Review and critique at least one short film production

The short documentary called look beyond borders in Berlin by director Bartosz Dombrowski which was put on YouTube on may 17 2016. It is based of a psychologist study that determines that 4 minuets of staring into someone’s eyes bring you closer together. Its a film about refugees and average people connecting with each other by sitting directly at each other for 4 minuets in the hopes to unify one another. The message is to rid us of our judgements from first impression or look of what we see towards refugees, that they are like any person but escaping from a very conflicted world where their only choice is to leave. Instead of judge we should to look beyond the borders and understand what they are coming from through a documentary style film.

The music used was very soft and emotional as it was piano based, the tone and rhythm makes us feel happier and empathetic we feel an emotional connection while watching and listening to the sounds. There were a variety of camera techniques used like close-ups so we could get create a more personal connection and see the emotions and expressions of the people, there were wide shots so we could see the connection as it was developing through the 4 minuets, there were shoulder shots allowing us to get a full view of the subject and they felt, this drew us closer in. There were some shots from the waist up, so we could observe their body language and see how it changed during the 4 minuets. There were still shots which enabled us to just be focused entirely on the subject and there changes in behaviour allowing us to get a feel for what was going on.

In terms of editing style there were lots of cutaways, cuts to different pairs and their experience, as the film carried on progressing we could see how the pairs connection was developing altogether. As an experiment we could see how these 4 minuets really was bringing people together and how quickly our perspective towards something can change so quickly.

The setting was in a very isolated, large space, yet it contained a sense of tranquillity and happiness to it, it was a bright space and allowed the pairs to be in the moments and disregard their thoughts as it was just 2 people alone together. The mise-en-scene is very basic, its just the two people sitting down in a derelict building with a few cameras facing them, its very minimal and means that the majority of the attention is towards the person in front of them.

The filmed is aimed at people who have the capacity to make judgements based on an observation or a first impression. Its not based towards a 5 year old child who lives in the moment holding no judgements, its to help re-calibrate our way of thinking and to not make judgements or treat someone differently, instead to make peace and connect with each other in a very technology based era. This film made me feel very emotional, it opened my eyes and helped me to see the difference a person can make to someone’s life just by taking the time to care and build a connection with someone without any materialistic distractions. Its very pure and I would definitely recommend it to any aspiring filmmakers out their looking to create such real and powerful content. I would also recommend it to people who hold judgements to refugees or in general towards a particular group of people based on its meaning and they way it makes you feel, and how powerful your thoughts and your kindness towards someone can be.