Direction

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I set out to make a film that I felt captured an essence of what depression is like for men, at least from my outside perspective. There is an air of isolation and anxiety that had to be captured, under a veil of normalcy. I drew on the gothic architecture of oldtown Poland for my typography and soundtrack, and created a story that is meant to feel hopeless and, yet, hopeful.

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Filming & Editing

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I shot this in Toruń, Poland on my iPhone with an anamorphic lens. I wanted the film to feel like it was an authentic observation, truly like a fly on the wall; this is what drew me to a documentary style of filming. The shots are meant to make the viewer feel close in proximity to the character, but far away in every other sense. I was able to allow for a grainy image, knowing that the soundscape would be the star of the show.
 

Sound
 

​Once I had the footage I began writing the poem that became the narration of the film (I had a friend translate it from English to Polish). The soundscape was the most important piece of this film, and by far the most time consuming. I went for a mixture of natural environmental sound and music, interweaving them throughout each scene to create something that felt both real and unreal, which may contribute to why much of the film feels a little unnerving. I wanted the sound to guide the viewer through each phase of this film, so theres a bit of bouncing between legato sound/music vs cacophonic sound/music. For example, long drawn out organs create a slur of sound to be interrupted by absolute silence, or, a breeze turns into an assault on the ears via blown out circus tunes. All that to say, I wanted to cocoon the viewer in sound, to immerse them fully into the soul of this character. Therefore I reccommend watching the film with headphones :)