For my Final Media Project I’m still unsure on what I want to create, however I am steering more into the direction of making a documentary. I have had a couple of vague ideas that I’d like to think about more and perhaps develop into something more substantial.

In our first lecture, Mez brought up the idea of facing our fears and mentioned a girl who did this for her FMP last year and actually delivered a really great final project. I began to think what I was afraid of and one thing jumped immediately to mind. Probably quite a weird fear that I have is the thought of going blind. I then began to think that this subject could be quite an interesting one for a documentary. I could speak to someone who has been blind from birth and learn about what their aspect on life is, or alternatively speak to someone who has become blind recently. I’m not sure if I would just want to focus on one subject or maybe tackle blindness in a broader sense, although I think the latter would be quite a large task to undertake.

My other couple of ideas all centre around Malawi, a country that I have visited multiple times and hold very close to my heart. I have a strong connection with an orphanage out there called Open Arms Infant Home and I began to think about the possibility of making a documentary about the work they do there. Although, this also would be quite a big task and maybe not suitable for an FMP. Alternatively, I could perhaps create a documentary following a “day-in-the-life” of what goes on at Open Arms, which is something that would be more manageable than discussing everything that they do there.

I went to a film festival in Missouri earlier this year called True/False Film Festival and I watched a documentary there that was really inspiring called Makala. It is a relatively simple documentary that follows a charcoal maker from the Congo and his 50km journey from the tiny village he lives in to sell his trade at market. It is a stunningly beautiful film that effortlessly captures this man’s determination and struggle. It really inspired me and got my thinking about Malawi and Open Arms. I thought about the possibility of filming one of the mother’s who work at Open Arms and her journey into work each day, as some of them travel from extremely far away. I thought about finding out who lives the furtherest and then, in a similar fashion to Makala, following her journey to work in a purely observational style.

My final initial idea that I’ve had is also based in Malawi. Albinos in Malawi are very at risk and are often murdered by their own people, this is because it is a common belief in Malawi that their bones are valuable to witchcraft. When I visited Malawi in 2012 I met an albino who worked at lodge in Mangochi. Me and my friends gave him suncream and hats, as albinos are very sensitive to the sun. I visited the same lodge again in 2016 and I learned that this man had become a victim to the albino killings in Malawi. He had mysteriously and suddenly died and once he had been buried his grave was robbed and his bones were taken. Therefore this is a subject that is quite personal to me and I’d quite like to maybe create a documentary following another albino in Malawi and what their experience is like living in a country where they are constantly at risk. This is also a subject that I could do a lot of research on, as there is plenty of information and reports about it online.

My ideas based in Malawi are definitely the ones I’m most passionate about, however the most tricky. Not even just the fact that visiting Malawi isn’t cheap, I would like to work with another person for my FMP and shooting in Malawi would have to take a lot of convincing and the other person would also have to have the funds.