Documentary filmmaker and storyteller, Rachel Bozich (BA‘14), will be returning to the UW-Madison campus for an interactive talk and Q&A session. Bozich is known for her work with Netflix, Amazon and HBO including documentaries like Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal and One Night in Idaho: The College Murders. In her talk, “Inside True Crime: Ethics, Responsibility and Stories We Tell After Tragedy,” Bozich will explore what it means to work alongside victims and tell stories that matter.
Bozich’s career began as a post-production intern for production company Ark Media. As she became more familiar with the behind-the-scenes process, her interests shifted toward the work that takes place before the cameras and lights are turned on. Soon, Bozich found herself as a producer and director for a variety of documentaries. Throughout her career, Bozich has worked with Academy Award-Nominated directors Ken Burns (Cancer: Emperor of all Maladies), David France (The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson) and Academy Award-Winning director Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 11/9).
During her time as a student at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC), Bozich was part of the 2014 edition of Curb Magazine and worked at WSUM 91.7 student radio. She credits her continued curiosity and drive to learn about the world around her to her classes and professors at UW-Madison.
Ahead of her lecture, we talked with Bozich about her career journey, the advice she has for students and what it means to be a true storyteller.
What has your journey looked like from graduating from UW-Madison to becoming a documentary filmmaker in New York?
My journey as a filmmaker began at UW, without me really even knowing. When I was a sophomore, I took a class where people came back and talked about what they did. And someone came back who was a colorist, who colored commercials, and it blew my mind. I grew up in a family where we were constantly watching movies, so the idea that I could contribute to something in such a creative manner really thrilled me – and it sent me on this journey as a UW student getting internships both through CommArts and the journalism school. I’d been at all these ad agencies, and I found it fun and exciting, but there was something about a documentary. I love how I feel when I’m watching a documentary and I love how I suddenly care about something so much that I can’t stop researching it. I realized that if I could make one person feel that way, I’ll feel satisfied.
So, I was the person who graduated without a job and I spent the whole summer just watching documentaries. I would ask myself “What do I like? Where do I want to work?” Eventually I remember my parents telling me to go to New York and try to find a job. So I cold-called a bunch of companies, and Ark Media told me they were looking for a post-production intern. And that was the start; it just set me off.
The first film I started on was a Ken Burns documentary about cancer, to now, I’m in true crime, and in the middle I was in politics and social climate. And throughout all of these I was in editing, but I realized I loved the whole process of making a story. Finding a story, meeting the people who you are going to interview, and all of the other gritty details before you actually get to the edit. I wanted to be a part of that. So that started my journey on moving into producing and directing. And now I’m incredibly fortunate to be producing and directing content for some of the major streamers, and working with people I admire and love collaborating with.
Your career includes a variety of documentary projects and roles. What draws you to the stories you decide to work on?
I feel like anyone who works in journalism, film or frankly anyone who’s in a creative field, understands that there’s some type of feeling you get when you hear a good story. And it’s hard to explain, but you just feel good. So there’s that aspect of knowing in a guttural sense when I have a good story on my hands.
But then there’s also the people. If I have the opportunity to meet the subjects, or I’m working with the subjects, or I’m hearing their story, I feel like part of my job is really just allowing them to be heard. I am so fortunate to do what I do that if people want to share their
story, I’m just giving them a platform to do it.
And then there’s all these elements of a story. Are there twists? Are there turns? Are there emotional hooks? Are there multiple factors that make someone go: ‘I can’t believe that just happened’? And really, am I making someone feel something? You know, am I making the audience feel deeply outraged, or empathetic, or so moved they donate to a cause, or go out and protest? That’s really how I choose.
What do you hope students take away from your upcoming presentation?
I would hope that people would take away an understanding, and maybe more so a curiosity, of how something gets made and everything it took to get to what you’re seeing on the screen. I can’t speak for every documentarian, but any film you see that my name is attached to, this thought process of ethical recourse, responsibility and the treatment of subjects is so present that I believe it should be highlighted. There is a lot of controvers
y with true crime, and there’s such a deeper meaning behind a death. And I think I’d want people to leave my presentation and reframe how they think about true crime, or leave with more of an objective eye when watching things. I don’t know, maybe it’ll make someone want to work in documentary filmmaking!
What is the best advice you have for a UW-Madison student who is interested in documentary storytelling?
I mean, this is a very interesting climate to pursue documentary filmmaking. I would suggest finding stories that you’re interested in and just making them. You can post them on TikTok and you can get them seen in crazy ways.
But, to get into t
he career side of it, it’s just about choosing a path in. And then once you’re in, you can navigate where to move around. It’s really important in the documentary film world to build relationships and to build yourself. An ego doesn’t get you far in this industry. Everyone’s learning together, and if you go into this collaborative environment, you’re going to come out a stronger version of yourself. And so, I would just come in open minded and eager to explore, and you’ll figure it out along the way.
Looking to the future, are there any projects or storytelling themes you’re excited to explore next?
I really care about women’s rights. I was fortunate enough to work on The Janes, which was incredible. So I have some ideas on that topic. I also really care about addiction, and what modern-day addiction looks like. And then, one topic I haven’t been able to work with, but would love to, is sports. I really love sports, but I haven’t had the opportunity yet to work on a sports documentary. And I think that we’re just at a really interesting time in the world, where I feel compelled sometimes to just go out and film with a camera. I’ll think to myself, “There’s just so much to document.”
Join Rachel Bozich on February 26th for her talk about the ethics and other behind-the-scenes work of true crime documentaries.