a film by kyle lennan and geoff norris
presence
~part documentary / part fiction \ part delusion~
synopsis
Presence is a documentary/fiction film that follows a young man as he tries to understand the forces at work behind the construction of a massive airport project on farmland where his family lived.
style
whenever a black and white movie is made it seems that the filmmakers inevitably must justify their reasoning for choosing a monochrome medium. PRESENCE and its filmmakers are not above such a line of questioning. the political, social, and personal issues expressed and explored in the film are often times depicted as black or white. yet, it could be said that the topics that require the most amount of reflection and contemplation belong to the grey. the grey matter of the reasoning mind, and the grey manner of the emotional soul. the politics of diversion, the economics of division, and the state of delusion are more akin to grey than vibrant technicolour.
additionally, PRESENCE was made for relatively no budget and black and white footage solves the problem of using natural light sources as well as filming guerrilla style in and around the Greater Toronto Area. to put it bluntly, it just looks better.
structure
the structure, or editing, of PRESENCE is spliced together in a non-linear fashion so as to comment on the fractured mental state of the protagonist as well as the political and economic forces transforming and dividing canada. chaos and distrust seem to mark the zeitgeist of our times and it is no accident that the film is told from the perspective of someone who, if not schizophrenic, has surely been overtaken by "insanity".
granted, this style of non-linear, non-traditional storytelling might be difficult for some audience members to digest, however, it is not up to the filmmaker(s) to adapt to the sensibilities of a target audience but rather for the audience to adapt to them.
further to this point, if a strikingly accurate depiction of events were to be presented to an audience regarding the proposed pickering airport and the ensuring strife, the filmed document would be viewed, digested, and processed like a heavy meal. yet, if a spectator can be moved psychologically - whether it be through shock or joy - then a topic will resonate longer and hopefully remain in the foreground of the mind. that is why, in case anyone is curious, PRESENCE is structured in a non-linear fashion with non-traditional storytelling devices.
we hope the events depicted will resonate with you so that you feel something for these people, their mental states, and the future of these lands.
