Name: Claudine Jordan
Job: documentary filmmaker
Years: 25 in the film business
Q. Why did you decide to become a filmmaker?
A. I was born in Brussels, Belgium. I wanted to be a reporter before I came to the United States when I was 15. But because English was not my first language I decided that I wanted to tell stories with pictures.
Q. How did you learn filmmaking?
A. I had an undergraduate degree in Spanish literature, French literature and communications. I decided I wanted to make films to teach people about different cultures, so I went to film school at Northwestern University to get a master’s degree.
Q. What filmmakers do you admire?
A. Jean Cocteau is one of my all-time favorites. I like “La Belle et la Bete” because it is so poetic and full of symbolism.
Q. Before your early retirement you taught courses in animation at the College of DuPage. What is the connection between animated films and documentaries?
A. Animation is a way to tell a story and documentaries are all about telling real-life stories.
Q. You and Tom Klodin co-produced and co-directed the film “Legs to the Neck,” which takes place in the south of France. What story does it tell?
A. It is the story of Colette Miquelot, who makes wearable art. It shows her making a dress that includes the shape of legs. She was running away from a commune where she lived for 10 years so it celebrates the independence of her creative spirit.
Q. What were the advantages of using a digital camera to make the film?
A. It is very small so, although Tom does most of the shooting, I could shoot too. Also, because it is small we looked like tourists so we didn’t frighten the people we were filming. But while the quality of the images are beautiful, it’s the story that counts.
Q. Did an airline company buy “Legs to the Neck”?
A. United Airlines bought the film and showed it on every flight from the United States to Paris and Brussels during June, July and August. So when Tom and I flew over this summer we saw it.
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“Legs to the Neck” will be shown at 1 p.m. Sunday at Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave.; 773-281-9075.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Jordan and Klodin.