Watching a star be born

Q. What drove you to make a movie about a child rapper and her loving but sometimes disturbing father/manager?

A. I first met Priscilla on a short film I was producing. She was an extra and had no lines. She was 8 1/2. It was midnight and I told her father, Why don’t you get her home, it’s a school night. He said, “We’re headed to the nightclub after this.’’ Then he gathered the whole crew around and she performed for us. She just rapped off the top of her head. It was mind-blowing. To hear this adorable little girl, she had a cadence, a rhythm. I went to the nightclub and she blew everyone away. Five minutes in, everyone was chanting “Star.’’

Q. So not a bad story to tell.

A. The best part of the story was that, at 8, she said, “Dad, I’m going to bring you back into the business. I’m going to be a rapper for you.’’ Many kids have dreams and many kids want to make their dad proud, but this is a girl who can back it up.

Q. Do you ever sit there, watching Jesse, her father, at his worst, and wish you could just rescue Priscilla? What is the line between documenting and advocating?

A. I spent lot of time with this family, as a mentor and friend and therapist, for both Jesse and Priscilla. Both of them needed someone to listen to them. I shoot about 70 percent of my time and I’m with them not shooting about 30 percent. When stuff is happening, I shoot and don’t talk. It’s just me by myself and I try to disappear. They never look at the camera and I do no interviews. If something is happening and I’ve captured it, I’ll turn off the camera and I’ll spend time coaching them. Certainly, my first commitment is to the film. I would never stop filming in a dramatic moment to stop and to coach.

Q. It’s a very intense film. What was the hardest moment for you?

A. Priscilla had just gained the courage to stand up to her father and she says, “Dad, you need to get out of this, you’re destroying my career.’’ And he’s yelling at her, “What? I made your career.’’ She said, “You work for me, I could fire you right now.’’ It got real ugly. At one point, I turned off the camera and kind of pushed them apart from each other and let them breathe. I was there all night and it just made me realize that there’s a moment in documentary you forget you’re working with real people in real lives, but in that moment I realized this is a family falling apart.

Q. You and your wife, Marjan [the film’s producer], have a 1-year-old daughter now. Do you feel any differently about how you might encourage or discourage Naila in the future?

A. I think about that a lot. Truthfully, I prefer my daughter be an entertainment lawyer than a filmmaker.

Interview was condensed and edited.

Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com.