On Saturday, June 10th “The Fourth Wall” directed by Luke Meyer premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The ten-year in the making documentary is a character-driven piece following the story of the Sullivanians, who created a secret psychotherapy sex cult hidden in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the 1970s and 80s.
The series creator Keith Newton, son of the Sullivanians, takes us on an emotional rollercoaster that reverberates across decades, leading to the cult’s haunting and unpredictable aftermath. Throughout this documentary, Newton investigates the group to gain further insight into all that transpired with the hundreds of members that resided within the community. His findings and personal experience reveal the trauma, guilt, and healing of those involved in the intimate and exclusive group from former members, therapists, and even children.
The Knockturnal talked with Director Luke Meyer, Executive Producer Dan Braun, and Editors Leah Boatright and Connor Kalista about their journey working on the film and its impact on their personal lives.
The Knockturnal: What was your process like from start to finish? I know this project took a while, so what has it been like for you?
Luke Meyer: It has been a ten-year project. I don’t think we set out to make something that would take that long, but it was something that we didn’t have any control over. In the end, I am grateful that we had all that time because time is the element in this story, what happened in the past and how it affects the present, so because we shot this thing for ten years, time becomes this thing that plays out within the film, and we wouldn’t have gotten that if we made it as quickly as we were originally planning.
The Knockturnal: What do you want people to take away from seeing this?
Luke Meyer: What I hope people get out of it is an empathic experience with the cult experience, to see that it’s much closer to their own lives (the audience) than they might think.
Executive Producer: Dan Braun
The Knockturnal: What was the process like from start to finish?
Dan Braun: Well, I will say this was a little more complicated because of putting it together, getting the rights together, we had one of the writers and producers in the cult of The Fourth Wall, Keith, so he had a lot of information and was able to gather assets for us that whole period. The very first thing we did was a deal someone didn’t just buy it, we went into the deal with I believe CNN and then we went through that and they didn’t buy it so this is one of those that was a twisting and winding story. It’s interesting some things happen immediately, and some take a long time so you have a lot of patience and believe in it, and we believed in it.
The Knockturnal: What do you want people to take away from seeing this today?
Dan Braun: We want people to take away, whenever there is an organized either religion or group and people are telling you to do things and it doesn’t feel right to watch out, that’s the takeaway. People who blindly trusted leaders throughout history, it usually doesn’t work out. So the takeaway is to be true to yourself.
Editors: Leah Boatright and Connor Kalista
The Knockturnal: What was it like editing this project?
Leah Boatright: We came on for the last year, a year and a half. There was a lot to go through and a lot of archival and mixing them was quite a lot, it was a short schedule so we had a lot to do.
Connor Kalista: It was a lot, you could’ve made any sort of story from this but all the participants have enough commentary in what they’re saying so it feels so authentic.
The Knockturnal: Has working on this project influenced your personal life?
Connor Kalista: If anything it’s made me a lot more protective of what’s documented of me in the world knowing it could be in the hands of someone like me.
Leah Boatright: Thinking about this project specifically and how much it had to do with childbearing made me think about what type of environment you’re raising your kids in, I’m pregnant now so it was a lot to think about.
The Fourth Wall is the ultimate cautionary tale of individuals searching for comfort, community, and a new way of life only to be exploited and left questioning everything they once knew. You can catch The Fourth Wall again on Sunday, June 18th, at noon at Village East by Angelika.
