A short documentary - Jake Martin Graves

A short documentary
directed by Jake Martin Graves
credit
Fiona Routledge: graphic design.
Hannah Lou French: watercolour illustration.
© Jake Martin Graves. All rights reserved.
Synopsis
In Spanish, the word Extranjero can be used interchangeably as ‘foreigner’
or ‘abroad’. For Camilo Sanchez this poetically resembles his feelings of
isolation, perplexity and anticipation during his travels as an educational
migrant. In Portuguese, the word Saudade can be described as sentiment
for a home dearly missed. Held together, these words reflect Camilo’s multivocal experience of having to adapt to two new languages as he studied, as
they gradually merged together into one.
Saudade Es Extranjero (Nostalgia is Abroad) is a reflexive exploration into
the relationship between travel-based study and the impact of adapting to
new languages along the way. A blend of interview, multilingual inter-titles
and observational footage, this short documentary follows Camilo, a graduate
from Valledupar, Columbia.
Camilo’s educational journey began when he left Columbia for Britain to
learn fluent English, before leaving once more to Rio de Janeiro University
to begin his masters. Camilo left speaking Spanish and through his travel
has learned English and Portuguese fluently in just over a year. In the film,
Camilo shares the experience of new languages and their cultures.
With the predominant theme of language, the short documentary is divided
with a sequence of inter-title monologues, in a form inspired by 1960s
Third Cinema films by Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino. Following
the multivocality of Camilo both in person and in interview, the inter-title
monologues jump between each language in hope the viewer can experience
this as well.
The documentary explores diasporic topics such as stereotypes, changing
identities and living in a globalised world.
Brief Synopsis (100 words)
Saudade Es Extranjero (Nostalgia is Abroad)
is an exploration specifically on the impacts of
language through educational migration. The
short documentary is a stream of consciousness
by Camilo Sanchez, a graduate who through his
studying in recent years has travelled from his
home in Valledupar, Columbia to Britain and
finally to Rio de Janeiro where he is studying his
Master’s Degree.
This documentary explores his experiences of learning two new languages
fluently, and how this has influenced his lifestyle. The short is said in his
words, and his writing with a sequence of inter-title monologues.
Director’s Statement
Working closely with Camilo over the course of this project has been an
intimate and eye-opening experience. This project initially began as a pitched
treatment while studying ‘Transnationalism’ at Falmouth University and
progressed into a short documentary with the help of Camilo. We met through
mutual family friends and soon began talking about his experiences from
travelling so much for his education. As he intends on working in international
chemical engineering, his career relies on learning multiple languages.
Developing Saudade Es Extranjero from research to shooting to postproduction has been a really insightful experience and have learned lots
about the process of making a short documentary.
Through the amount of time spent together on Saudade Es Extranjero both
Camilo and myself became close friends, and it was sad to see him leave for
Rio de Janeiro in the fall of 2014. I wish him the best of luck in his future
studies.
The heart and structure of the documentary are around the inter-title
monologues throughout, which are directly from a conversation I once had
with Camilo before we began developing the documentary. I asked him ‘what
does it mean to be ‘abroad’’, to which he replied:
“Abroad means having to make a new life away from home, but you must
not think to be abroad is the same for everyone. That would be a mistake.
Abroad means to enjoy looking over your shoulder taking photos with
your camera.
Abroad means: Where did you come from?
Abroad means that the small things are now very difficult to do, perhaps
because they do not know the language or are just different.
It’s different be from Europe than be from Latin America or Africa. Not
everyone has the same rights and privileges and many foreigners have
to work twice as hard to get the same as another emigrant.
Abroad means having to make a
new life away from home, BUT YOU
MUST NOT THINK TO BE ABROAD IS THE
SAME FOR EVERYONE.
That would be a mistake.
But for others you’re just an emigrant, and that means that you come to
a country to take away their jobs, their benefits.
It is difficult for me to understand many things. I enjoy going to museums,
to see a mummy away from Egypt as showing a culture so far from home.
That’s strange because you exhibit other cultures in your museums from
around the world, and when those people come to your country, often
denied the entry, because they are seen as immigrants.
Finally, an outsider means to be a tourist walking the streets without
understanding what is happening.” — Camilo Sanchez
Abroad means being amazed
by each small detail and
taking everything in through
your camera.
And this response led to the creation of Saudade Es Extranjero.
perhaps because you do
not know the language, or
it's simply just different.
Crew
Translation and Subtitles:
Stephanie Hirtenstein, Jamila Hirtenstein & Camilo Sanchez.
Stephanie and Jamila is an independent translator, having
close family currently living in Columbia and both being fluent
in Spanish and Portuguese. Their assistance transcribing
during post-production was invaluable and essential to the
structural editing.
Subject: Camilo Sanchez
Camilo, 25, is the subject of the short documentary, which
acts as a stream of consciousness of his experiences
adapting to different countries. From Valledupar, Columbia,
Camilo travelled to gain English qualifications in Britain
before starting his Masters in Chemical Engineering at Rio
de Janeiro University, Brazil.
