Synopsis

Beginning as a seemingly idiosyncratic story about "troop greeters" - a group of senior citizens who gather day and night at Bangor airport, Maine to thank American soldiers departing for war and greet them when they come back from Iraq (and hand them cell phones to call their loves ones!) the film quickly turns into a moving, unsettling and compassionate story about aging, loneliness, war and mortality.

When not at the airport, they wrestle with their own problems: failing health, depression, mounting debt. Joan, a grandmother of eight, will have to say goodbye to her granddaughter leaving for Iraq. Jerry keeps his spirits up even as his personal problems mount. Veteran Bill, who clearly has trouble taking care of himself, finds himself contemplating his own death. Regardless of your politics, THE WAY WE GET BY celebrates three unsung heroes who share their love with strangers who need and deserve it. A deeply moving film about life and how to live it.

More on Film

Director’s Statement:

This is a very personal story to me. My mother, Joan Gaudet, is a troop greeter and a character in the film. Witnessing firsthand how her life changed in such positive ways, while at the same time touching the lives of troops from all over the country, convinced me this was a story that could inspire people. This is a unique film, encompassing important social issues and controversial topics, while remaining a story that every American can support. While troop greeting may not be an option for many of the nation's seniors, it demonstrates how community involvement can significantly improve the lives of the elderly in America.

Throughout The Way We Get By, each character tells their own story, without the aid of narration, through on-camera interviews and moments of verite. Unlimited access to our characters provides an in-depth look into their lives. Keeping the camera static whenever possible allows each of them to quickly forget they are being filmed, removing any barriers between them and the viewer. The result of this shooting style is a well-crafted, layered story with a polished, cinematic look that enables the viewer to feel they are experiencing these personal moments alongside the characters. The pacing of the film appropriately matches the subject matter, allowing each storyline to breathe, while capturing life in a small town.

Filmmakers Notes:

The Way We Get By follows three senior citizens over the course of three years as they spend their days and nights traveling to their tiny local airport to greet troops heading to and returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Greeting over 800,000 troops gives their lives a renewed sense of purpose and allows them to overcome their obstacles outside the airport, which can be numerous for an elderly person in America. And one of the greeters happens to be my mother, Joan Gaudet.

For a couple of years prior to discovering troop greeting, my mom had few friends and fewer hobbies and basically spent her days alone at home, literally watching birds. I was working at a television station in Michigan at the time, and would call home often, and one day she wasn't there to answer the phone. Prior to her becoming a troop greeter, she spent her days at home looking for something to fill her life. As a mother of eight children (I'm the baby) I think she had a very severe case of empty nest syndrome. She had taken care of people her entire life and now had no one to look after. Soon after she became a troop greeter, it very quickly became nearly impossible to get her on the phone, and even tougher to have a conversation that didn't involve the subject of troop greeting.

When she discovered troop greeting, it was a perfect fit. My mother was suddenly out at all hours of the day and night, making the drive to and from the airport to greet hundreds upon hundreds of troop flights. So, when I went home for Christmas in 2004, the first thing I wanted to do was see how she was spending all of her time. I followed her to a late night flight and I was pretty instantly hooked. The emotion that was in that airport on a daily basis was amazing-- it just seemed like if we could find the right way to tell a story, it would have heart. What struck me first was that this is a place where 80-year-olds and 20-year-olds are coming together and helping each other face their problems, and I couldn't really think of anyplace else you could find something like that. Seeing first hand how this was transforming my mom's life just made me so proud to be her son. As I watched this become her mission and really transform her life, I started to think it could make a great short documentary. After I met the other two troop greeters we follow in the film, I knew it could be much more, and we set out to make it a feature.

I agree that this is a patriotic film, but we definitely didn't set out thinking "let's go make a patriotic film." ... Our first thought was just that what the Maine Troop Greeters are doing is a genuine act of kindness, and there aren't many purely good things like that happening out there. It just seemed like a story worth telling. Our initial plan was to try to look past the politics and make a film that was just about supporting the troops.

Everything changed as soon as we went home with our three subjects. The moment we saw what their lives were like outside the airport the focus shifted, and we knew that the film was really about aging in America. What do we all go through, as we grow older? And how much does having a purpose in your life affect everything else? But even as we were walking into the edit room with all of our footage we still weren't sure what the film was "about" because we weren't quite sure what we had. We knew we had a lot of emotional moments and the three subjects had all gone through a lot while we were following them, but could we craft it into a story? The three months last summer editing the film and finding that story was the hardest part of the entire process for me. But after working through that process, what I ended up finding was a beautiful and touching film with three amazing characters.

