Update 11/11: I won't be appearing in this documentary after all. Not enough time to fit everything in, apparently. In the end, they decided to focus on France and the bits of U.S. Masonic history I discussed were too far away from the central theme. Oh well, it was an interesting and useful experience. Helped me appreciate how hard giving an interview can be. I'll probably be a lot more understanding when I see interviewees that don't come across very well. Still looking forward to seeing this....
A few weeks ago I sat in my armchair in front of a cozy little fire and was interviewed for a documentary about Freemasonry. I spoke primarily about the differences between "Anglo-Saxon" and "Continental" Masonry, racism and the Craft, and a few other related topics.
The documentary will actually be the first episode in a 7-part series entitled Apocalypse France; each episode will have a different focus and this one, obviously, trains its lens on the political activities of France's various Masonic Orients and Lodges.
I don't know how much of my interview will be in the documentary. We shot over an hour of footage but the episode will only run to 45 minutes, so it may only be a few seconds. In the second trailer (below), you can see my hand for all of a second, holding a Masonic coin.
I hope I don't come to regret my participation. The documentary could be qualified as "anti-Masonic", or, more precisely, it takes issue with the lobbying activities and political ties of the different Grand Lodges and Orients. But I trust the filmmakers in the sense I don't think they'll manipulate the footage to make me look a fool (I do that all by myself!) or appear to have said something I haven't.
Best to be forthright and honest. I could have refused their request for an interview, but then I'd have let the filmmakers have their say without at least being able to inject my perspective into the conversation.
Right move or not, what's done is done. Hopefully, a subtitled version will appear one day; this episode would be of great interest to the English-speaking Masonic community, where generally speaking, the Masonic landscape is a little less crowded. LoS readers will also see some nice video footage of places I've written about, such as Toulouse's Egyptian Revival Terre Cabade Cemetery or Blagnac's Temple du Sagesse Suprême (a.k.a. the "Illuminati Pyramid").
BTW, in case you're wondering, there is as much BS floating around in France about Freemasonry/Satanism/the Illuminati (aren't they all the same?!) as there is in the U.S. and U.K. The subject must sell a lot of magazines because at least one national monthly will publish an exposé or "the whole, unvarnished truth"-type features on the subject every year or so. They of course tend towards sensationalism and do a lot to nourish the manure pile.
Hopefully this project doesn't simply pile it on even higher!