Director: Jake Martin Graves
Jake is in his final year studying BA (Hons) Film at Falmouth University, Cornwall
and has focused on exploring short documentaries in all areas of his study. Jake
has been in the process of research, filming and post-production of Saudade
Es Extranjero since early 2014. Outside of practice, Jake is currently in the
development of his graduate dissertation exploring the representation of trauma
victims in documentary. A recent accolade includes the second place short ‘Can
You See Me’ at the International 100 Hour Film Racing, New York.
Camera: Daniel Griffin & Jake Martin Graves
Daniel is a camera operator who has been focusing on short films that try and
convey unique characters to new people. Currently studying BA (Hons) Film at
Newport University, Daniel is aspiring to create films that represent individuals
and their experiences.
Sound Recorder & Designer: James Chatwin
James is a sound designer who has been steadily developing his abilities with a
range of recent short films, including Synthetica (Winner of Best Cinematography,
Reading Fringe; Official Selection at the Skinny Short Film Festival). James’ onlocation interview recording helped bring Camilo’s story together.
Editor & Colour Grading: Jake Martin Graves
MUSICAL SCORE BY: OREN VELASQUEZ HIRTENSTEIN & HORACE HALLING.
Oren is a Columbian-Cornish guitarist who together with drummer and horn
player Horace composed the score for Saudade Es Extranjero.
Location Manager: Zala Opera
Zala is an independent Producer currently working at Script2Screen Media and
assisted as Location Manager in the logistics of the short documentary. Zala’s
recent credits include independent horror film Killing Lionel (2016).
Technical Information:
Duration: 14 minutes 57 seconds
1920 x 1080p PAL (NTSC can be provided)
25 frames per second
Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/140592049 password: GlobalRosetta
Website link: http://jakemartingraves.co.uk/project/saudade-es-extranjeronostalgia-is-abroad/
Teaser / trailer link: https://vimeo.com/147179790
Production Notes:
The shooting of Saudade Es Extranjero took place over several months on the
farm where Camilo lived in his short time in Cornwall, Britain. He lived with
extended family who moved here from Columbia several years ago and set up an
Alpaca farm.
Together with Camilo and the production crew we recorded the inter-title
monologues, shot several interviews and film additional footage of him working
on the farm. All of the questions, as well as the monologues, were discussed with
Camilo at length in the months leading up to shooting. The spoken inter-titles are
actually a live reading of an early conversation between Camilo and myself, long
before we began developing a documentary together after I once asked him what
does it mean to be ‘abroad’, which can be found earlier in the EPK.
FAQ
What does the title mean? Isn’t it more than one language?
The title is a combination of Portuguese and Spanish words that have layered
meanings when translated into English. Firstly In Portuguese, Saudade can be
best translated as sentiment for a home dearly missed. In Spanish, Extranjero can
be used interchangeably as meaning either foreigner, or being abroad. Together
these symbolise the most important aspects of living in another country, while
also commenting on meanings lost in translation. Saudade is particularly
sentimental word in Portuguese and has no direct translation in English and has
a history of meaning. Who is Camilo?
Camilo Sanchez is from Valledupar, Columbia and is currently studying a Masters
in Chemical Engineering at Rio de Janeiro University, Brazil. His career path
requires him to know multiple languages, including English which is Camilo’s
words is the ‘standard language’ in his industry. As a result, his education has
spanned between Britain and Brazil to give him the most advantages in life to
learn as much about other languages as possible. While in Britain, Camilo studied
an undergraduate degree in English Language and he stayed with extended
family who moved over from Columbia some years before.
What is with the alpacas and llamas?
Leading on from the last question, while living in Cornwall, Britain, Camilo stayed
with some of his extended family who moved over from Columbia. They run a farm
which has several alpacas for a few reasons. For one, it is a reminder of home, but
also because they have set up a community-based project which offers children
of disabilities to interact with farm animals. While staying here, Camilo had
responsibilities in the upkeep of the alpacas, which can be seen in the documentary.
Film Stills
Production Stills
Original Pitched Treatment
January 2014. [1208 words]
Saudade es Extranjero/Nostalgia is Abroad is a meditative
documentary that follows the real-life experiences of Camilo
Sanchez, a Columbian emigrant who moved to Britain for
educational reasons. He lives and studies in Cornwall.
The documentary opens inside the
British History Museum in London.
Camilo, who is in his late twenties,
walks up to the Rosetta Stone in an
Ancient Egyptian exhibition. He begins
rearranging magnetic letters on an
activity board. After a few seconds he
spells out his name in Greek letters,
then Demotic and finally hieroglyphs:
‘Camilo’.
A new sequence begins. A black
background appears with white
handwritten text, which is Camilo’s
digitised handwriting. In semi-fluent
English, Camillo says off-screen: “abroad
means: where did you come from?”
The on-screen writing is a Spanish
translation. Afterwards, a second quote
appears but the languages are reversed.
The handwritten text is now in English
with a Spanish narration: “abroad means
continuing life away from home, but you
mustn’t think being abroad is the same
for everyone. That would be a mistake.”
