Workshop 3: Treatment

Just to recap my idea, it is essentially a documentary based on an immigrant in which their personal story will be told by covering topics such as the hardships they have faced leaving their country, any difficulties they faced in the new society they have joined and the difficulties of starting from scratch etc. I originally planned to show 2 treatments for this project, as my first plan was to base this short documentary on my father in which I created a screen test for this idea(shown on previous post). However I was not sure whether I could proceed with this idea as it is a sensitive subject, though I feel that creatively I can create this documentary in way that my father is not shown constantly and the narration of his story is essentially the main focus. I had a back up plan of using my cousin as a subject for the documentary, also sharing her story. Though there were some implications with this as the interviews would be have to done online over video chat and overall I feel that I wouldn’t have as much creative freedom as I would with my first idea. Therefore I will be proceeding with my first idea of using my father as the subject of my documentary.

Transgressions treatment: Length: 300 Words

I want to base the 3-minute documentary on the story of an immigrant. There are many connotations and associations with being an immigrant whether they are positive or negative. As an immigrant’s child, I am in the position to be able to share a story of an immigrant through my father. Immigration, or being a refugee in my father’s case, is a broad matter as this documentary can focus on the political implications of immigration or focus on an individual’s story. I will focus on an individual’s story. I want this documentary to generate the feeling of nostalgia as it ultimately is a film of reminiscing and empathising for one’s story.

The topics that I want to cover within 3 minutes are my father fleeing the Yugoslavian war and essentially the effect it had on him as well as what it meant for Kosovo as a country. Also touching on his journey of how he actually got to the Uk, as my father originally did seek refuge in Germany though there were implications with this. Furthermore discussing the way he needed to start from scratch and the hardships he faced with this as well as how it affected our family. Also touching on how far he has actually come within 22 years in the Uk and how he has progressed. Though these topics seem structured I feel that if the subject discusses the subject with related information it will seem natural and authentic.

Visually, I will be using a considerable amount of personal archival footage as I am in the position to get hold of the footage easily and the archival footage will allow the audience to visually be informed of my father’s experience in Kosovo as well as seeing archival footage from the war. This will be alongside a possible sit-down interview and the subject going about his daily life. Overall, I feel that a personal story will inform and educate different opinions on this issue aswell as giving the audience an insight on a refugee from Kosovo.