God Grew Tired of Us

I've been looking for examples of documentaries about refugees to get a better idea of how to structure a story for ours. I came across "God Grew Tired of Us," a 2006 documentary produced by Christopher Quinn that won Sundance's Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. The film follows three of Sudan's "lost boys," a group of displaced young men who fled the wars in Sudan in the 1980s and have been living as refugees in bordering countries ever since, as they move from Kenya to the United States. One of the most interesting parts of this film is the beginning. The filmmakers actually filmed them in their refugee camp and got scenes of the boys getting assigned to their new areas (two are going to Pittsburgh, one is going to Syracuse). It even shows them as they take their first plane ride (a highlight is when they're served airplane food and can't figure out what everything is).

The "lost boys" boarding a plane from Kenya to the United States. 

The film continues, and shows them getting acclimated to their new home. The lost boys learn about their new apartment and get introduced to amenities they've never seen before (flush toilets, showers, electricity). They are also shown around a grocery store and learn about common American foods (broccoli, hoagie buns, donuts). These scenes are comical but also very interesting. It's difficult for most people to imagine the conditions these people have lived in for most of their lives, and it's hard to illustrate that. However, in seeing their amazed reactions to things that have become so commonplace to us in America, the audience gets a better sense of where they come from and what things they've been deprived of in their life.

In their first trip to a grocery store, the "lost boys" are offered to sample a donut.

Without including direct interviews, it's also apparent through dirty glances on the street that many Americans aren't comfortable with the "lost boys" living in their community. This is more subtle and, in my opinion, more powerful than having a talking head interview with someone rattling off their xenophobic beliefs. The film is mostly talking heads, which I think is one of the main detractions. It does include a lot of footage of the main characters going about their daily lives — Working, shopping, eating, etc. It just combines these scenes with talking head interviews, which is effective but at times gets a bit boring to look at. If they had just asked them the interview questions while they were working, shopping, eating, etc, then I think the visuals would have been slightly more interesting. 

A typical (and poorly lit) talking head interview from "God Grew Tired of Us."

Another detraction is that the camerawork looks slightly amateur at times. As you can see in the screenshot above, interviews are often very badly lit. It was likely a challenge because the main characters are very dark skinned, but in a seated talking head interview with one subject, I don't think there's much of an excuse for poor lighting. The camerawork in other parts is smooth but uninteresting. You do get the sense that you're given a privileged view, being shown something you otherwise never would have, but the cinematography borders on almost home-video style with little composition. 

Overall, though, this film is a success due to the storyline it crafts. There's a clear beginning, middle, and end. It follows its main characters as they prepare to leave their refugee camp, take their first plane ride over, adjust to their new home, and build a life here. Dani and I would love to have similar scenes in our film, but I know much of that will be unattainable. For one thing, as of right now we can't travel to a refugee camp to film a group of people preparing to come to the United States. We'd love to, but budgets and time obviously wont allow it. We are also doing our best to try to meet refugees who are brand new in the country, as we'd like scenes of people adjusting to their new culture. However, the refugee organizations we're working with are understandably hesitant to introduce us to people who are brand new in the country. They have enough to worry about without having a camera shoved in their faces. It's possibly too lofty a goal for this semester, but Dani and I are both interested in continuing to work on the film after the semester is over. So, given enough time, perhaps the organizations we're working with will feel comfortable enough to introduce us to refugees who have just arrived in Buffalo. 

This film has given me ideas for things we can do in ours. To begin with, I'm thinking more about specific main characters we can follow. At the moment, Dani and I have a good problem: there are so many organizations and refugees in Buffalo that we have almost too many people to talk to. Though we don't have access to anyone who just got here, we do have access to people who have become leaders in the refugee community. I think we should pick two of them and follow them as they work with newcomers and discuss the issues new refugees face. Toward the end of "God Grew Tired of Us," one of the "lost boys" becomes a community leader and works to bring more refugees to Syracuse. I think we have characters who are similar, and I think this could be an interesting storyline that highlights the issues we'd like to address in our film. 

