Local filmmaker pays tribute to James Ivory, collaborators in documentary honoring ‘granddaddy of independent film’

Director Stephen Soucy is one of millions of cinephiles who developed a love and appreciation for films like “Howards End,” “The Remains of the Day,” and “A Room with a View,” all movies that were the result of the creative collaboration of producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, who formed the production company Merchant Ivory in 1961.

While making an animated short documentary focusing on the composer of 21 of those films, Richard Robbins, Soucy learned more about the behind-the-scenes story of Merchant Ivory.

Ivory, who narrated the film, was impressed enough by Soucy’s five-minute short that he agreed to participate in Soucy’s idea for the first definitive documentary on Merchant Ivory.

Soucy’s film, aptly titled “Merchant Ivory,” will be screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival this weekend and again on Jan. 13. A question and answer sessino will follow each screening.

“There is so much that people don’t know about Merchant Ivory,” Soucy said. “I knew it would be compelling to tell the personal story of Merchant and Ivory, who were life partners for 40 years while being partners in business.”

Beyond that, he said, Merchant Ivory is responsible for 43 films, many of which were made by Merchant, Ivory, Robbins, and the fourth member of the creative quartet, screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who wrote 23 Merchant Ivory scripts.

Soucy said that consistency of style and voice makes Merchant Ivory films so watchable and beloved. The production company found and developed fruitful relationships with other creatives, allowing the filmmakers to make the most of small budgets.

“Merchant Ivory was one of the first independent production companies, and Ivory is kind of like the granddaddy of independent film,” Soucy said. The studio had to raise money for every single film because they worked outside major studio systems.

Soucy hopes would-be filmmakers learn from Merchant Ivory’s resourcefulness and determination, much like he did in the process of creating the documentary.

The filmmaker said it took four long years to make the documentary a reality. The labor of love is crafted with interviews from Merchant Ivory collaborators, actors, including Hugh Grant, Helena Bonham Carter, and Emma Thompson, and Ivory himself, the only member of the original quartet of creators still living.

The trajectory of Ivory’s career will also inspire many, Soucy said.

“He’s 95 now and still working on projects,” he said. Ivory won his first Academy Award in 2018 at 89 for best-adapted screenplay for his work on the film “Call Me By Your Name.”

Audiences will be motivated, Soucy said, to seek out deep cuts from the Merchant Ivory catalog, like 1981’s “Quartet,” a French film starring Dame Maggie Smith, which he said is an underrated gem and one of Ivory’s favorites of the films he made.

Ivory’s lasting impact can be felt throughout the film industry; one only has to look at some of his films’ actors who became huge stars.

“I heard this over and over again during interviews,” he said. “[Ivory] gave people their first big chances in the industry.”

Hugh Grant had only been in one other film before he was cast in Merchant Ivory’s “Maurice;” Bonham Carter rose to prominence after her role in “A Room with a View;” and Thompson won the Academy Award for Best Actress in “Howards End.”

Ivory is still giving people their big chance, like Soucy, who had never directed a feature-length film before “Merchant Ivory.”

“[Ivory] can be impulsive, but if he likes you, he likes you,” Soucy said. “Once he trusts that you’re up to the task, he’ll provide his support.”

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If you go: The Palm Springs International Film Festival runs through Jan. 14. For more information or to purchase tickets to view “Merchant Ivory,” turn here.

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