On Making a Faith Oriented Film for Uni

Things are starting to happen with this film of mine which is very exciting! I talk a bit about it in this video above here. Again, those who have stories of healing and would be up for talking to me about them, please contact me, I would love to chat!! Seriously, any stories would be wonderful, you evem don't have to be in the film if you don't want to. E-mail: jo@joyfulmourne.com. Phone: 07412330665

So far making this film is proving quite the experience for me, and I haven't even begun filming yet! Never before has my faith come in contact with my university or school work like this before, and it is both exciting and terrifying. It's really quite surreal to sit with your lecturer in a tutorial discussing Jesus' teachings and fundamental Christian theology. Surreal, but pretty cool too. I have to admit, every time I have to get up in front of that class to discuss how my film is getting on, I'm terrified. I'm so aware that people could think I'm crazy, believing in stuff like this. At a few points my lecturer has made me speak about my own personal faith in front of the class. I've spoken about my faith to crowds before quite happily, but speaking about it to a Christian crowd feels quite different to speaking about it in a room full of athiests. I can't remember the last time I stammered so much in anything! But God has been gracious, and my friends have been very supportive, even expressing interest in my film. And if they do believe I'm crazy, well, they haven't said it to my face anyway haha! My hope is that through this film I'm making my friends might be able to see more of this God I talk about. 

I'll admit there's stuff I'm too scared to say still. On getting asked why I want to make the film, which I get asked a lot by my lecturer, the answer 'I believe God wants me to make this film' has always been replaced by '*shrug* I guess I'm just interested in finding out more about healing because I don't know much about it' (which is true also to be fair). I'm also scared of asking people to help me out with it. Most of all I am terrified of screwing up the film. I'm scared that everything's just going to fall through and I will have nothing to show. And I'm scared of it turning out just a badly made film haha! But I trust God, and I'm excited to see how it will turn up.

If you're the praying type, I would really appreciate prayer while I make this film. It's going to be a big challenge for me, one that I know I'll never be able to do without the support of God and also people like yourself. Cheers.

Dream Big*

*Disclaimer - This blog post is essentially about “following my dreams”. I would like to blame the cheesiness of my current state of mind on the copious amounts of ‘Glee’ I have been rewatching over the last few days. It’s been that kind of week. So be prepared for cheesy dreamy stuff. You have been warned.

Edinburgh is a busy city with a high student population, so I’m constantly meeting new people, and often the topic of conversation that gets brought up first is university. When I tell these people that I’m studying photography & film, they’re intrigued, and I often get asked “oh! What are you going to do with that then?” To this I normally respond with a shrug, brushing it off my saying that I don’t know. Sometimes I even convince myself that I don’t know what I want to do, but this is not true. The truth is I know exactly what I want to do with my life, it’s just not what maybe my university colleagues and tutors would consider the ‘smart thing to do’. My biggest interest is film, and I love filmmaking and I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do, but I don’t want to go into the film industry. Yep, I’m awkward like that. You see, I could go back to Belfast or maybe go to London, head to the studios, get a paid job in the film industry, and become a tiny part in the making of someone else’s bigger vision come true. But why would I do that when I have visions of my own?

On location at Murlough beach, filming with Adam Leahy for 'That One Time',  2011

I have a vision. I see myself making short films, music videos, informational films, short documentaries, I dunno, stuff like that, by myself with a handful of friends to help me out. Films and videos which are influenced by my Christian faith. Videos which will be put out on the internet i.e. YouTube and Vimeo, for anyone to see. Who knows? If I get good enough, and start getting recognition, I could start offering my services for commission, but this would only fund the projects themselves. If this goes even further, I could start big projects, like a web series, or a full length documentary, or something like that. This sounds perfect to me. I want to do that so badly. Is there any way for me to make a living out of doing that? Let's be honest, nah. It's extremely unlikely. But do I care? Let's be honest again, nah. I'm going to do this, whether it becomes a 'job' or not. We are called to share our faith as Christians, and I want to do this through the form of film. This is my dream! I feel like this has been my calling for a while now, and I'm so desperate to just get stuck in, but it's not that easy. I’m sitting here dealing with debt, with no form of fully functioning film equipment, only a handful of half finished ideas (but apparently the amazing ability to alliterate). I have a long way to go. I look at what I want to do from where I am now and to be honest sometimes it seems impossible, and I'm close to just giving up on the whole idea. I have been close to giving up many times; it seemed that any time I was getting somewhere, something would happen to throw me right back to square one and I would cry out in despair, wondering why God wasn't making this easy for me. But it's always at these low points where God picks me up again and reminds me that this is what he wants me to do. 

