(FINALIST)
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Original Film Title: Blackbird
Director’s Name: Robert Taira Wilson
Writer’s Name: Robert Taira Wilson
Producer: Robert Taira Wilson
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Country of Filming: Japan
Language: English
Runtime: 3 minutes 3 seconds
Film Description:
I am fascinated by the imposing nature of the city around me. The city is my prison, yet I feel no hostility towards it. It comforts me. I feel a conflicting mix of emotions. I value freedom, yet I voluntarily imprison myself here. Modern life, with its ever increasing connectivity and population, is like being a single cell within a huge creature. I lay down on a clear, moonless night and look up. The sky, so heavy with stars, presses me into the ground below. I look out into an infinite plane which I’m unable to reach and I know my insignificance. In the loss of control I find liberation. Similarly, when I move among innumerable buildings, when I ride the trains with millions of others, I transcend the physical limitations and feel spiritually connected to something much bigger than myself. Insignificant, yet still a part. This is the paradox. So, unlike a bird, who actually understands freedom, we cage ourselves voluntarily. But, it is in these physical and social boundaries, routines, relationships and responsibilities that we find our meaning and purpose. We strap ourselves with chains to the system but then fantasize about breaking them. This is a work about the internal conflict between how we imagine ourselves to be and how we really are.