John Bul Dau, one of the main characters in "God Grew Tired of Us," discusses the conflict in Sudan and his life as a refugee. Bul Dau has become a community leader in Syracuse and is working to help bring more refugees over to the United States.

Though we can't follow many of the storylines "God Grew Tired of Us" does (though maybe one day!), I think this film sets an example for how to show issues facing newcomers to this country. Even though it's a bit heavy on talking heads, there are many issues that are shown rather than told to us, and I think that's the standard we should try to achieve moving forward. 

Rocket Science

Rocket Science is an independent film that premiered at Sundance in 2007. It focuses on the coming-of-age of Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson), a high school student, who is fighting to prove his intelligence and have his voice heard. Hal's biggest issue is his relentless stutter. Although he is in reality, very intelligent, Hal cannot seem to convey this through speech, due to his impediment. Everything suddenly changes however, the day Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick) sits down next to him on the bus. Ginny, an extremely well spoken senior with high career pursuits, and also happens to be the captain of the high school’s debate team. She notices Hal’s struggles and tells him that she can transform his speech through debating. Hal takes her word for it, and they become partners on the team. However, with each meeting, Hal's debating skills do not seem to be improving, though his love for Ginny is growing. Hal begins to hit a very low point in his life. He continues to visit Ginny's house everyday, to attempt to profess his love for her, but she does not get the hint, and eventually starts dating a boy who is on a rival debate team. Hal learns that he will not be able to see Ginny anymore, but still decides to go through with the debate, though gets nervous at the last minute and loses composure. He does not continue with the debate team after that, since all his hope has been shattered. At the end of the movie, we see Hal wander into a pizzeria and finally order pizza- something he had never been able to do before.

 Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It was a sweet story about trying to overcome hardships, while still maintaining to be realistic, in the sense that Hal was not able to overcome his speech impediment fully, but his hard work made him realize that it was something that he could improve over time. The one thing I was not satisfied with however was the ending. I feel like it kind of lacked closure. We never really found out if Ginny and Hal made up with each other, and though we see that Hal is able to do something that he was never able to do before, it still seemed very unsatisfyingly open ended.

Whiplash and Writing What You Know

This weekend down at Cinemapolis is the release of the highly anticipated film Whiplash. The film starring the upcoming star Miles Teller is about a young drummer who with the help/pressure of his instructor hopes to be a legend. The star of the film crazy enough is only two years younger than the writer/director, Damien Chazelle is only 29 and Whiplash is his first feature length film. A year ago Chazelle created a short under the same name in hopes to pitch the feature length film. Little did he know is that the short would make it into Sundance and the feature adaption would be there a year later.

When creating the film and the characters Chazelle started from what he knew best, his own life and his own experiences. Chazelle grew up playing the drums and over time he found out that he was quite good, he knew he could never make it all the way but he did the next best thing, he wrote about it. In an interview he talks about being stuck on another script and decided to start on something else that would help clear his block. He became so invested that he left the original script behind and started his journey with Whiplash. Chazelle says that the main instructor, played by J.K Simmons was inspired by many different instructors he's had over the years but morphed into one. What I really take from this is that writing from what you know is a great start and will help you tell a story that no one else can.

This can be seen in other films as well. My hero Kevin Smith started by making a film in a convenience store about convenience store clerks in the same convenience store he worked in. Now what I'm saying is to not make a film about your life story cause honestly who can relate to that but to play off of that. Take experiences, feelings and lessons you have learned and mold that into any film, and that film can be about anything! If you look at Smith's last film Tusk, about a man being turned into a walrus but whats under the blubbery flesh of the film is way deeper. The film through the sharp writing is about storytelling and what it means to be a storyteller and if there's really a unique story out there. Or even Christopher Nolan's new film Interstellar is about a family man on a mission to save Earth by exploring other galaxies. But under the spectacular visuals is a film about leaving a legacy behind and how as a parent you can't help but look at the world through the eyes of your children.

No it lies in your heart!

So go out there guys! Write about what you know and love. We all have an interesting story to tell.

