The maker of THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS and LA SOURCE investigates quiet in a world of noise.
Taking a fittingly meditative approach, director Patrick Shen examines the nature of sound and the necessity of silence to human existence and wellbeing. Noting the increasing cacophony of modern life, and its corresponding hectic pace, not to mention physical damage to our hearing, Shen attempts to lead viewers in a rediscovery of the value of quiet, long privileged in spiritual practice and in memorial traditions.
With two weeks left in Shen’s Kickstarter campaign, there’s still quite a way to go to reach his $33,000 goal for development funding – so if you’re interested in supporting the project, now’s the time. To keep updated on the project, visit its Facebook page, and for more on Shen’s previous work, check out his website.
Shen’s previous films demonstrate his ability to elevate the commonplace into something distinctive and affecting. Focusing on silence – something to which most people probably don’t give much thought, or which they consider an absence so uncomfortable that it must always be filled – seems a subject that’s in line with his established body of work. Recognizing that film is as much an aural as a visual medium, Shen aims to showcase soundscapes in defining his subjects and their environments. In so doing, the film promises to get to the etymological heart of his “audience,” immersed in a deeper understanding of what it means to experience sound and silence, and not wholly, and visually, focused on just being a “viewer.”
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