WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.540 You know, it is always wild to me when you realize 00:00:02.540 --> 00:00:05.500 that sometimes the biggest societal issues are 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:08.460 unpacked in the smallest, most compact containers. 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:10.919 Oh, for sure. I mean, especially when you're 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:12.619 looking at something as heavy and historical 00:00:12.619 --> 00:00:16.280 as financial literacy. Exactly. So today for 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:18.079 this deep dive, we're tackling something a bit 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:21.219 different. We are looking directly at a very 00:00:21.219 --> 00:00:24.140 focused, honestly, pretty brief source for you. 00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:27.199 Yeah, literally just one single Wikipedia page. 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:30.719 Right. It's the entry for a 2021 American documentary 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:33.539 film called AVI and yes that is spelled with 00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:37.000 a dollar sign instead of an S. Which is a very 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:39.100 specific stylistic choice right out of the gate. 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.939 It really is and our mission today is to dissect 00:00:41.939 --> 00:00:44.140 the anatomy of this documentary just using this 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:45.899 entry. We're gonna look at who made it, who's 00:00:45.899 --> 00:00:48.479 actually in it, who funded the thing and how 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:50.659 it was released to the world. Because even though 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:53.740 our source text is brief, the specific data points 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:55.920 in there like the runtime, the production companies, 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.719 the crew, they actually reveal a fascinating 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:02.140 blueprint. a blueprint of how financial literacy, 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:05.159 specifically historical and societal norms around 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:08.340 women and money, gets presented in modern media. 00:01:08.620 --> 00:01:10.540 Right. The mechanics of it all are just hiding 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:12.599 right there in the basic. Well, OK, let's unpack 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:14.500 this because the very first thing that jumps 00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:17.359 out is the thematic focus versus the runtime. 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:21.400 The text says, Abby explores historical, cultural 00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:24.709 and societal norms around women and money. Which 00:01:24.709 --> 00:01:26.650 is a massive, massive topic. I mean, you're talking 00:01:26.650 --> 00:01:28.670 about generations of norms. Yeah, it's huge. 00:01:28.969 --> 00:01:31.750 But the running time listed here is exactly 79 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:35.040 minutes. Which is incredibly tight. Right. How 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:37.620 on earth do you compress the entire history, 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:40.180 culture, and societal conditioning of women and 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:43.159 money into an hour and 19 minutes? It's like 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:45.700 trying to pack a century of history into a single 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:47.739 carry -on suitcase. That's a great way to put 00:01:47.739 --> 00:01:49.540 it. You really have to force the zipper closed. 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:52.819 So how does this creative team, you know, Robin 00:01:52.819 --> 00:01:55.019 Hauser directing, Jessica Flom writing, how do 00:01:55.019 --> 00:01:57.040 they even approach that level of compression? 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.900 Well, what's fascinating here is the why. behind 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:04.159 that kind of documentary pacing. A 79 -minute 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:07.299 runtime isn't an accident. It's just a highly 00:02:07.299 --> 00:02:10.340 intentional, very focused narrative. They're 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:13.460 not trying to make, like, an eight -part encyclopedic 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:16.080 miniseries. Exactly. They know their audience. 