While Human contains interviews with notable personalities such as Cameron Diaz and Jane Goodall, they are not the stars of this documentary film. Rather, their stories are juxtaposed with those of ordinary people from around the world, and all the interviews take place against a plain black background.
In fact, when French journalist, photographer and environmentalist Yann Arthus-Bertrand set out to make the film, his intention was simply to show what makes as all human.
The film, which screened at the UN General Assembly Hall last year, will be making its Taiwan premiere on Sunday at the Red Room as part of the monthly Filmmaker Nights organized by local auteur Tobie Openshaw. The screening will be interspersed with intermissions and talks by Openshaw and fellow filmmaker Anais Siab of the Taipei-based Violent Spring Studio.
Photo courtesy of Violent Spring Studio
Openshaw says the film is about making us recognize the humanity in one another. “We have such a universal need for love, for human connection, for respect of our individuality, for a safe and healthy environment,” he tells the Taipei Times.
Siab agrees. She found watching the film to be a “profoundly humbling as well as mind-expanding experience.”
In addition to interviews, the film also includes aerial footage overlaid with a gripping soundtrack, a technique which Openshaw found to be particularly effective: “It gives us a new perspective, a true bird’s eye view if you will, of our planet and the humans who inhabit it, the patterns and dynamics of how we fit together.”
Photo courtesy of Violent Spring Studio
Siab says that despite the documentary’s simple premise of “what makes us human,” it also goes to show “what can be achieved with a single strong vision.”
Likewise, Openshaw believes that filmmakers in Taiwan can learn much from the making of Human, notably that they don’t need a huge production budget or special effects to share stories that are deeply and essentially, well, human.
“Technically, it’s a very good example of how not every visual needs to be directly related to what is being said, and how sequences of just visuals and music allow a film to ‘breathe’ and gives us moments to reflect,” Openshaw adds.
Photo courtesy of Violent Spring Studio
For more information about Filmmaker Nights, visit www.facebook.com/groups/607185949394560. To learn more about Violent Spring Studio, visit: www.violentspring.com.
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