Martin Ponferrada is known for his unique style of filmmaking. The award-winning short film 'Everything is upstream' is just one of his wide array of spectacular and thought-provoking films. The topic of discussion in this part animation part documentary is DREAMS - More specifically the dreams of Buddhist monks from all over the globe. The visuals of the movie are a work of art as Ponferrada ensures to portray vivid descriptions of their dreams through rotoscope. The film is peaceful to look at as we go through a recollection of five most vivid dreams of Monks all over the world. The simplicity and minimalism shown through the black and white theme is extremely clever. It enhances the beauty of rotoscopic animation as we see the Monks transform into animated figures.
First, we meet Buan Sunim. He shares two of his most recurring dreams that he has been experiences since the childhood. One of which is extremely frightening to him. He sees soldiers chasing him and he retreats to dark woods as he trying to protect himself. Luang Po Jamenan speaks about a dream he used to have when he was a little boy. With the help of a boat that floats above the sea, he is protecting people from drowning. The fact that makes his dreams more interesting is that he reveals that he has saved multiple lives in his lifetime after that dream. We also meet Tsering Tashi. In his dream, Tashi describes shooting comets in the space which makes him feel one with the cosmos. Similarly, we get to hear from three other Buddhists telling how their dreams have shaped the way they see the world now.
This short documentary is a reminder that dreams have more power and significance in our lives than we think they do. For some people, dreams help foresee the future and for others, they are a means of escaping reality. Either way, dreams shape our thinking and help us get a better view of the world.
