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post-film Reflection
Two main reflective events shaped the final product of Glass Walls. I had finished my first draft of the film- it mainly consisted of interviews and animal footage, but had no narrative or my own presence. I was happy with it in a visual sense, but something was obviously missing. When I tried to view it from a fresh perspective, I realised that it felt like the filmmaker (me) was a part or member of the community and was demonstrating the vigil as if it was something they regularly attending. This was not the case, it was my first time being near and kind of formal activism, I wasn't an activist myself and I simply went to try and find out more about it. That was when I decided I needed to include that in the film, not only to make it more inclusive and honest, but also to add a sense of relatability and context.
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After the film was essentially finished, I asked many of my peers to watch and give feedback. The general consensus was that sound was very important in the film, and could be used to make it have a more prominent impact. I then had a discussion with a close friend about the experience I had while filming, and I explained that hearing the screams of the animals was the most prominent moment of the entire vigil for me. My friend suggested I included that, which is when I decided to isolate some of the sounds I had heard in the background of my videos and show them to the audience. Although I was hesitant about using such powerful and dark sounds, I decided that it was necessary to truly reflect the nature of the experience and the impact it had on me, while also giving insight into the experiences of the activists.
BECOMING AN ACTIVIST
I never expected to be taking part in activist events as an activist myself. I really struggled to explain accurately in my videos and here exactly what it was like when I went to the slaughterhouse, but it was like I was taking part in an immersive 3D horror movie. All I could hear when the trucks came up were screaming animals, mostly because they were too crammed and had traveled for hours (sometimes from different countries!), resulting in many of them hurting each other and becoming trapped in painful positions. Then, when I walked up to the truck and looked in, they would gently look up at you and the feeling of helplessness just took over. Each animal had a different face, they had different eye colours and were male and female. Some would be family and some would have developed close bonds, and would nuzzle each other and huddle up together for comfort. Then when the truck went into the slaughterhouses, it was only a matter of minutes before I heard the most gut-wrenching screams. This would be because of electric prods used to force them down the chutes to slaughter, and the stunning process which can often be unsuccessful and leave them in excruciating pain. This whole experience made me so angry because I wanted to stop it. Quite literally watching hundreds of helpless beings being abused and slaughtered was soul crushing.
This is when I realised that these animals were being treated worse than the worst criminals in this entire country.Their crime? Being born a different species to us.
I felt the need to act, and to spread the word. Before I could even recognize what I was doing, I was signing up to a ton of outreach events in my area, talking to family and friends and planning numerous future activist events.
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