Episode 30 - Ina Finchman - “Hallelujah”

In this episode, I speak with Canadian producer extraordinaire, Ina Finchman. During our conversation, we chat the nuts, bolts, and knowledge needed to be a great international co-production partner, her work with the Documentary Organization of Canada, and the specific steps the organization took to ease some of the stress of pandemic for Canadian filmmakers. We also discuss some of her most recent work on films such as Laila at the Bridge, Stray, and The Gig Is Up, and her ongoing support of Palestinian filmmakers. For this episode, Ina chose a masterpiece written by her fellow Canadian Leonard Cohen, “Hallelujah.” Regarding the meaning of the song, Leonard Cohen said:

“This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can… reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that’s what I mean by ‘Hallelujah’.

The song explains that many kinds of hallelujahs do exist, and all the perfect and broken hallelujahs have equal value. It’s a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way but with enthusiasm, with emotion.”

When one looks at Ina’s body of work, it is clear that documentary is the medium she has chosen to find meaning and reconcile the many contradictions that we face in life.