Touch
A film made in self-isolation by a 91-year-old father and his daughter, 2001 miles apart, during the COVID19 pandemic.
Interview with Director/Producer/Editor Dawn Westlake
Watch Touch here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
My 91-year-old father has been writing his memoir chapters for the past five years. When he visits me in Los Angeles, or I go home to his house in the Chicago area, we usually record his new editions, and then, I mix them and upload them to his Sound Cloud podcast channel, Reflections from the Cloud. He wrote Touch at the end of March 2020, and of course, with the lockdowns starting due to the COVID19 pandemic, we realized there'd be no visiting any time soon. I had just participated in a Q&A about another film of mine, Pooling, hosted online by the Sans Souci Dance Film Festival which turned me onto the Zoom app record feature. I got in touch with my dad the next day and said, "Let's make Touch into a film! We can record on Zoom, and we can put up a few cameras at my end as well, and I have a lot of imagery in mind already from our family films and pictures I have of you, your friends, etc..."
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think it's an interesting 'time capsule' piece...Not only because it underlines the dichotomy between the importance of human touch for our mental and physical health in the best of times (and the imperative of avoiding touch during a pandemic), but it also blends the technologies of the past and present which have been key in helping us hold onto memories and to "touch back" with people we've loved and lost.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
In all my films, I try to honor a truth I found in a quote from photographer Diane Arbus: "The more specific you are, the more general it'll be." I think Touch is a perfect example of that. My dad's writing is very specific to his life...naming his little brother...remembering a great-grandpa's pocketwatch...a comment a grandpa made about his mother's hair, etc...and yet, it's all universally relatable.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
There wasn't much of an evolution. My father wrote the piece on March 28, 2020, and we were "filming" on the morning of April 4, 2020. It seemed like something that was ready to go and that needed to be done right away, while we were in the moment and sharing the stressed feelings of being on lockdown during a pandemic, 2001 miles apart.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
It's been overwhelmingly positive. We've received comments, "likes", and have had the link to the piece shared by family, friends, acquaintances and total strangers all over the world.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It has been interesting and maybe a little surprising to receive so many long, personal, thoughtful emails from viewers as well. I suppose it's because people feel they have the time to reflect and to write longer commentary while also on lockdown.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'm always interested in directing more work that presents/analyzes the human condition. I also find that pretty much anything is tolerable if I'm working on something. If I'm finding a time period to be challenging, frustrating, annoying...it just forces me to be more creative. Of course, there's nothing wrong with doing pieces that purely entertain, but if I can be involved in projects where I feel like I'm enlightening or educating an audience, while entertaining, then I'm happiest.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I'm very open to doing more interviews, and I have been actively searching for COVID19 film fests or special "pandemic sections" of existing/older festivals.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I'm hoping more people will make "home movies" during this global shutdown...or take the time to learn more about their families...either about those with whom they are in confinement or taking more time to use technology to reach out...We are so fortunate to have facetime, zoom, skype, social platforms, etc. Our ancestors who lived through the 1918 pandemic must have gone through absolute horrors...just waiting for surface mail...or maybe a telephone call (if they had resources). They also didn't have the scientific knowledge or sharing between laboratories that we have now.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Once we come off of lockdown, might social touching change? (Will we still shake hands? Will people who are "huggers" still feel they can hug new friends?)
Would you like to add anything else?
Many of my films are available for download/rental here: vimeo.com/ondemand/rondecana
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am also marketing a film I made late last year called Terroir. It's a musical, based on a poem I wrote, about how the mother-child relationship can unfortunately sometimes cloud our perceptions of very capable female leaders in all sectors of society. We shot in my childhood home in the Chicago area, in a vineyard in Peru, IL, in another in Vilafranca del Penedes, Catalunya, Spain and in the snowy mountains of Font Romeu, France. Terroir got a great start on the festival circuit right out of the gate, winning two awards in November and December 2019 in Bogota, Colombia and Pune, India. However, most of the festivals to which it's been selected this year have been postponed or cancelled. I'm hoping Terroir will be picked up again soon. Its message is certainly important in this election year in the USA. There's more info on Terroir and a trailer here: dawnwestlake.com/rondecana/films/terroir/index.html
Interview: April 2020
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Touch
A film made in self-isolation by a 91-year-old father and his daughter, 2001 miles apart, during the COVID19 pandemic.
Length: 7:36
Director: Dawn Westlake
Producer: Dawn Westlake
Writer: Donald G. Westlake
About the writer, director and producer:
DAWN WESTLAKE is president of Ron de Cana Prods, Inc. in Los Angeles. She has made 22 films since 2000 which have won 73 awards, including honors from JVC-Tokyo and Canon USA, Inc. Dawn is also an actress/writer/producer and has judged film festivals in the US, France, Italy and Portugal.
DONALD G. WESTLAKE is a retired metallurgist who published a collection of original poems called Elburn: 44 Miles to Chicago in 1989. In 1999, he won the Studs Terkel Humanities Award for the book. Two films have been made based on poems in that book, A Life of Death and Scrappy. They've won a total of 13 awards. Another film, based on Donald's memoir chapter Through the Pane, has won 5 awards.
Key cast: Donald G. Westlake (writer/presenter), Dawn Westlake (director/listener)
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, buyers
Facebook: Dawn Westlake
Hashtags used: #covid19 #selfisolation #pandemic #stayhome #staysafe #stayhealthy #elderly #homemovie #zoommeeting
Website: www.dawnwestlake.com
Other: Vimeo
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Vimeo