FILM - Discernment

Here's a film I made during a 6 day expedition to Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada. What follows is an explanation that may help the viewing experience. 

My name is Dave but quite a few people I meet don't get to know that, because quite often I can't say it. I stutter and getting words out, including my name, is often a struggle I don't manage to overcome. So if the voiceover sounds odd, you now know why.  

The voiceover text consists of fragments taken from my Algonquin diaries. They've been edited to avoid too much repetition of thought but otherwise they remain the sentences I wrote on location at camp and as such are rife with contradiction and unprocessed feelings. This is ok. I'm wary of editing myself into perfection, because I'm not perfect. I want to give you an unfinished product that you can see me truthfully through, and which you can add to and make whole if you want, and which you can then pass on unfinished. To do this the work has to have space in it to evolve. It can't be too tight. Even if I had the money to create this with pro gear rather than an ancient iPhone I'd try to retain the homemade feel, the idea that this whole thing is a vulnerable moment that I'm offering up to you, rather than pushing at you.

With this effort I wanted to comment on the stories we tell ourselves, the circles we tread, on my own exploration of discernment, and the joy of continual learning. I wanted to create something that is so obviously not a marketing ploy, complete with mini 'errors' that mirror my stutter and other 'imperfections', like a punk rock album made purely for friends yet infused with grander hopes that it'll extend its reach one day beyond a few bright souls living in a caravan at the end of the track.

And, I wanted to encourage viewers to sit within the slow silence that is not silence. To sit and observe, and to have patience with something that they owe nothing to.

All footage retains it's original audio but Algonquin is a quiet place so I recommend you use earphones to listen to this video - the sounds are very subtle.