indieWIRE invited all of the directors in the U.S. dramatic and documentary competition to participate in an email interview as a way of introducing them to our readers. David Redmon’s documentary, “Mardi Gras: Made in China,” is screening in the American Documentary Competition. The film sheds some new light on many forms of globalization by following Mardi Gras beads from their creation in a factory in China to the celebration on Bourbon Street.

Please tell us about yourself and include as much of the following information as you feel comfortable with:

Day job (if you have one) and former jobs. I’ve had over 40 odd jobs and currently teach one part-time course at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York (the fourth lowest paying school in the United States). Where you were born. Where you grew up. Where you live. I grew up in Mansfield, Texas, just outside of Fort Worth, on a farm with 3 acres.

Did you go to film school? Or how did you learn about filmmaking? How did you finance your own film? And any other insights you think might be interesting...
No, I’ve never taken a class in film or video. I taught myself how to make "Mardi Gras: Made in China" by reading books, practicing in the streets with Indymedia centers, and volunteering to assist other people edit with Final Cut. I purchased a Canon GL1 (my first camera ever) 3 weeks before I flew to China. The factory in China is where I began practicing cinematography and learning how to hold the camera, film, and talk to people while having a camera in my hand. I had no idea what I was doing! I financed "Mardi Gras: Made in China" entirely by myself, until I met Deborah and Dale Smith on an elevator. I told them about my film, they gave me $20 for a copy, and three weeks later they sent me a check for $5,000 because they loved "Mardi Gras: Made in China" and they wanted to see it get out into the world of images and storytelling. That's how I raised money: I used to sale a few copies of the film here and there as a work in progress for $1 to $5 to $20 to whoever would buy it so that I could keep paying people to translate the film from Chinese to English!

Where did the initial idea for your film come from?
The intitial idea for "Mardi Gras: Made in China" came to me one night when I thought how remarkable it would be to show and tell a story about globalization, popular culture and sexuality by following Mardi Gras beads to their destinations.

What are your biggest creative influences (this could include other filmmakers or films)?
Big Noise Films and Marc Singer who made "Dark Days."

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in either developing the project or making the movie?
Having enough money to pay for rent and the film, not having nourishing food to eat, and simply completing the film without knowing what the hell I was doing! I contacted a guy named Micha Peled several times for help (he has made several documentaries). He basically told me, “Go take classes in film; I don’t assist amateurs.” His statement was a cold introduction into the world of documentary filmmakers. I’ll never forget what he said and how he dismissed me. However, it became a turning point to complete the film.

Tell us about the moment you found out that you were accepted into Sundance, where were you? And we'd love to hear more about how you've spent the last month preparing for the festival.
I was in my apartment editing "Mardi Gras: Made in China" about a week before Thanksgiving and the phone rang. It was a calm voice telling me that she was calling from Sundance Film Festival. I said, “Shit, is my tape busted? Did a bad tape arrive?” because I thought the mail system had busted the tape. She said, “No, in fact, it’s a wonderful film and were calling to invite you to Sundance! I was floored and silent - I was so silent that I think she was wondering why I wasn’t so excited. I thanked her and told her that "Dark Days" inspired me to make a DIY documentary. I stopped everything that I was doing at that moment, walked to Tillie’s Coffee Shop, and ordered a regular coffee. I mentioned to the guy behind the counter that my documentary film was just accepted into Sundance and he gave me a free “Sundance latte.” I sat there for an hour, reflecting on the 5 years of hard work and sleepless nights of making the film.

I’ve been preparing for the Sundance film festival by trying to raise money to pay for the costs of everything it takes to get there. A friend named Rod Murphy, who made a documentary called "Southbridge," is helping me by calling press people everywhere. Otherwise, I’ve been busy for about 14 hours a day taking care of minor responsibilities that add up to large impacts.

What do you hope to get out of the festival, what are your own goals for the experience?
I hope the film will create a discursive and material shift in how debates and policies are created around globalization. I hope the workers in China will no longer remain silenced. And I hope that my naivety in what I hope for will not make me pessimistic when it does not happen. In general, however, I hope to show the film, answer a few questions, talk to other documentary filmmakers, and get financial support for my next documentary (which I’m done filming!)

What is your definition of “independent film?”
Independent film is the ability to transgress established channels of filmmaking techniques by seeing an seemingly banal issue in an original way, and then doing what is necessary to show and tell that story to a willing and committed audience without special interest funding while retaining one’s imagination, dignity, integrity, and responsibility to the story as a filmmaker.

Since Sundance 2005 on Inauguration Day, what advice would you give President Bush as he begins his second term?
One day those who you have disappeared will speak again with a multitude of screams, and they will demand that you and your administration be exported to the streets of Iraq where you will finally be able to “bring it on!”

What are some of your favorite films, and why? What was your top ten list for 2004?
"The Fourth World War," "Born Into the Brothels," "Farmingville," "To Be and To Have," "My Flesh and Blood." These films are my favorite because, to me, they encompass the spirit of what it means to struggle in the face of eradication, be a person in a world that attempts dehumanize people who don’t count as “people,” and expand the possibilities of love, creativity, collective responsibility, and autonomy within a framework that invites growth instead of alienation and invisibility.