At 39,Pete Buttigieghas achieved more than most do over the span of an entire lifetime having served as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves, working as Mayor of South Bend, and running for president as a Democratic candidate.
Now, the husband, father and currentSecretary of Transportation, adds another milestone to his legacy: he’s the subject of a new documentary.
PEOPLE spoke with Moss about the making of the film and how he got Buttigieg — who made history as the first open member of the LGBTQ community to be confirmed to a cabinet-level position — to open up for the cameras.
When did Pete come on your radar as someone that you wanted to profile?
Amazon Prime Video
And actually when my producers proposed the idea, I said no. I knew who Pete was. I knew he was a rising star in the party, but I just wasn’t ready to sign up for this. But they said check out this town hall that he just did. And I did. And I was like, okay, wow, there’s more going on here than I really imagined. His message is powerful, it’s resonating clearly. And I said let’s try, let’s see what happens. Let’s see if this access that he’s promised is really for real. And so we just jumped in and that was April 2019 I started filming.
Was he forthcoming in the beginning? There are some raw moments in the film, but he does come off as quite guarded.
So he’d agreed, we were on board, but proving that out was every day a negotiation. I wouldn’t say with him, but just kind of keeping up with him. Sometimes getting past staff who were there to protect him and keep you out was a challenge. Not that we had to sneak in, we didn’t sneak in, but just that his time became really precious. And I wanted sometimes the downtime, that was the most valuable thing to me. Not when he was on stage, but when he was at home with Chasten, or meeting with his top advisors or in debate prep. And so those were the moments where we really got to step behind the curtain and see what it was like for him as a person to be going through this process. And that’s really where the story began to emerge for me.
How did his husband play a role in him opening up?
I knew that I was interested in Pete, I didn’t know when I started that I was interested in Chasten. And immediately when I met Chasten I thought that remoteness that Pete has, maybe Chasten is a way to understand Pete in a really grounded way. And it was like I recognized that opening and I kind of charged through. And Chasten was really supportive of the project and we connected, he and I connected.
Chasten (left) and Pete Buttigieg.Matt Rourke/AP/Shutterstock
We saw that, actually one of the first scenes I filmed that really proved to me the potential of the project was Pete gives that really moving speech at the Victory Fund, where he talks about being closeted and growing up and struggling with his identity. And after that, him and Chasten have that really intimate moment together. Chasten was like, “Are you sure? Are you really saying what I thought you were saying?” And I thought, wow, they’re letting me film this really intimate moment in their relationship. And this is really getting at something personal. But also it’s about what’s public in their identity, Pete’s identity. And I saw a new possibility with this story.
What’s your relationship like now with the subjects?
I mean, I feel close to Pete, and Chasten too. And there’s a lot of love and respect that I have for them. We stay in touch. I haven’t seen them in a while. I think Pete’s busy with his new job and they have these twin newborns [they welcomed twinsPenelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigiegin August], but we’ve had a great conversation about the film. It’s stretched on for months and months. He saw some cuts of the movie. No editorial control of the film, that resides with me. But the conversation that I have with all of my subjects about the work and it’s his life that we’re sharing on screen. And I think I owed it to him and to Chasten to share the work with them. And I’m looking forward to staying close to them and seeing where life takes both of them.
Mayor Peteis now available to stream on Amazon Prime.
source: people.com
