Travelling Love is a story of chance, passion and sacrifice in which an adventurous Australian woman and a free-spirited Frenchman reflect on their unexpected romance after meeting in youth hostel in London in 1985.
Synopsis
It is a fantasy of many to have a fling with an exotic stranger whilst travelling overseas, but what happens when you find your soul mate? Travelling Love reveals the extraordinary love story between Dot, an adventurous Australian woman, and Patrice, a free-spirited Frenchman, as they reflect on their unexpected romance after meeting in a youth hostel in London in 1985. Over the course of six months, the pair developed a close bond that eventuated into a loving relationship whilst both living and working in the dynamic city. As with any overseas romance however comes separation, as looming pre-booked flights and contradicting ideas of future directions led them to their inevitable parting. Dot and Patrice accepted the fact that they’d probably never meet again and thus left with fond memories of their whirlwind time together. Unbeknownst to their younger selves however, their worlds were about to change when Patrice booked a one-way ticket to Australia.
Director’s Statement
In the very first class of this studio, we were told to make a short documentary that we are personally interested in or passionate about, and with that, interest from the audience will follow. Hence, this film is very close to my heart as it revolves around my parents. For years, I have been fascinated by the way that they met and formed their relationship, and always remarked on the ‘movie-like’ quality of their story. This studio therefore presented the perfect opportunity and platform to bring their story to life and create something that could not only be viewed and enjoyed by others, but also to store as a family keepsake that we can treasure for years to come.
By utilizing the entire semester to focus solely on our documentaries and associated paperwork, this studio enabled us to put a lot of time and effort into ensuring a high quality outcome. Week by week, we covered important aspects of documentary filmmaking which guided our practice as we went along. Throughout the production of my particular film, the biggest challenge I came to face was finding ways to break up the interviews, as a large portion of the story is a re-telling of past events. During class however, we covered modes of visual storytelling including use of archive, cutaways and recreations. These discussions greatly assisted me in thinking creatively about how to make my film more visually diverse in order to maintain viewers’ interest. For example, I employed subtle methods of recreation, such as a shot of a recreated envelope and letter that Dot ‘received’ from Patrice (as the original was misplaced), as well as inserting stock footage to demonstrate flight paths, visuals of London and other aspects that I couldn’t necessarily film myself.
Overall, my documentary knowledge and skillset has come a long way this semester, as partaking in this studio and making this film has been an extremely valuable and enjoyable experience.
Laura Doguet – Director
Laura Doguet is a third year student at RMIT undertaking a Bachelor of Communication (Media). Throughout the course of her degree and activity in external projects, Laura has tried her hand at all things media in a quest to discover what she is most passionate about. As a result, her skillset and experience includes photography, sound production, print journalism, broadcast media, writing, directing and producing drama, live and documentary-style radio, live television production, social media marketing and of course, documentary filmmaking. After she graduates, Laura is jetting off to Thailand to participate in a volunteering program to teach children media skills and assist them in creating their own tangible piece of media. In 2017, she intends to secure more work placements and internships to gauge what aspect of media she enjoys most in an industry setting, before travelling around Europe in the later part of the year.