An interview opens in a rustic
kitchen where Camilo formally
introduces himself. He explains that
his career ambition is to work in
international chemical engineering
and is aiming towards a Masters at Rio
University, Brazil. However he needed
to become fluent in English and achieve
an English-speaking qualification, which
is why he moved here. He lives on an
alpaca farm with his cousin’s who are
naturalised British citizens.
Camilo asks himself the question:
“what does it means to be abroad?”
He begins by simply explaining he
is physically abroad from Columbia,
making him an emigrant. An offscreen voice asks Camilo if he
disapproves of the principle of
English being the ‘standard language’.
Camilo responds by saying this is a
consequence of globalisation; because
the world is more connected than ever
before there needs to be a ‘standard
language’. It just happens to be English,
but had there not been Eurocentricism
throughout modern history, it could
had potentially been any language,
ironically even Spanish. He argues the
real problem isn’t the necessity of a
‘standard language’, but is the nature
of globalisation itself. In his words, a
globalised world is where countries
work together equally; First World
countries have definitely achieved this,
but separately from the Third World.
Returning to the inter-title
sequence, the following handwritten
text appears in Spanish with an
English narration: ‘‘abroad means the
small things are difficult to do. People
don’t know your language and are just
different.’’ Verbally, it becomes clear
Camilo is more comfortable speaking
Spanish than English.
The interview continues with
laughter. The conversation exposes the
‘language switch in his head’. Having to
speak Spanish, English and Portuguese
regularly, becoming multilingual has
actually affected his way of thinking.
He describes how he forgets phrases in
his native tongue and has to continue
in English or Portuguese, speaking
all three in a sentence. However, the
changes to Camilo’s language are
upsetting when speaking with his
family back home, who only speak
Spanish. His family struggle to
understand him as Camilo can now
only talk in a multilingual way.
Returning to the inter-title
sequence, the following handwritten
text appears in Spanish with an
English voice-over.
“It is … It is …” As Camilo’s voice
struggles to speak in English the intertitles phonetically depict his stuttering.
“… It is difficult for me to understand
things … I enjoy museums, seeing
pharaohs from Egypt, a culture so far
from home. That’s strange because you
exhibit cultures in your museums from
around the world …”
As he struggles speaking English the
languages switch to a Spanish voiceover, with English text: “…but if those
foreigners arrive here, they are denied
entry because they’re immigrants.”
The visuals return to the opening
sequence of Camilo walking through
an Ancient Egypt exhibit in the British
Museum. Leaving the Rosetta Stone,
Camilo wonders around the room
in interest. The walls of the room
are painted in clashing reds, blues
and yellows in theme of the Ancient
Romans, Greeks and Egyptians. Camilo
gazes into cabinets showing mummified
remains and a sarcophagus etched with
golden hieroglyphs. In other cabinets
there are marble statues, ancient idols
and other relics from world history.
Narrated over these visuals we
hear Camilo’s interview continue. He
discusses his fondness of museums
and emphasizes how important it was
for him to see the Rosetta Stone. He
admires the importance of Europe
finding the relic because it enabled
historians to understand the culture
of Ancient Egypt through language.
Camilo compares this to the modern
globalised world, which is made possible
through understanding languages.
Camilo explains that while he
enjoyed the Ancient Egyptian exhibition,
he professes how excited he was to
also see artwork by Spanish painter
Diego Velázquez in the National Gallery.
The painting Las Meninas was one of
the greatest contributions of Spanish
culture to the world, which fills Camilo
with pride.
After revealing this Camilo refuses to
speak in English and continues the rest
of the documentary in Spanish. Camilo
explains how he resents the irony
that many foreigners cannot see their
own cultures, for two reasons. Firstly,
ludicrous amounts of world culture,
like the Rosetta Stone or Elgin Marbles,
are in London instead of their original
country. Secondly, if foreigners arrive in
London to see their own cultures they
could be ironically deported as illegal
immigrants. He finds it sickening how
many artifacts Britain hoards from
their original cultures, especially when
comparing this to British immigration
policies.
The museum sequence and voiceover interview are interrupted by the
inter-title sequence. Camilo speaks the
following in Spanish, as the English
translation appears: “abroad means
looking over your shoulder taking
photos with your camera.”
Camilo pauses for a moment. Slowly,
he describes the space as a quiet, safe
space where he can study away from
the alpacas and farm work. Viewers
see a bare-wood beam ceiling, sacks of
straw, an old sofa and a tent in the far
corner.
Now seeming more open and
confident, Camilo shares the financial
situation in Columbia where according
to him; there are few careers for PhD
or Master’s graduates. Most leave for
international work, like he did. However
emigration creates new problems, such
as prejudice from nationalists. Camilo
concludes that nationalists should
not be closed-minded; now the words
‘emigrant’ and ‘immigrant’ only have
negative connotations. In an ideal world
nationalists would accept ‘they are just
like us: human’ (Appendix 1). This is
unaffected by nationality, religion or
gender but this is being forgot.
Returning to the inter-title sequence,
the following handwritten text appears
in English with a Spanish narration:
“Finally, an outsider means to be a
tourist walking the streets without
understanding what is happening
around them.”
w w w .j a k em a rt in g ra v es .c o.
uk
[email protected]