The initial troubles behind the production “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” was chronicled in the great documentary “Lost in La Mancha” in 2002. However, since 2002, the film has gone through radical differences, actually being produced, with its decades-long wait being over when the film debuts at the Cannes Film Festival. Well, fans of Terry Gilliam documentaries, fear not! The team behind ‘La Mancha’ are back.
According to Variety, Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, the team who directed ‘La Mancha,’ are back to direct a new documentary about the troubled production called “He Dreams of Giants.” The duo has been documenting the new production of “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” and have been following the film all the way to its upcoming premiere. But this new doc won’t just be another behind-the-scenes look at the film. No, this time the duo hope to actually get inside the mind of Gilliam, as the director finally gets to finish the project he’s been dreaming about for over 25 years.
“We began to think this is more a film about an internal struggle in an artist’s mind,” Fulton said. “What is it like for an artist to be standing on the brink of actually finishing this project finally?”
“Even on the set we would say the conflicts raging around Terry right now of making the movie are not nearly as interesting as what’s going on inside his head,” said Pepe.
“He dreams of Giants” won’t ignore the recent drama surrounding the film, however. The directors have said that while they will cover the Paulo Branco legal situation, where the ex-producer claims he owns the rights to the film and is attempting to prevent ‘Don Quixote’ from being released, the court case won’t be the focal point.
“We certainly touch on it in our film and acknowledge it, but it always struck us that it wasn’t as fascinating as this deeper 27-year push,” Fulton said.
That being said, the duo has noticed something interesting about how Gilliam has been dealing with the court case. Instead of dampening his spirits, as many would assume, it’s actually fueling the filmmaker.
“I’ve noticed his spirits have certainly been plucked up again by all of this conflict,” Pepe said. “[It] is the opposite of Kryptonite for him. It totally feeds him.”
No word on a release date for “He Dreams of Giants,” but at least we’re finally hopeful that the story will have a happy ending this time.