Documentaries

You may not know this, but I have a dream. Everyone does, right? I would like to think my dream is relatively down-to-earth. I want to become a documentary filmmaker. It's the reason I tried so many times to get into film school. It's the reason I majored in film studies. It's the reason I would devour them on DVDs.

There was something intrinsically alluring about such simple films. Superior lighting and blockbuster budgets were not requirements. You could make a documentary with as little as a subject and a camera. I would be lying if I said the cost factor was not one of the reasons I was drawn to it. In the words of Liam Neeson, "I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career."

Movies can present a totally fictitious reality under the guise of truth. Have you ever seen something in a film that seemed so real that it must be true, only to later learn it was completely off the mark? Documentary films do the same thing, but they take place in the real world, following the lives of real people. Even so, filmmakers still manage to "trick" their audiences through selective editing and persuasive slants. That's why I love documentaries. They are never completely impartial, and that subtle bias can turn truth into fiction. The ability to manipulate reality on a whim is an attractive one.

Sooner or later, I'm going to arrive at where I want to be. For now, I'm taking it slow. I have plenty of years ahead of me, and I'm going to use them to create something worthwhile. Once I return to America, maybe I'll start up a documentary blog.