IjabaFilms
Well-known member
Michelle and Marlene thinking about one of my questions.
I didn't expect to make this documentary really. I was originally going to just do the one about my friend with Albinism but I thought, well ... if that doesn't work out I don't want to have idle time on my hands. So I asked Michelle and Marlene, really feeling like they were going to say 'no' but ... they said 'yes' to doing the film and the rest was history.
I learned a lot from making both docs but this one was a bit more for me because there are 30 people in their immediate family and I interviewed almost all of them... so through the whole process of talking to the twins before filming to figure out my story all the way to now... I had to appreciate the fact that I had to make sure I did the right thing with this film. I mean this in terms of the responsibility you have to the people you interview and make films about. I find myself of course not wanting to let them down and to produce something we can all be proud of. I find this to be equally true for my friend Charise who I also made a film about. I want her to be able to see what an awesome person she is.
Anyway, while I feel the film I did on Albinism is pretty clear cut, this film is proving to be hard to figure out. I shot it with a very clear story in mind. But when I got back and watched all the footage (about 8 hours), there was so much there and so many stories to tell, I had to hire a professional story consultant. It was a good idea though.
I went to high school with these twins and what always caught my attention was how happy they were and how close they were. So when I thought about doing their story, I wanted to know what shaped these two women into who they were/are. It is an amazing story. 8 kids - 2 of them identical - blended family (kids from other marriages), etc. I interviewed all of the siblings, the mother, the stepmother, the father, the wives, husbands, and significant others of all of the siblings and Michelle and Marlene, Michelle's kids, and a niece.
Then there are other interesting story lines, like Michelle is straight and Marlene is gay and Marlene's partner is also a twin, etc. Or I could have focused on Marlene and Michelle's baseball and softball paths, etc. But ultimately what started off being a film about these two twins, ended up really being about their entire family. It is a very cool experience as a filmmaker.
I did get more B-roll with this film because this family had tons of home video, photos, etc. But I wish i'd gotten more footage of the twins interacting with each other. Overall I'm happy with the way this one turned out as far as production.
Our Side of Joy
Trailer 1
Trailer 2
M&M's Photoshoot
Official Website: http://www.oursideofjoy.com
Marlene & Michelle - Photoshoot for the film