellent. They know how to make a shot, how to light things.

There are fewer students who are interested in storytelling. I think that’s one of the reasons they have me there.

MP: To inspire students to get into that aspect of filmmaking?
BP: Yeah.

Bob Pondillo

MP: Which is really the cornerstone of filmmaking, that writer/director role, something that you’ve assumed in almost all of your films.
BP: Every one of them.

MP: I watched Wait…, which is an older one, very short and sweet with a big impact. It’s almost non-verbal. All of the action is in the faces.
BP: I’m looking for the emotion in the film, and the truth (if there is such a thing). I think it’s the story that guides everything. David Lawrence did a nice job. He’s the only person who could have really done it. David has been a friend since he was in high school. He played God in this new one [Miracles].

MP: Yeah, the only adult part in the whole film.
BP: I like that concept, that he’s the only adult in the room. We’re all children, and we don’t get it. He treats them a little like children in the movie. He’s wise and funny, and a little annoyed, but he’s also very loving. He just does funny, human things. I hope those perspectives aren’t lost on people. Some people probably think it’s funny.

MP: I’m sure a lot of people can get offended by it.
BP: I truly wasn’t trying to offend anybody. I could argue that I’m offended by a lot of things that some Christians believe or interpret the Bible, and this is how I interpret the Bible. I think the movie stays true to the Christian faith, but a lot of people think it’s terrible, and how dare I?

MP: Tennesseans are notoriously uptight about homosexuality, and especially when it comes to their children. So why did you want to tell this story now, in this context?
BP: Well, I wanted to tell the story because I think there’s a gross injustice being done to my fellow citizens. This is just not right. It’s about kindness and love, and that’s what puzzles me. Those who see a story other than love and compassion and humor and kindness in this movie, they’re bringing something else to the experience.

I think now it’s just a political thing, and the fact that we are so uptight about sex. I also make it clear this not a sex story; this is a love story.

MP: A lot of people can’t separate those two things.
BP: Exactly. But that’s not been my experience. Love and sex are different things. And that’s what this movie is about. That’s why I wanted to use kids! I wanted the innocence of children, the purity of children, where sex doesn’t come into play. Even God, in the movie, says, “That’s the problem with you people. You always make it about sex.”

MP: What did the kids think?
BP: I never got the sense that these kids really understood the political and social stuff.

MP: Well, they’re very young. How did you get their parents to sign off? In some cases I would think parents would pull their kid off the set.
BP: Well, some did. That’s fine. I understand.

I remember sitting in a chair at my house, and I thought of the kids thing. I thought, “How am I gonna do this?” I jumped out of my chair and said, “Kids! That’s never been done. That’s going to be the most innocent way to tell the story.”

MP: But did that not burn you? To you it’s the most innocent thing in the world, but to others it’s a malicious attack on family values, making a movie about homosexuality with children. It’s a slap in the face to a lot of these very religious people. In this town and in this state, it’s very touchy. Are you worried they misunderstand you, and did you catch a lot of flack when it came out? Nasty e-mails and things like that?
BP: No, not exactly. People wrote to the dean and the president and my department chair. They thought it was exploitation.

MP: That’s the word getting thrown around: exploitation.
BP: But clearly there was no exploitation here. Even when they went to the bathroom, we sent someone with them. The parents had to sign in and out. They read the script ahead of time. They were on the set and knew exactly what was going on. I don’t think they would have permitted their children to be in this movie if they didn’t agree at least with what we were trying to do with it. We would never harm a child.

If I could unhook that sex thing, and bring in that innocence thing. We’re acting like children when we hurt each other like this, when we use Biblical words from the Bronze Age to cudgel them.

Exploitationist? I think not. Dr. Pondillo is a sweet, brainy man, and his new film premiered at the Belcourt last month. Miracles is currently riding the festival circuit, and garnering substantial acclaim in the short film category.