My Meditation
“It sounded like a pretty extraordinary life she had been living. Karen then started to tell me about her home village in the north of Holland, where there’s an amazing nature park that is perfect for high-lining. When I shared with her that I was a filmmaker we figured we should do a shoot together over the next couple of weeks.”
“When people from Holland first see this film, they immediately think it was shot somewhere in Germany or Austria, because there are no mountains here. Where we shot this film, is pretty much the only spot in Holland where you can do something like this with such amazing views. So this was as much about shooting a high-lining film as it was about capturing the scenery in this beautiful part of northern Holland.”
“Because it was just the two of us on the shoot, we could be super flexible with when to shoot. I am always looking for a really clear cold night, with a warm next day, which gives you the most beautiful mornings in Holland. Because we have large areas of low lying grasslands in this part of the world, the mist just hangs over the landscape until it burns off with the morning sun. It is something beautiful to see.”
“The plan was to be at the nature park at 4am so that Karen could setup her line and I could start shooting as the sun was rising. But by the time we had set the line between the trees, we had already missed the sunrise. And so all of the clips we shot that day ended up being at the end of the video.”
“When I said we would need to come back again early the next day, Karen said she could stay overnight near the line! She is super outdoors minded and thinks nothing of sleeping in a tent in the forest. She does this sort of thing all of the time.”
“When I got home that night, I loaded up all of the footage for that day and then worked out what I needed to shoot the next morning. When you are shooting like this, you obviously have an imaginary edit you are working towards. Although I had a basic idea for the film during the days we were shooting, the whole story went in different direction once we came back to do the edit at the studio.”
“We played with the idea of telling a bit of her backstory and how important high-lining has been in her life. I was just fascinated with the way she moves on the line. Her poise and grace was something I wanted to capture, so everyone could see how amazing she is up on the line. When someone has that much passion for something, it always makes for a great story.”
“What I wanted to show with this film was her incredible focus. As she says in the film, there is no room to focus on anything else up there than staying on the line. When I tried it I soon found the smallest movement would cause you to immediately drop from the line, which was 25m above the ground!”
“So when you are on a high-line there is no room to bring the troubles of your life with you. I have to admit, it was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. And Karen does it with no effort at all. Her focus is something you have to see to believe.”
“Before shooting, we did a couple of tryout high-lining sessions in a nearby forest, so that I could get a sense of how to shoot this film. It was during one of these sessions that I started to understand, that something terrible had happened in her past. She mentioned a few things that hinted at something, but mostly she kept her past-life private.”
“After the second day of shooting we were both going through all of the footage. She was completely overwhelmed, as she had no idea how magnificent she looked up on the line. The whole process of seeing herself as ‘free as a bird’ like this, must have been an important moment. Because she then started sharing the trauma of her childhood and how important high-lining had been to her healing.”
“I was completely overwhelmed by her story as this was one of the first times she had felt safe to speak about it. It was incredibly touching that she felt comfortable sharing her past with me. And then while we were doing the first VoiceOver, she broke down crying after saying the words sexually assaulted. She then explained that those words were too nice a description for what had happened to her.”
“When it came to the edit, I felt a significant responsibility to make sure the film shared her story in a way that was true to her journey of recovery. I wanted the film to show how extraordinary she is, and how beautiful she is up in the sky dancing on her line. I wanted this film to show her for who she is now, while still being respectful to the traumas of her past.”
“So trying to find the right pieces of footage to support the message in the VoiceOver, was super important. I think what we achieved in the final edit, was the very best I could do. And this is what Karen deserved with this project. The very best of me.”
“We screened her film at a number film festivals where it won awards. I don’t think she was prepared for how amazing she looked on the big screen. It is one thing to see yourself on some phone footage shot by friends to then seeing yourself in a cinema, viewing footage shot on a professional camera and color graded. She was stunned by it all, and comforted by everyone’s reactions to her life’s story.”
“When I spoke to Karen about the film and the public screening, she said she had been extremely nervous before the film went live. She had never talked about her trauma openly like this before. When we recently caught up, she said, ‘Now, a year after it went live, I feel free like a bird, even when not balancing on the line. Talking about my past in this way has opened up doors for me. It made my shame, pain and anxiety a lot less. I now feel free to openly talk about it to anyone and not feel bad.’ Karen saying that, truly makes this film even more special to me.”
“As a filmmaker, there is no better experience than capturing someone else’s passion, and then seeing it all come together as this amazing story of hope and renewal. It is definitely one of the best things I have ever done”