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:17.800 And when you look at the crew, you can see how 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:19.400 they engineered. You have Flume on the script, 00:02:19.539 --> 00:02:21.580 right? So it's tightly written. Right. But then 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:23.680 you look at the editor, Shirley Thompson, and 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.020 the cinematographer, John Behrens. And Catherine 00:02:26.020 --> 00:02:28.740 Bostic doing the music, right? Yes. All of those 00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:32.159 elements... have to work together to deliver 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:35.539 the message efficiently. Like Bostic score and 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:37.659 Barron cinematography probably do a lot of the 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:39.860 heavy lifting emotionally. Oh, I so. So instead 00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:42.300 of a 10 minute monologue explaining financial 00:02:42.300 --> 00:02:44.620 anxiety, they just use the music and the visuals 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:47.759 to make you feel it in like 30 seconds. Precisely. 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:49.960 Thompson's editing has to be ruthless to keep 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:52.000 it at 79 minutes without losing the audience. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:54.949 It's built for impact. That makes a lot of sense. 00:02:55.090 --> 00:02:56.990 You can't cover everything, so you have to be 00:02:56.990 --> 00:02:59.150 super efficient. And that actually leads right 00:02:59.150 --> 00:03:01.870 into the next point, because you also can't interview 00:03:01.870 --> 00:03:04.150 everybody. No, you definitely cannot. Here's 00:03:04.150 --> 00:03:06.270 where it gets really interesting. The people 00:03:06.270 --> 00:03:08.669 they did choose to put on screen. The voices 00:03:08.669 --> 00:03:11.370 they used to anchor all these big ideas. Right, 00:03:11.370 --> 00:03:14.729 because the entry specifically lists four individuals 00:03:14.729 --> 00:03:17.330 featured in the film. We've got Haley Sachs, 00:03:17.550 --> 00:03:20.530 Carrie Schwab, Farnoosh Turabi, and Sally Krawcheck. 00:03:20.689 --> 00:03:22.930 Which is a heavy -hitting lineup. It really is. 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:26.460 But I have to ask, when you are making a film 00:03:26.460 --> 00:03:29.680 about societal norms around money, what does 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.340 it mean to put someone with the last name Schwab 00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:34.800 in front of the camera? I mean, it's a statement, 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:37.979 isn't it? Yeah. Schwab is a name literally synonymous 00:03:37.979 --> 00:03:40.580 with American finance. Well, featuring figures 00:03:40.580 --> 00:03:43.919 like Sachs, Schwab, Tarabi, and Krocek, it grounds 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:48.500 a highly abstract concept into actual lived perspectives. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.580 Like giving the issue a face. Exactly. Societal 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:54.280 norms are invisible. Right. So documentaries 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:57.479 rely on specific voices to act as avatars for 00:03:57.479 --> 00:04:00.419 the audience. And I'd actually ask you, the listener. 00:04:00.590 --> 00:04:03.930 To think about that, what stands out to you about 00:04:03.930 --> 00:04:08.030 how documentaries use individual experts to represent 00:04:08.030 --> 00:04:10.849 these vast cultural histories? It's a great question, 00:04:10.909 --> 00:04:13.530 because having Carrie Schwab or Sally Krawcheck, 00:04:13.610 --> 00:04:16.589 who is a massive former Wall Street executive, 00:04:17.129 --> 00:04:19.149 it completely shifts the tone. It's not just 00:04:19.149 --> 00:04:21.250 outsiders critiquing the system. Right. It's 00:04:21.250 --> 00:04:23.290 the insider saying, hey, we know this system 00:04:23.290 --> 00:04:26.269 and these cultural barriers are real. It validates 00:04:26.269 --> 00:04:28.470 the entire premise of the film. Validates it. 00:04:28.470 --> 00:04:30.769 Yeah. And speaking of valid... we have to talk 00:04:30.769 --> 00:04:32.769 about the behind -the -scenes coalition here. 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:35.029 Oh, the production companies? Yes, because having 00:04:35.029 --> 00:04:37.129 those big voices on screen is one thing, but 00:04:37.129 --> 00:04:39.410 looking at who funded the film is a whole different 00:04:39.410 --> 00:04:42.050 story. It's a very unusual mix. To say the least. 00:04:42.310 --> 00:04:44.110 Let me just run through this list of production 00:04:44.110 --> 00:04:46.689 companies from the Wikipedia page. We have Finish 00:04:46.689 --> 00:04:49.290 Line Features, Artemis Rising Foundation, Charles 00:04:49.290 --> 00:04:51.990 Schraub Foundation, Silicon Valley Bank, New 00:04:51.990 --> 00:04:54.389 Gen Finance, Flourish Ventures, and Unleashed 00:04:54.389 --> 00:04:56.720 Productions. It's quite the lineup. It's like 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:59.079 looking at the desk list for a party and seeing 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:03.360 independent indie artists mingling directly with 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:05.139 Wall Street bankers. Yeah, they're standing right 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:08.060 next to the punch bowl together. Exactly. You've 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:11.120 got standard film entities like Finish Line Features 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:14.800 and Unleashed Productions right alongside massive 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:17.660 financial institutions like Silicon Valley Bank 00:05:17.660 --> 00:05:19.759 and the Charles Schwab Foundation. And Flourish 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:22.480 Ventures, too. Right. So what does this all mean? 