Tommy Baker’s chilling and captivating Facing East, an expose on a graveyard that would re-use graves over and over, premieres On Demand this March from Uncork’d Entertainment. With over 100,000 documented disturbed burials the owners and operators of Eastern Cemetery systematically re-used graves over and over, taking advantage of low-income families during one of the most difficult times in their lives. 25 years after the cemetery was left abandoned, the Friends of Eastern Cemetery was formed to provide care and upkeep that the burial grounds so desperately needed. Facing East is out from Uncork’d Entertainment, and we spoke with the filmmaker about the movie.
Tommy. What part of the country do you call home?
I live in Louisville, Ky where I was born and raised.
And that’s where Eastern Cemetery is, right?
Yes.
How legendary is this place back home?
It’s pretty infamous. Teenagers over the years have always gone there after dark, many of them breaking into the buildings which are covered wall to wall with graffiti inside, so that is something I have heard often- that someone I’m talking to may have went there as a teenager or known someone who did. The scandal has also been covered pretty heavily in the local news. Every few years they do a story about how the grass is too high, or a break in, or someone who’s family member passed away that wanted to be buried there but couldn’t.
And when and how did you decide to do a documentary?
I went down there a few times just to film some stuff for the non-profit group but once I started hearing the details of what had happened there it really piqued my interest. It didn’t take long before the story was becoming so shocking as I researched and unravelled it that I knew it would have to be a feature film. I really wasn’t equipped to do a feature film but I just decided to figure it out as I went along.
What kind of research was required?
I did a ton of research for this film. I pulled the deeds and land records for the cemetery. I went to the state capitol and pulled all the information that was public on the trial and other court proceedings which including some VHS tapes that we used in the film. I searched literally for years to find some of the people we interviewed. We also went through the archives of the local paper. They had articles all the way back in the 1850’s covering problems at Eastern Cemetery.
Did any of your interviewees shy away from talking about anything, at any time?
Definitely. We got turned down by Bob Allen several times before he agreed to go on camera, and even then there was several questions he declined to answer and stories left only half told. There were several other people that we found but who refused to interview, including one person who slammed the door in our face.
Have any threats from anyone opposing the making-of the film?
Thankfully no, I actually have never talked to anyone who didn’t want me to make the film. Everyone has been really supportive. I think some people were afraid to talk about some of the things that happened there because it could incriminate them, even if it was a situation where they were trying to make the right choice. Other people couldn’t talk about it just because it was too difficult for them. Ok maybe the gentleman who slammed the door in our face probably doesn’t want the film to come out, be he never told me that directly, or said anything for that matter. He will remain nameless but I’ll be sure to send him a copy when the film comes out.
What do you hope to accomplish with the film?
I think this is a story that absolutely had to be told. I hope that it can bring at least some fraction of peace to the family and friends of individuals at rest there, and I hope that if anyone out there is aware of a cemetery in their area that is abandoned, overgrown, or otherwise distressed …. maybe this film can be a guiding light or motivating factor for them to see what they can do to help.
Can you tell us how distribution came about?
While we were editing the film I just started cold emailing every acquisition department for every distributor I could find online with a short synopsis of the movie and why is was so important, and a rough trailer we had cut together. After I signed with Uncork’d, who have been amazing, we received several other offers that were in response to that initial blast of emails.
What do you hope the film does for your career, personally?
This documentary became way bigger than me at some point, I stopped thinking about how good it was going to be and it just became important that I finish it, and that it was honest and unbiased. I felt I owed that to all the people I met and everyone who has helped me get it done. With that said I want to have the opportunity to make more films. I will never find another project like this one but I am excited to see what the future holds.
Are you keen on sticking to documentaries pushing forward – or something different in the works?
I never really intended to be a documentary filmmaker. Facing East kind of grew up with me and gave me a perspective I wouldn’t have had if I had focused solely on narrative films. I hope in the future I get the chance to make another documentary, I’m just waiting for the right story to find me. In the meantime I wrote and directed a micro- budget narrative feature last summer that we are in post-production on now and hoping to submit to some festivals this year and I’m already writing for some new projects as well.