Film Challenge

The Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge is a competition in search for people who demonstrate “an optimistic story about individuals and communities who are overcoming poverty and, hunger, combating diseases, or improving health.” It’s an organization in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in hopes to start a conversation about the affects of poverty and hunger around the globe. This article particularly peaked my interest, as it should yours (I’m talking to all you film and T.V. people out there) because it combines filmmaking and world issues.

As you advance through what ever you wish to pursue in life, you should never be closed off to what is going on outside of your personal bubble. What this competition is to me is a way to use my passion for the bettering of the world.
There will be five chosen films which will premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and each of which will receive a $10,000 grand prize, as well as a trip the film festival as a guest of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

As an Ithaca college student, it is very easy to be cut off, or not care, about the harsh realities outside of our “bubble”, or the subjugated communities in which so many reside.

This challenge is one that every filmmaker should take part in at one point or another, whether you are a freshman film student or an accomplished director like Scorsese.

You have till July 1^st, 2014 to submit a short of your interested!

It is our obligation as human beings to utilize the opportunities you have been given, achieve your most optimal version of success, and share you prosperity with those who are not as fortunate as you.

Bear 71

Alright, so I've posted about interactive filmmaking and storytelling before, but I just found about a really cool interactive online documentary named Bear 71. Done in partnership with Canada's National Film Board, the project debuted at Sundance Film Festival in January 2012.

At the age of 3, 71 was collared with a GPS tracking chip. Directors Jeremy Mendes and Leanne Allison then used trail cameras to record 71 throughout her entire life. Revealing some really interesting things.

The twenty minute 'experience' allows viewers (users?) to follow the bear throughout her entire life in Canada's Banff National Park. You are guided along the bear's path through the park in a video game style. Along the way, you can stop and watch footage collected by the cameras.

It tells a story in an engaging way, making the audience active. It provides context in a non-linear way, making it really really cool.

If you're interested in this story, check out Journey To The End of Coal. It's a make-your-own-story experience that lets you simulate a journalist's experience in China who is doing research on coal mines.

If you want to make one of these, you can try out PopCorn.js. It's a free tool in beta by Mozilla that allows you to create interactive HTML5 videos using a simple timeline interface. I know that I'm interested in making an interactive film, is anyone else? Let me know!

[Related post]

Indie Success Story

In class when we were talking about Paul Thomas Anderson and dropping out of school and financing our own film with tuition, I was reminded of a filmmaker who did just that. The film Clerks by Kevin Smith is an example of this. While Kevin Smith is not known for being the most sophisticated or talented filmmaker (most people will say he has only two good films - if that), he has made productions in Hollywood which is something most of us are aiming for. Once we get there, I'm sure most of us will want to create very different work than Kevin Smith, but we do have get there first. Mr. Smith went to film school in Toronto for half a year before dropping out at age 22. He felt he had learned all that he needed to know. With the remainder of his tuition and the selling of his extensive comic book collection, Smith began to buy equipment to create his first film. He had written a script about what he knew - working in the local convenience store with his best friends - and used the actual store after-hours as his location. He used black and white film because it was cheaper as well as local actors, family and friends as talent and crew members. The film was edited on basic equipment in the storage room of the convenience store. In total, his budget came out to be $27,000. When he finished he sent it to a film forum at the Angelika Theater in New York. Though it didn't do well at the screening, a man in the audience named Bob Hawk happened to be on the board for the Advisory Selection Committee of the Sundance Film Festival. He snatched the movie up, brought it to Sundance where it was immediately snatched up by Miramax who distributed Clerks and financed his following film. Thus, his film career begun. I thought that this was an interesting story to share about a low-budget independent film paving the way for a Hollywood director. Since many of us would love to get a chance to have a major Hollywood studio finance our films, I thought it was an interesting alternative to graduating from school and beginning with an entry level job.

Enter the Void

If you want to watch one of the craziest movies ever, please take some time and watch Enter The Void.


Its a French movie, about a drug dealer named Oscar, who gets shot in Japan after being chased by security guards. He then has an out of body experience that leads him to follow his life after death.

This movie is shot in first person for nearly the entire movie, and is just visual masterpiece. Some of the scenes in the movie literally blow my mind, and i hope your mind can feel the same effect after watching this movie..


enjoy