In the Dinner Conversation event on October 25th, the two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Marshall Curry, came to Rose House to have dinner with us and share his filmmaking experience. Although it was a short event, we got to learn many things about him. For example, we learnt about how he went from being a comparative religion major to being a documentary producer, director, cinematographer as well as an editor.

We also got some insights into the messages underlying his documentaries. I got very interested in his documentary Point and Shoot, so I went on to YouTube to look it up. Point and Shoot tells the story of Matthew VanDyke who set off on a self-described “crash course in manhood”. While on a his motorcycle trip through Northern Africa and the Middle East, he struck up an unlikely friendship with a Libyan hippie. When revolution broke out in Libya, VanDyke joined his friend in the fight against Gaddafi. I think it was truly a great documentary because it showed how friendships can be formed in the most unlikely place and how life is what you make of it. However, what caught my attention when I found this documentary on Youtube was the comments the viewers left, both positive and negative. I believe a successful documentary needs to be thought provoking and that was what exactly this documentary was. It might have caused people to appreciate how Matthew joined the course of war just to help; other times, it caused people to think he was a “bored middle class brat joining the fight for islamism”. The thought provoking video led to all those stimulating comments, which lead the viewers to think even more. That, I think, is what made the documentary phenomenal.