Why Watch? Last fall, when the world was all set to end, Nikolas Dane asked people from all over the planet to answer the question of what memories they would want to endure even as the rest of our existence was wiped out. The idea was kind of like a video time capsule that wouldn’t seriously be needed, but beyond the Mayan anchor to the experimental project, the idea of treasured experiences lived at the core of what Dane was doing.
Using a window pane look into the raw footage, what emerges is a host of similarities and common bonds: babies, parades, natural and man-made wonders, adventurous images and everyday simplicity. The most fascinating thing is the short’s ability to take intimate (otherwise meaningless moments) and make those of us on the outside understand them. It’s a cipher for inside jokes. Knowing that these are memories someone wants to live on, to share, makes it immediately obvious what’s happening even if we’re filling in blanks more than a little (I need to learn the rules to that hand game).
It’s a bit long, and that’s made most clear by the repetition of some of the footage. That’s also the product of using 6 feeds at once, but even as dreamy as it is (in that We Are The World kind of way), it could probably be cut into a tighter experience. Otherwise, it’s nice to let The End of the World Project wash over you, but after you take a deep breath and view the familiar/foreign story on the screen, it’ll become obvious that the film definitely needs a new name.
What will it cost? Around 15 minutes.