A Year in the Upside Down
A lot changes in a year. I think that’s something we are all aware of, to be honest, but a lot does change. For example, I’ve just returned from a year in Australia where, instead of making films, I travelled, and I took photos, and I did things I could never have done the year before. From living in my car as I wandered around the country, to getting a job in sales and becoming more confident than I’ve ever been, to breaking my arm by tripping over a rock. Yeah, no big story there. Although, my cousin does think it’s funny to tell people I got chased by a hoop snake - this snake ambulates by sticking its tail in its mouth and rolling across the ground like a hoop. Oh, and it’s as mythical as drop bears. Those are fake by the way. Don’t believe Aussies ever.
I think my motto is becoming something along the lines of ‘might do someday’ about everything. Even two years ago I could not have predicted what my first year out of uni would look like - moving back into home, working as a Production Coordinator for a small film unit, and making the decision to fly across the world alone. But I did it, and then I did more and more. Once you realise you can do anything it starts impacting the way you see the world. And personally, that’s something that’s driven me back to filmmaking. Time and time again, I see stories. In the country I live in, in the one I moved to. In the barest hint of a glance, in the power struggles across the globe. And in Australia, I found the sense of self I needed to tell these stories better. I observe. It has always been the thing I enjoyed most about storytelling - getting to pull observations to screen - and yet it is also one of the reasons I enjoy being a part of the production process. Behind the scenes, not even as one of the leading creatives, I get to help make sure that a story is told fully and completely by making it smooth and streamlined. I love directing, interacting with people and my vision being what is shot, but I also love seeing that happen for other people because of what I can do. And in return, I get to watch. And, that itself has brought me back to watching films, not just making them. Because for the longest time I did not enjoy watching anything anymore, unless someone else wanted to. And now I get to see, and enjoy, and pick things apart, and see what the creatives making the project are telling the world through their choices. It is something special, to learn about someone through their work. Art is the thing that humans do purely for pleasure. It is what has left a trail through human history of who we were, who we are now. And getting to be a part of that in the latest medium of camera, is beautiful. So, I might do everything someday. And to learn about those somethings, I will be a part of creating.
