< Bogdan >

For our first major project of the year we have been asked to produce and present a proposal for a 6 minute fictional film based on the script you have been given. The script we were given was Bogdan.

Bogdan is a man living in England, displaced for unknown reasons from his home country Romania. We journey with him as he struggles to be reunited with his wife and son, but also as he tries to prepare himself, and them, for the future that awaits them once they arrive.

Although the original story is based on the script of a third party, the story we are setting out to tell is the product of the opinions and ideas of the whole production team. A consensus emerged during early meetings that there were certain interpretations of a story revolving around immigration that were overused and/or difficult to say anything new about; for instance, racism, or poverty.

We wanted to focus on the cultural disconnection a person feels when they are displaced. ‘Bogdan’ avoids discussion of the reasons for immigration or its economic implications. It is about the struggle an individual faces irrespective of these issues.

We want our audience to walk away empathising with Bogdan as a person comparable to themselves, not as a stereotype they will dismiss. His love of his family and struggle to protect those he cares about, and the use of language as an emotive tool laying bare the deep fears that come with change, and not fitting in, are themes that transcend the politically charged implications of other films we have seen on the subject.