Student feature-length film asks, ‘can you ever really know who you are?’

Nick Bonadies
Spectrum Editor

Shooting is set to begin this weekend for a film that began as a class assignment and grew to demand a $15,000 budget.

A group of student filmmakers in the VCU Department of Photography and Film originally conceived “Metanoia” (“Maybe (like) if ‘Eternal Sunshine (of the Spotless Mind)’ was directed by Terence Malick,” according to producer and junior film major Tommy Bell) as their project for the two-semester Film Workshop course.

“As we progressed … we realized we had something more than just a class project on our hands,” said the project’s website.

The film centers around a man named Ryland, who checks into a mental health institution after having lost all recollection of his past.

The opening sequence features the character “not really knowing where he is, in the city, wandering about,” director Gwenyth Gaba, sophomore and double major in film and painting and printmaking, said.  “There’s some humor in that, the idea of a character who doesn’t really know himself – kind of childlike, almost.”

As he begins a course of experimental pharmaceuticals intended to jog the memory of amnesia victims, Ryland sees himself – through brief, fragmented glimpses of his past – suddenly cast in a not-so-favorable light.  He must decide between quitting treatment and never quite knowing his true identity, or reobtaining his past – and having to live with it.

“There’s kind of this good and bad you have to accept in any human, and he’s learning to accept that in himself – to realize that who he was wasn’t all perfect,” Gaba said.

Metanoia’s 12-member crew emphasized a collaborative effort from the beginning, “(making) it a point that none of our ideas or opinions on our film should go overlooked,” according to the website.

“It took a long time to write the script,” Gaba said.  “12 people’s ideas into one script? Kind of hard to do.”

Seeing a Film Workshop class push this far on a project is uncommon, according to crew members.

“A lot of that is due to the fact that with these projects … (students are) directing, they have to film it, cast it, write it, get funds if they need it, get locations and everything,” Bell said.

“And so it’s hellish, in a way.”

It also makes for a hefty budget – at rough estimate, $15,000.

“It’s just us,” Gaba said.  “We have to earn our money.”

Considering the shopping list that goes into making any film – especially one filmed on industry-grade 35mm stock – $15,000 is actually “a tight budget,” according to the website.  Funds will go into raw film stock; film development and transfer; camera, lenses, and grip gear; set building and location rentals; boarding for out-of-town actors; costume and prop rental; and submission fees to film festivals.

As of ____, the donation counter on Metanoia’s fundraiser website had reached ___ out of the $15,000 goal.

“Every summer and winter holiday season we see the same old shlock come through the theaters,” their website states. “We want to see some actual creative value in films again and not some resurrected classic or … unnecessary sequel or adaptation.

“If you contribute you won’t just be making a donation towards the return of creative cinema, you’ll be giving a bunch of great students access to equipment, cameras, and talent that we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

At $10, donators are given a link and password to view the film online; at $25, they can download it to their hard drive. Donators who break the $100 mark nab a “Special Thanks” in the credits.

A slew of high-grossing films in the recent past, like 2004’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” or this year’s “Inception,” have highlighted a trend in the film industry that plays with the fabric of reality and the way its characters perceive, or misperceive, it – utilizing the exponential capabilities of modern special effects.

“It’s a popular topic, but we’re trying to do a different spin on it – more about the character, less about the drugs,” Gaba said.  She described her own dissatisfaction with the way she’s seen themes of dreams and memory vs reality handled in mainstream cinema – primarily as a showcase.

“It’s a way to use these fantastic images and have a reason for it. … But it’s nice when there is something more concrete to it than that.”

“I feel like with ours … it was like, ‘This is exciting, this is actually gonna give people something to talk about.’… We have an opportunity to inspire people – whereas some films are just like ‘eh, money.’  That’s just my take.”

Filming for “Metanoia” is set to continue until March, with the finished product premiering in multiple Richmond theatres and venues in May.

Check out more information on “Metanoia,” its creators, and how to contribute at the film’s IndieGoGo page, or join the cause on Facebook.