Early on we made the decision that we would never keep any distance between our subjects and us. We would become friends with them, and we would let them become a part of our lives just as much as we became a part of theirs, and we would not desert them when the film was done. But we also made a decision early on that we wouldn't cut them any slack or give them any breaks. ... Even my mom would never get special treatment. It just felt like that was the only way to tell their story. We never wanted to be condescending to them and their struggles.

We had a very small crew shooting this film. Through production it was a three-person crew. Co-director of photography Dan Ferrigan and I would operate the two cameras-- we nearly always had two cameras-- and producer Gita Pullapilly handled all the logistics of field producing and was the interviewer. Then during post-production it became a two-person crew. Gita was working hard to find funding and distribution opportunities while I was locked away in an editing room. We even logged and imported all the footage ourselves. I guess we discovered interns pretty late in the game, and then we got as many as we could find. But we really didn't know any other way. I've always done every aspect of the editing myself, so it didn't feel different, just a little more overwhelming.

As for using a larger crew, the movie would not be the same if we had tried to go in there with a bigger crew or a bunch of lights. Our goal from the beginning was to make these people forget about the camera, and create a comfortable atmosphere. There were many occasions when it really became just an intimate conversation between Gita and the subject, and in those instances it was my job and Dan's job to basically become invisible. We shot on tripods as much as possible, and I would try to be as motionless as possible and really just hide behind the camera. Of course, there were times we could have used an extra pair of hands, but the trade off is what I hope is a really intimate film. I have seen a lot of films about Iraq and Afghanistan and I wanted the film to work for people on both sides of the debate. It's really a personal story not a political one. That goes for the greeters themselves as well. They have different views on the war, but their main goal is to support the troops. I didn't want people to leave the film angry. I met soldiers who said, "No one knows about all the good work we do there." and those that said “no one knows how bad it is there." It's a complicated issue.

During production, I was often emotionally moved. Our three characters would really bare their souls to us at times, and it always shocked us and left us a little shaken as well, that they would be so open and honest with us about how they were feeling and what they were going through, including my mom. I remember on more than one occasion leaving an interview and talking to Gita and Dan about how emotional we all were. We might not have been sure at the time how everything fit together, but we knew they were giving us some amazing material to work with-- and it definitely became a worry of mine that these three people put their trust in us and opened up to us, and I didn't want to screw it up.

Filming at Bangor International Airport is a bit of an oddity. Because of the eastern location and the size of the runway, they are the perfect place for these military flights to refuel. This means for the majority of troops, Bangor is the last piece of U.S. soil they touch before going to war, and the first piece they step foot on when coming home. As far as gaining access, it was surprisingly easy. From the start, the officials at the airport really opened the terminal up to us. It certainly helped that the airport is pretty small, and outside of all the thousands of troop flights going through, it's not a very busy airport. There were certain things that Gita had to work very hard getting us access to-- going out on the runway or boarding a troop flight-- but overall it was much easier than we expected. We were very fortunate to have that kind of access.

The biggest challenge we had was finding funding. Getting potential funders to understand that the film is about so much more than just senior citizens shaking hands with troops was a very tough sell. Convincing them that the film was really about life and all the struggles that present themselves each day, and how these simple handshakes dramatically change the lives of the greeters as well as the troops in really emotional and poignant ways. Needless to say we were rejected from nearly every funding source. But when we needed the money the most, we were able to find an executive producer to come on board with the funding to finish the film.

During the filming process, I learned many lessons. I really learned how to make a movie over the last four years working on this film. This was my “film school.” Every aspect from pre-production through distribution is full of lessons, trial and error, strained and broken friendships, and learning from mistakes. There really is no right or wrong way, and nobody is getting in line to tell you how to do everything. It really comes down to learning how to do-it-yourself. And I'm still learning every day. In television, the whole distribution part of it is already in place for you. I would shoot and edit a promo and it would be on the air that night. Now, the biggest challenge is figuring how to get people to see your movie after it's finished. The one thing I will not do is be a filmmaker that finishes a movie and expects it to magically find it's way to an audience. Gita and I work 7 days a week now, trying to figure out the best ways to get the film out there. The question continues to come up: Are you willing to take your film city-to-city, town-to-town if that is what it takes? And the answer is yes, we are.