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:25.339 Is this an indie documentary or is it basically 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:28.399 institutional initiative. This raises an important 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:30.620 question about the blending of corporate finance 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:32.939 and documentary filmmaking. Because you usually 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:35.100 don't see those two worlds overlap like this. 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.000 No, you really don't. But what we can synthesize 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:40.459 from this is that the topic of women's financial 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:43.439 literacy isn't just a grassroots social issue 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:45.819 anymore. It's gone mainstream. More than that, 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:49.019 it clearly has the active attention and the financial 00:05:49.019 --> 00:05:52.439 backing of major capital entities. like Flourish 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:55.420 Ventures and New Gen Finance. So why do they 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:57.379 care so much? I mean, why are they funding a 00:05:57.379 --> 00:05:59.639 documentary? Well, think about why it matters 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.879 to them. When heavy -hitting financial institutions 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:06.600 fund a cultural documentary, it signals a recognition 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:09.839 that these cultural norms around money directly 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:12.240 impact the financial industry itself. Oh, wow. 00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:15.480 So if societal norms are keeping women from investing, 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:18.199 that's literally bad for business for these banks. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.589 Exactly. It's a massive untapped market. And 00:06:21.589 --> 00:06:24.689 a 79 -minute documentary is a very smart way 00:06:24.689 --> 00:06:27.029 to start dismantling those cultural barriers. 00:06:27.430 --> 00:06:29.829 It's like educational outreach, but packaged 00:06:29.829 --> 00:06:32.089 as an indie film. Right. Because an indie film 00:06:32.089 --> 00:06:34.709 can reach people emotionally in a way a corporate 00:06:34.709 --> 00:06:37.250 bro sure never could. That is so true. But having 00:06:37.250 --> 00:06:38.990 all those corporate names attached, you still 00:06:38.990 --> 00:06:40.769 have to get people to watch it and take it seriously 00:06:40.769 --> 00:06:43.329 as a film, right? Yes. Which brings us to the 00:06:43.329 --> 00:06:46.060 release strategy. Which happened under very specific 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:48.899 real world constraints. The Wikipedia page tells 00:06:48.899 --> 00:06:51.240 us the film had its world premiere at the Santa 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:53.939 Barbara International Film Festival. A very prestigious 00:06:53.939 --> 00:06:56.519 festival. Totally. And the date is key here. 00:06:56.860 --> 00:07:00.500 April 1st, 2021. Oh, right in the thick of pandemic 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:03.639 shifts. Exactly. The entry specifically notes 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:07.079 it was a hybrid edition of the festival. And 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:09.519 just as a fun fact from the text, another film 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:12.019 called Invisible Valley served as the opener. 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:15.339 That detail really grounds it in that specific 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:19.000 moment in time. Yeah. April 2021 was weird. Trying 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:21.699 to launch a film about complex societal norms 00:07:21.699 --> 00:07:24.560 during a period when live events were fundamentally 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:26.959 shifting. It's like trying to navigate a ship 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:29.160 while the ocean is constantly changing shape. 