health care is far cheaper in such former developing world countries. I also fully understand anyone who questions this with skepticism. Should one build a business model on this reality? Should one even cultivate a for-profit health business? To my mind, we should not only crtically explore the system, but also take into consideration how individual patients themselves feel, particularly given the fate that they are now forced to endure. Martin’s project is small and – as he himself admits – it responds to a niche need. Both he and his Thai wife Nid pay attention to the fact that their project should not become too big – and possibly impersonal. For the carers and other employees, he is a reliable employer. The village also sometimes contributes to the way the Dementia Project is presented. At the same time integrating with the local community is an exciting challenge. It is a different situation with other medical or health care options. The moment major, impersonal investors with purely commercial interests get involved, such concepts become problematic. The important thing is that local populations are not overwhelmed. They need to be involved, at least partially. One also needs to be able to weigh – again and again – the interests that emerge. As far as the relatives are concerned, they have my complete compassion and understanding. No one finds it easy to send a parent or partner so far away. The reality, however, is that the care is incredibly good. The decisive element is the 24-hour, one-on-one care that is provided. For this reason, patients do not have to take calming medication. From I have witnessed, it is not a matter of ‘dumping’ but rather a matter of often painfully weighed decisions to send one’s loved ones away. For the patients, most of them probably have little or no idea where they are. Without doubt, this is ethically difficult. Even the exotic surroundings of being located in this distant part of the world is often disconcerting. At the same time, no ideal solution exists. What is important is what’s best for the patient. My feeling is that this is precisely what is happening. According to Wootli, he has far more enquiries than places available. So people are actually trying to decide what decision is best. No one wishes to keep someone there if they are not happy. This is not a matter of idealizing the situation. There are clearly many problems for the patients, such as grasping what is really happening or dealing with language, a new environment or the lack of familiar faces. During stay, however, Kurt completely opened up. Given that most of the caregivers only spoke a smattering of German, this was a point of frustration for him. He appeared delighted to be able to speak German with us. This was great for him – and actually helped him remember more. Language is obviously one of the downsides of living so far away from home. Yet while the carers can’t speak German, some of them were making the effort to learn it in their spare time, something that is very evident in the film itself. The key issue, however, is their state of dementia, the real culprit in this tragedy. One needs to constantly weigh what is best and to ensure that one is responding to the real needs of the patient.
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PRODUCING DOCUMENTARIES: NEVER AN EASY PROCESS As with most independent producers, it is not always easy to operate. In fact, it’s very difficult. Anyone obsessed by the dream of making films needs to be aware of this. It always takes an incredibly long time to put the funding and other elements into place. One is constantly forced to compromise, or at least be ready. When people provide funding, they always want something in return, such as demands on content, length and format. So these things need to be worked out. The German public, for example, is often completely different from other countries. But so are international cinema audiences. The same goes when dealing with streaming platforms, such as YouTube or Netflix. One is constantly dealing with even more different target groups, so everything needs to be tailored. Similarly, one needs to be conscious of one’s own life challenges. This means being flexible, constantly prepared to improvise, particularly projects based on personal passion and love. It’s very hard to make a decent living from such initiatives. Or even remain in the profession. You cannot imagine how many kitchens, restaurants and bars I have worked in. At the same time, it is the best profession that I can imagine. I have no intention of stopping. Plus there are opportunities linked to the job which offer possibilities to at least continue with filmmaking, such as making commercial productions. It’s all a matter of survival. Recently, for example, I worked on a journalistic format that was more appropriately aimed at the 18-28 year-old age group. Initially, it was not clear what this entailed. I wanted to produce a series of one-minute story segments that had be disseminated more effectively. It was hard at first, but then you learn to work more with graphics, plus interact more directly with audiences. I started to enjoy it. For me, the ideal place to watch a film remains the cinema. This is where you can allow yourself to be absorbed by the story or unusual film experiences, letting one’s inhibitions to leave the room. Watching films on TV or streaming is totally different. You can zap when and where you like. Nevertheless, I think the long, artistic films will continue to exist. There are many festivals and other occasions that celebrate this. At the moment, I am working on a project about technology, science and pets. Once again, it is an intercultural topic. Most of my films are about bringing the viewer closer to other worlds enabling one to embrace different perspectives. It’s very similar to dreaming – only perhaps even more surprising. Being based in Berlin is great for film-makers; it’s still very affordable and packed with highly creative people. But it never stops moving, so sometimes one just has to just to leave in order to shut oneself off and not be overwhelmed. MADELEINE DALLMEYER is a Berlin-based film-maker. You can view a preview of her documentary ‘The Village of the Forgetful' on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH9kD2c0HzI For more information, contact: dallmeyer@posteo.de
