In the genre of “work I’m not sure how I got, why I took, or how it all came together…”

In the summer of 2015, I was a 20 year old sophomore in a photography + filmmaking program at VCU with a thin portfolio of work. I was given the opportunity to create a film for a woman’s 100th birthday, commissioned by her daughter. Feeling only slightly out of place, I took on the project expecting to edit a few minutes of birthday well-wishes. When the client said she had in mind a 45-60 minute video covering her entire life, perhaps I didn’t know enough to steer her away from it.

What ensued was a summer of putting the plane together as I flew it. I conducted about ten interviews with borrowed camera equipment. I browsed, borrowed, and scans stacks of archival family photos. I had to figure out how to structure a one hour film. I had to learn how to interview complete strangers, and create a film that was honoring a matriarch in a way that was truthful, yet struck a balance between gently acknowledging the presence family struggles over the years without spotlighting them.

And, best of all, the whole film was a complete surprise. I didn’t even meet the woman until the day of her 100th birthday, when the film was screened.

It’s an experience that gets more surreal with more retrospect, and I can only be more and more grateful for the opportunity over time.

The film was a private commission and is not available for viewing.