 

Award-winning director and editor Aron Gaudet has worked on films in the United States, Jordan, and India. He is the director of the feature-length documentary film, The Way We Get By. Chosen as a 2007-08 WGBH Filmmaker in Residence, he is currently working on the distribution of the film. In August 2006, Aron attended the Sundance Producers Conference at the Sundance Institute with film producer Gita Pullapilly (The Way We Get By). Aron was the director for India: A New Life (a WGBH-Frontline World production). In 2008, Aron won three Telly Awards for this film. Aron also directed OUCH! (a short on the art of eyebrow threading), which was a selection in the South Asian International Film Festival in New York City and the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan. Aron has won numerous awards in television including a total of 8 Telly Awards, 2 Emmy nominations, 2 Vermont Association of Broadcasters awards, and a Michigan Association of Broadcasters award. Aron is a member of IDA and IFP. He is a graduate of New England School of Communication. Aron grew up in Maine and currently lives in Boston, MA.

Festivals & Awards

2010 Emmy Awards, USA
Nominated for Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story

2009 SXSW Film Festival, USA
Won Special Jury Award

2009 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, USA
Won Audience Award

2009 Cleveland International Film Festival, USA
Won Standing Up Film Competition Award

2009 Indianapolis International Film Festival, USA
Won Eric Parker Social Justice Award

2009 Phoenix Film Festival, USA
Won Best Documentary Award

2009 Atlanta Film Festival, USA
Won Best Documentary Award

2009 Newport International Film Festival, USA
Won Best Documentary Award
Won Audience Award

Little Rock Film Festival, USA
Won Best Documentary Award

Camden International Film Festival, USA
Won Audience Award

Boston International Film Festival, USA
Won Honorable Mention

Governor’s Award for Film & Public Service, USA
Won Award

New Hampshire Film Festival, USA
Won Audience Award

Naples Film Festival, USA
Won Best Documentary Award

Rincon International Film Festival, USA
Won Best of Fest Award

2009 Hot Docs Canadian Documentary Film Festival, Canada

2009 Silver Docs AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Film Festival, USA

True/False Film Festival, USA

Florida Film Festival, USA

Wisconsin Film Festival, USA

Sarasota Film Festival, USA

Philadelphia Film Festival, USA

Nantucket Film Festival, USA

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, USA

Woods Hole Film Festival, USA

Calgary International Film Festival, Canada

Edmonton International Film Festival, Canada

Indie Memphis Film Festival, USA

Newburyport Documentary Film Festival, USA

Modern Film Festival, USA

Dokufest, Kosovo

Helsinki DocPoint Documentary Festival, Finland

Press & Reviews

“I adored every frame of this movie and every person in it.”
David Cornelius, EFILMCRITIC.COM

“...as great films show, there is more to the story.”
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, THE HERALD SUN

“Hardened soldiers' eyes mist over at their reception in Bangor. Yours will too in this sweet little film.”
Roger Moore, ORLANDO SENTINEL

“It's a beautiful, heartfelt movie about people overcoming their own difficulties to make a positive impact on the lives of others.”
Christopher Smith, BANGOR DAILY NEWS

“One of the most moving and depressing (in a good way) docs to come along in some time.”
Robert Bell, EXCLAIM

“FOUR STARS - "The Way We Get By" manages to be touching, honest, and thought-provoking at the same time.”
Mariko McDonald, FILM THREAT

“It's the deep well of compassion behind it that helps make 'The Way We Get By' such a stirring experience.”
Chris Barsanti, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Profoundly humane.”
Jeannette Catsoulis, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“'The Way We Get By' contains more useful, homespun philosophizing and genuine sentiment than a year’s worth of narrative films.”
John P. McCarthy, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE

“...shows the pleasure of feeling needed and the pain of growing old.”
Cynthia Fuchs, POPMATTERS

“Filled with a rare honesty and intimacy that makes for a rewarding film experience.”
Gary Goldstein, LOS ANGELES TIMES

“'The Way We Get By' is a lyrical documentary guaranteed to jerk tears and tug hearts over and over during its tight, haikulike 86 minutes.”
Dan Zak, THE WASHINGTON POST