Rebecca Miller‘s five-part Apple TV documentary series “Mr. Scorsese” is one of the most comprehensive portraits of a filmmaker ever made, an insightful and expertly constructed deep dive into the connection between the life and work of one of our greatest directors.
For her smart, funny, and reflective study of Martin Scorsese and his career, Miller deservedly won IndieWire’s Magnify Award at this year’s IndieWire Honors ceremony, held at Nya West in Hollywood on June 4.
“There’s an old saying that character is destiny,” Miller said in her acceptance speech. “In my case, my character is that I’m really interested in other people’s characters.”
Miller had initially intended to make a feature-length film about Scorsese, but as she learned more and more about the director, she realized the shape of her project would need to expand.
“When I got the opportunity to make a film about Martin Scorsese, I started down this wormhole for five years,” Miller said, noting that her series of conversations with Scorsese yielded material “so vast and overpowering and so rich that it ended up a five-hour series.”
Like many of the ceremony’s honorees, Miller drew attention to the collaborative nature of filmmaking and thanked partners like editor David Bartner, Apple TV, and producers Damon Cardasis and Cindy Tolan. “These are all people who supported us and really made it possible to make the film,” she said.
In conclusion, Miller thanked Scorsese himself and paid respect to his impact on cinema.
“Most of all I want to thank Marty for his immense honesty and his fearlessness,” Miller said. “How honest he is to himself just blew me away. And he allowed me to make the series with real freedom, which is a very rare thing. So on behalf of myself and everyone in this room and many people on this planet, thank you, Marty, for the films.”
This season’s IndieWire Honors ceremony took place Thursday, June 4, in Los Angeles with an intimate cocktail reception and ceremony. Stay tuned for more exclusive editorial and social content from the night, including video interviews, outtakes, and more.
You can watch Miller’s full speech in the video above.
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