Plains, Ga., the boyhood home of former President Carter, has only 650 residents. Each year, the town hosts a peanut festival to celebrate its agricultural riches.
Roots are important in the new Jimmy Carter documentary, "Man From Plains," which follows the former president with the famous southern drawl on a cross-country tour for his controversial book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." The film opens at E Street Cinema Friday.
Carter would go on to leave his small-town home and seize the White House in 1977, brokering a still-standing peace agreement between Israel and Egypt during his four years there. He earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and has written 21 books.
Authenticity, however, was director Jonathan Demme's top goal in crafting this film. He agreed to direct the film on the premise that he have unfettered access to Carter.
"They filmed 16 hours a day, week after week after week," Carter said in an interview at the Motion Picture Association of America's movie theater in D.C. "When I opened the door of my hotel room in the morning, [Demme] was there with two or three cameras."
Carter agreed to the intrusion because he shared Demme's commitment to creating an honest documentary - one that would provoke substantive debate on the Middle East peace process. Unlike many political documentaries, "Man From Plains" has no interview component. The former president's message and story is told only through footage of his daily life.
"No senators or representatives or presidential candidates of either party will say what I said on the book tour," Carter said.
As the name suggests, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," is a highly politicized work, drawing criticism from the Jewish population. In contrast, this documentary is more about Carter's commitment to peace in the Middle East. The narrative of the documentary evolved organically from a snapshot of the former president's life into a portrayal of his heated book tour.
"I think the intense nature of the book tour, tension in my own life and the inevitable drama surprised Demme," Carter said.
Carter said he was eager to work with Demme, who earned an Oscar for directing "Silence of the Lambs," directed the award-winning Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense" and a recent documentary chronicling New Orleans residents as they rebuilt their lives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
"He is one of the finest directors I know," Carter said. He worried, however, that Demme's editing would ultimately reveal the director's bias: Demme whittled hours upon hours of footage into a two-hour movie.
"I don't yet know whether I'm a villain or a hero," Carter admitted, having only seen the movie on a small screen.
The documentary reveals Carter's commitment to peace in the Middle East. Footage shapes him into the one who believes firmly in the steadfast possibility of peace.
"The most important political issue of our time is the Middle East peace process," he said. "But efforts have been dreadfully abandoned."
"Man From Plains," however, is more concerned with Carter's dedication and character. The film portrays him as former president who says he wants his name associated with peace in the Middle East and human rights.
