Portfolio Film

Here is the vimeo link to the rough cut of my portfolio film.

Artistic Statement

Building off of my experiences working in restaurants, and my nostalgia for certain movies like Ratatouille (2007), The Dish showcases the curiosity I feel after eating another chef’s food.

The story was derived from hours spent spilling over Suzanne Goin’s Sunday Suppers at Lucques, learning how to recreate delicious high quality restaurant meals, while also learning the trade secrets of the industry. I wanted to combine this feeling with my skills as a filmmaker, and that’s where this idea was born.

We enter the cold depressing kitchen of a cook who can’t seem to get the flavor right. A cook who’s always one ingredient behind, or one technique away from the dish’s master. Try as he might to replicate the warm feeling of that delicious meal, he’ll always fall short, but in the end, the cook creates something wonderfully new.

Written response to a film -

I was tasked with watching The Intouchables (2011), for my Death and Dying class the other day. We were asked to examine Driss’s character and his role as a caretaker to Philippe. We were also asked to consider the role that caretakers have in society, their role, and their importance. Firstly, the movie was very touching from start to finish. Watching Driss’s struggle to be accepted and Philippe’s constant battle with his disability, you can’t help but whoop and cheer as their strength returns after every victory. The technical elements are certainly impressive, but the story and acting is what sells this movie for me. I love Omar Sy, he’s great in Lupin and even better as Driss. François Cluzet—who reminds me of a French Dustin Hoffman—also kills his role as Philippe, portraying Philippe as someone who you don’t necessarily want to pity (which is the intended goal of the character), but you can’t help but root for.

For my assignment, we were examining Driss, and how he demonstrated the caretaker role well. More specifically, we were learning about end of life care, and how important it is to provide hope to the patient at the end of their life. While Philippe’s life might not have been ending, it was clear that Driss did everything he could to make sure that Philippe was comfortable in his condition. But not only comfortable, that he was happy and recovering.

Here is a contact sheet for my continuity project