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:31.399 That's a really good analogy. The ground was 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:33.660 constantly moving under their feet. So why do 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:36.240 it? Why premiere at a hybrid festival instead 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:38.199 of just throwing it up on a streaming platform? 00:07:38.620 --> 00:07:40.959 Well. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:43.439 the strategic choice of a film festival premiere 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:47.100 is huge. Because of the prestige. Exactly. Premiering 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:49.600 at Santa Barbara positions AVI firmly within 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:52.000 the realm of cultural art and cinema. Ah, so 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.360 it stops people from seeing it as just an educational 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:57.220 corporate video funded by banks. Right, it validates 00:07:57.220 --> 00:07:59.670 the art. And the hybrid nature of the festival 00:07:59.670 --> 00:08:02.689 reflects the exact kind of adaptability the filmmakers 00:08:02.689 --> 00:08:05.069 themselves had to employ to get their message 00:08:05.069 --> 00:08:08.310 to the public. They had to be just as savvy pun 00:08:08.310 --> 00:08:10.689 intended about their release as they were about 00:08:10.689 --> 00:08:13.329 their funding. They really did. You're balancing 00:08:13.329 --> 00:08:16.430 digital screenings with whatever limited physical 00:08:16.430 --> 00:08:19.509 presence was allowed in 2021. It's a completely 00:08:19.509 --> 00:08:21.540 different landscape for a filmmaker. Okay, this 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:24.540 has been an incredibly revealing deep dive. Let's 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:26.759 do a quick recap of the journey we just took 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:29.259 through this single Wikipedia entry. Let's do 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:31.980 it. We started by looking at a very tight 79 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:34.460 -minute documentary directed by Robin Hauser 00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:37.740 that manages to tackle the massive cultural norms 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:40.539 of women and money. Which it does by relying 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:43.600 on a highly efficient crew and notable featured 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:45.919 voices. Right, voices like Carrie Schwab and 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:48.450 Sally Krawcheck. And then we saw how the film 00:08:48.450 --> 00:08:51.289 was backed by this fascinating unexpected alliance 00:08:51.289 --> 00:08:54.669 of indie film producers and institutional finance 00:08:54.669 --> 00:08:57.269 like Silicon Valley Bank. All culminating in 00:08:57.269 --> 00:09:00.450 a launch at a hybrid film festival in 2021. It 00:09:00.450 --> 00:09:03.350 really just reminds you how even a super brief 00:09:03.350 --> 00:09:06.190 set of facts can reveal a totally complex web 00:09:06.190 --> 00:09:08.809 of cultural and financial intersection. It really 00:09:08.809 --> 00:09:11.029 does. But, you know, there's one final lingering 00:09:11.029 --> 00:09:13.690 question based on the metadata of this source 00:09:13.690 --> 00:09:15.750 that we really should leave the listener with. 00:09:15.789 --> 00:09:17.399 Oh, yeah. Yeah, this is the part that actually 00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:19.919 kind of blew my mind. Because despite Avi dealing 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:22.559 with a massive societal issue, despite featuring 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:24.980 prominent figures and receiving backing from 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:27.980 major financial entities, the Wikipedia entry 00:09:27.980 --> 00:09:31.200 we use today is officially classified as a stub. 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:34.059 A stub. Meaning the internet community still 00:09:34.059 --> 00:09:36.600 considers the article to be incomplete. It's 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:39.419 missing a ton of information. Right. So why is 00:09:39.419 --> 00:09:42.259 it that a film tackling such an essential, heavily 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:45.740 funded topic still has so much of its story left 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:48.179 unwritten on the world's biggest encyclopedia? 00:09:48.419 --> 00:09:50.779 It is crazy to think about. It leaves you, the 00:09:50.779 --> 00:09:54.220 listener, to wonder. What crucial pieces of this 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:56.639 cultural conversation are still waiting to be 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:58.440 documented? What else is missing from the record? 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:00.679 Well, that's something to mull over. Thanks for 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:02.220 joining us for this deep dive and we'll catch 00:10:02.220 --> 00:10:02.919 you on the next one.