Ben Stiller celebrated the world premiere of his documentary, “Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost” at the 63rd annual New York Film Festival.
The Emmy-nominated director’s highly anticipated documentary follows the relationship of his parents, comedic duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.
“Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost” is a combination of archival footage and audio, shot by Jerry Stiller himself, and interviews with friends and family of Jerry Stiller and Meara, including Amy Stiller, Christine Taylor, Ella Stiller and Quinn Stiller.
“One of the biggest questions for me was how much I include of my personal life,” said Ben Stiller in an interview with The Knockturnal. “It was trying to navigate that and imagine also what my parents would think as I did this.”
Ben Stiller said that an additional challenge was trying “to find that balance of telling a story that reflected their entire life and not just certain elements of it.” “Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost” gets the full picture of the comedic duo’s relationship, but it truly shines in the moments of personal reflection with other members of the Stiller family.
“It’s about parents and kids,” Ben Stiller told The Knockturnal. “And when you screw up, and how you want to be better and where you go from there.”
Ben Stiller is still not sure what his parents would think of the project. When asked by Dennis Lim, the NYFF Artistic Director, after the film’s premiere, Ben Stiller said, “I did think my dad would have some issues with how much we talked about their stuff. I think my mom would be okay with it.”
“Oh, I think they’d love it,” Amy Stiller joked. “They’d hate it,” she said.
“Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost” comes to theaters on October 17 and will be streaming on Apple TV+ starting October 24.
(Photo courtesy of Apple TV+)
