And Grandpa

Loneliness is the most universal feeling that everyone has experienced at some point, and it occurs everywhere. That's why I prefer to make films that focus on lonely characters or people. In the spring of 2024, we were given the assignment at school to create an interview-based report as our first major project. I wasn't interested in making another run-of-the-mill ‘talking heads’ reportage and wanted to do something more special. This led me to the idea of following an elderly person who is truly very old. I wanted to see if it was possible to get to know them better through a 'fly on the wall' approach.

I only have one grandmother left; my other grandparents have passed away, so this theme resonates deeply with me. Knowing how my grandparents were at the end of their lives (and the loss of their partners), I wanted to create something that highlights this, but also explore how they behave, knowing that they might be the next to pass away, and whether they are afraid of this or rather grateful.

Mateo Fromont, my colleague with whom I have collaborated on assignments this year, suggested filming his grandfather. He is very old and lost his wife two years ago. Since we still needed an interview for the assignment, and this wouldn't quite fit our 'fly on the wall' approach, we came up with the idea of having Mateo involved as the grandson visiting and asking him questions. This way, we hoped to get some answers about how he currently feels. We wanted to experiment with this approach and leave much of his feelings to observation and interpretation, combined with the answers from that conversation.

Creative choices: Why 4:3? Isn't that a bit outdated, or does it suit someone who is ageing? I think it does. By using this aspect ratio, we could frame the space and make smaller things appear larger. For example, tearing off calendar pages might be important to René, something he does every day. This way, we could highlight such actions more centrally.

‘And Grandpa’ takes place in December, around the Christmas period, the time of year when families come together. But how does it go for someone who perhaps doesn't get many family visits anymore, while also dealing with the loss of his spouse? At Christmas, you might think of the colour green, which you can find with his cactuses, but the colder, bluer winter colours also feature prominently in this film. However, inside it is warm, brown, and gold to accentuate his old age and innocence, as well as the cosiness of his beautiful old house. This is seen, for example, when he plays with his cat Musti in the living room. Finally, it's also the place where his heart lies, as he has spent his entire life there with Angèle.

Personally, I see René as someone who still enjoys life with his cat Musti and his cactuses. He also likes to play cards with his friends at the café every weekend, but we decided not to include this in the montage because we wanted to keep the focus on his home, where he is confronted daily with the loss of Angèle. Some people might find this less interesting, as most documentaries or reportages usually highlight someone with special or unique qualities, but I wanted to shine a light on the everyday person and create something that everyone can relate to within their family. Perhaps it can serve as a small reminder to visit our grandparents while we still have them, something I perhaps didn't do enough in the past.