HOW A PERSON CARRIES ON WITH LIFE AFTER ACCEPTING THE IRRETRIEVABLE LOSS OF THEIR DREAMS
Film Studies
Life in the U.K. has changed drastically for many people during my lifetime. I have been observing people passing me on the streets and riding the Underground with me. I have used my inner camera’s eyes to try to see and understand them more clearly. I realized that I cared about people who were looking into the future knowing their lives would not bring them the satisfaction of reaching their dreams and life goals. Circumstances seem to have broken them and I wonder if lack of fulfilment and their disappointments fog their vision and decisions. I propose to make a documentary film in order to answer the following research question.
- How does a person carry on with life after accepting the irretrievable loss of their dreams?
This question focuses on the post-acceptance phase of losing one’s dreams. Therefore the film would document a person living after disappointments had been experienced accepted. That would help the viewer understand the activities of a person with no idealism and no false hope. It would also allow the person to describe the challenges of their life as reflections, from the distance of a past memory. I want to focus on what is going on in human minds that stop us from achieving what we want and do things we love doing. Often people cannot describe what motivated them to make the choices they have made until they have had time for retrospection.
Disappointment, unrealized ambitions and loss of dreams have been subjects of documentaries before, but not in the way I propose to make a film. For example, documentaries about war have approached the theme of loss of dreams for the people involved with fighting (Bedford) or the victims of assault (Dirty Wars, Darfur Now). The theme has been addressed from the point of view of the people left behind (Bedford, The Imposter). The loss of dreams has been addressed from a cultural perspective (Children of the Rain). Another is from those that have died and their dying wishes have not been fulfilled, such as The Art of the Steal. Common perspectives for documentaries that are popular address the issue of society’s heroes who died before their time due to assassination or poor health.
Therefore I propose to answer the research question by using only one subject. I will observe how the subject is living out their life, although they know they have no chance of fulfilling their life’s dreams. I will use close-ups of the subject’s face so their emotions can be better understood by the audience. I will follow the subject and make an observatory documentary. I will need to develop trust with the subject so they will be comfortable sharing their deepest thoughts and deeds.
Bibliography
Artis, Anthony Q. The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide. Burlington MA: Focal Press. 2008.
Barnouw, Erik. Documentary: A History of the Non-fiction Film. London: Oxford Press. 1993.
Hampe, Barry. Making Documentary Films and Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries. NY, NY: Holt Paperbacks. (2007; 1997).
Filmography
Bedford: The Town They Left Behind, 2009. Film. Directed by Elliot BERLIN and Joe FAB. USA. The Johnson Group.
Darfur Now, 2007. Film. USA. Directed by Ted BRAUN. Crescendo Productions, Mandalay Independent Pictures and Participant Media.
Dirty Wars, 2013. Film. Directed by Rick ROWLEY. USA. Big Noise Films and Civic Bakery.
Rain of the Children, 2008. Film. Directed by Vincent WARD. New Zealand. Wayward Films, Forward Films and Vincent Ward Films.
The Art of the Steal, 2009. Film. Directed by Don ARGOTT. USA. IFC Films, Sundance Selects, Rainbow Media and Roco Films
The Imposter, 2012. Film. Directed by Bart LAYTON. UK. 24 Seven Productions, A&E IndieFilms, Protagonist Pictures, RAW and Randy Murray Productions.