I was listening to a podcast of last week's sermon in my church, and something that was discussed was that if we can live comfortably without God, then we're not doing it right. That brings me comfort. If I was already making these films without any difficulty, without needing to pour my heart out in longing to God in prayer, then I will not have been doing it right. God dares us to dream big dreams. The speaker summed it up well - "If your dreams are humanly achievable, you're not dreaming big enough." I trust that God has plans for my dreams. I don't know how long it will take until I have a screenplay I'm satisfied with, or even a camera to film with, but I know it will happen some day. 

"Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4

Arranged

 

Arranged (2007)

Okay I loved this film.

Recently I have been browsing Netflix's 'Faith and Spirituality' section to see if I could find any decent Christian films to watch. My search hadn't been very successful, if I'm honest, a lot of Christian films, (with a few exceptions) are cheap and cheesy, not really something I enjoy. In the end I gave up on trying to find a good Christian film and clicked on this one, Arranged, a story about two first year teachers, one Jewish, one Muslim, who become friends despite their cultural differences.

I will say it again - I loved this film! It focused a lot on the subject of arranged marriages, however it refreshingly showed both sides to the argument of whether arranged marriage is right or not. Arranged marriage is something I don't know anything about, so I was found learning about it really interesting, especially when it wasn't presented in a biased light. I really fell in love with the characters as they struggled to come to terms with what they were facing. I think you can learn a lot from this film. I would recommend it to all. I think I may have to watch it all over again just to enjoy it more!

8/10

Lars and the Real Girl

I've decided it might be cool to do some film reviews on this blog. I watch a lot of films so I probably won't post about every one, just the ones I feel are worthy of review. First on the list -

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) 

First of all, what else can I say but who ever thought a film that has a storyline revolving around a sex-doll could be such a sweet, innocent, heart-warming story? I won't give too much away for those of you who like to enjoy the mystery of what a film will bring but I will write a short synopsis. Lars Lindstrom, played wonderfully by Ryan Gosling, is a lovable introverted young man from a small Canadian town who shocks his brother (Gus) and sister-in-law (Karin) one day when he introduces them to his new girlfriend Bianca... who happens to be an anatomically correct sex-doll. However, as a contrast to the actual commercial purpose of the doll, Lars has created her to be a kind missionary, with whom he wants a loving and pure relationship with. Out of kindness his family goes along with his delusion, and soon the whole town has joined in, treating Bianca like a real human being. I really enjoyed this film. Watching the relationship between both Lars and Bianca, and the couple and the rest of the town, unfold. It was lovely seeing the whole community come together to support Lars through his delusions, despite what they originally thought of it. Just a lovely story all in all, definitely worth a watch.

To me this film is about many things -

• Tolerance. To me this film really preaches tolerance to those who are different to us. I particularly liked the fact that the a lot of the characters were members of a church together, and the pastor of this church was very welcoming to Bianca. I feel like not as many churches would be as kind as this, it is something we can learn from.
• Loneliness. A lot of the main characters seemed to suffer from loneliness, which I think is something we can all relate to. Each of the characters dealt with their loneliness in their own ways, obviously the most extreme being with Lars. An interesting thing to watch and think about.
• Childhood. There is a real sense that a lot of the characters are afraid to grow up. Many still have toys like action figures and teddy bears and Lars strives to understand what it feels like to be an adult.

Anyhoo I'm not so good at writing movie reviews, I'll get better with time. But for this one I will say definitely worth a watch, though it's probably not everyone's cup of tea. I quickly loved Gosling as Lars from the word go, and found all the other characters equally admirable.

I give it a solid 7/10