18 | COMMUNITY 16
24 December 2019
Getting to the heart of the matter Writer Elaine Davie
N
o doubt about it, humankind is incurably curious. In centuries past, intrepid explorers risked life and limb on rickety sailing boats bucketing around the seven seas, while others braved the icy wastes of the Arctic. All to see what was on the other side. More contemporary adventurers have launched themselves into space, daring once more to venture where no man has gone before. For the past two and a half years, two young Hermanus film-makers, Michael Raimondo and Justine du Toit have been on a different voyage of discovery. What started as a fun project, a spin-off of their Green Renaissance travels to different parts of the world to make wildlife documentaries, has become an all-consuming passion to pin down what makes us humans human – getting down to the heart of the matter, you may say. Since July 2017, Michael and Justine have produced one short film a week – each about five minutes in length – in which they have invited people to talk about what makes them who they are: what gives them joy, what makes them sad, how they have navigated difficult circumstances in their lives. The 135 films they have made so far (about 12 of them featuring locals) are like small gems, unrehearsed, authentic, with no hidden agendas and handled with the lightest of touches. This year alone, they have visited the Faroe Islands off the coast of Denmark, twice, Scotland and New Zealand, and closer to home, the Klein Karoo. If proof were needed, their short profiles underline the fact that people are people wherever they live. They might have different traditions, live lives adapted to a specific climate; they may be located in cities or the countryside, but they share the same human condition, struggle to overcome similar demons and are happiest when they have come to terms with who they are and what gives meaning to their lives. People they have filmed include a homeless man on the streets of Edinburgh, the only taxi driver on
the island of Eigg in the Hebrides, artists and craftspeople of all kinds, like the man who binds books in New Zealand, the painter who has learnt to live with personal chaos through art, or the wood carver in the Faroe Islands who has built his own hobbit hole in a hillside. And then there are the people who have a special relationship with animals – the animal whisperer in Hermanus, the woman who is saving the Faroe Islands pony from extinction, the farmer’s wife in the Karoo who found peace after her husband’s death through the horses he loved. But apart from the magnificently rugged scenery, perhaps it is the people of the Faroe Islands who have inspired Michael and Justine the most. ‘’They are just incredibly warm, kind and generous, with an amazing connection to the land and their community,’’ Michael says. ‘’They are enormously proud of their culture, too, whether it’s their traditional dress or music. In a population of around 50 000, more or less the same as Hermanus, they have their own professional orchestra and 70 music teachers.’’ There are 18 islands in the group, many of them connected by under-sea tunnels and although owned by Denmark, they are 97% autonomous. Geographically, they are actually closer to Scotland than they are to Denmark and the Faroese language is more akin to Gaelic than to the Scandinavian language stream. Although most of them own sheep (there are around 70 000 on the islands) and grow their own food, paradoxically, they are super-advanced technologically, far more so than Denmark itself, and their education system is of the highest standard. ‘’It is the most egalitarian society I have ever encountered,’’ continues Michael. ‘’Nobody is excessively rich or excessively poor; there is no homelessness and no crime; older people are embraced and remain active members of the community. Everyone wears similar clothing, much of it hand-knitted by themselves (supermarkets feature an entire aisle dedicated to wool) – basically, they are just not interested in collecting ‘stuff ’. In the winter, they have only about five hours of daylight and they look upon this as their cosy time,
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ABOVE: Film-makers Michael Raimondo and Justine du Toit brave the cold on the Faroe Islands where they recently recorded footage for 14 short ilms that can be viewed at www.greenrenaissance.co.za. LEFT: Not just the rugged scenery, but the warmth of the extraordinary people they met on the Faroe Islands inspired Michael and Justine.
when they get together indoors to read and tell stories, or they invite cold, wet strangers in for a cup of tea and scones, as Grandma Disa did with Justine and me. ‘’This is what Hermanus must have been like in the early years of its existence, but somehow we have lost that sense of community and closeness to nature. The Faroe Islanders have a lot to teach us if we want to recapture that rare sense of interdependence.’’ On their first visit to the Islands they made 12 films, and the second time round, 14. All of them are real stories, authentic glimpses into the lives of ordinary people leading extraordinary lives, like the elderly ladies who go for a swim in the numbingly-cold ocean every morning year round and who invite Michael to join them. ‘’A huge part of the process is building trust with the people we film,’’ he comments. ‘’We meet them maybe twice before we start – they don’t
know us, we don’t know them – yet during filming they are often prepared to go very deep and personal in a very short time. It is a toe-dip into the life of someone, an intimate moment of sharing.’’ He says about 80% of their time is spent identifying suitable people to film, so they are often asked why they do it. According to Michael, their aim is to create a collection of films that are universal and timeless. ‘’These films can be shown anywhere by anyone at no cost. We simply want to spread messages of positivity, hope and inspiration, shining a light on the beautiful people of this world. ‘’Many of those we film tend to be older people who are willing to share their wisdom with us. It is an enormous honour that they are prepared to allow us into their lives like this and they, in turn, tell us how much they value the fact that we are prepared to take the time to really listen to them, to give them a voice.
“The only way to really enjoy seafood is top quality seafood, perfectly prepared and in abundance, sand under the feet, next to a bonfire, amongst friends and a glass of good Cape wine in hand."
We hand them a copy of the whole interview afterwards, not just the film, and their families and friends love to watch them. ‘’This is our idea of a good time and every conversation we have always has an impact on us personally. It challenges how we think and shapes how we live; it gives us meaning and purpose; it makes us smile. We have so much to learn from one another and our connections run so much deeper and stronger than we think,’’ he emphasises. ‘’About 2.5 million viewers follow us and if we can touch just one of them with each of our stories, we will have achieved our goal.’’ The Green Renaissance ilms are partially crowd-funded via Patreon. They can be seen free of charge by visiting www.greenrenaissance. co.za or on YouTube. If you would like to see this project continue, you can do so by clicking on the Patreon link on the website.
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