“Homebound” By Shannon Thompson
Escaping the city noise a young man returns to his roots to discover the simplicity of his childhood.
Just over a year ago my grandfather sadly passed away. He has always been a dominant figure in my life, so to help with the grief of losing my best mate I wanted to honor him in a way that I best knew how to. He was an avid photographer, and when he passed I spent many hours going through his old slides and reliving memories of my childhood in the remote mountain village of Arthurs Pass. This film is inspired by him and his love for the landscape of Aotearoa, for his family, for creating memories and for capturing special moments. Living in the present and soaking up every little thing that is in front of us, because it is in the smallest of details that really matter.
My grandfather used to set up his projector on the weekend to show us his latest photos or family videos. Seeing the sense of pride he held for his family was the most beautiful thing. For this reason, Sol watching the family films in the attic is one of my favourite parts of the film. Another scene that I cherish is when Sol is lying in the tall grass as the sun is setting listening to music - On a normal day of work on the family honey business - my grandfather would lay down in the tall grass for a nap - almost every time.
teaching me to live in the present and take moments to appreciate the small things.
Most of these locations/areas are special to me because they are places where I grew up, places that hold a lot of memories with my grandfather - and things we did together on a regular weekend. So location scouting was the easy part! Aotearoa New Zealand is beautiful around every turn.
I hope to inspire others to take a moment to appreciate the small things in life because generally they are the most important. This world is moving faster than ever before, amongst the chaos and day to day living - stopping to take time for yourself and your mental wellbeing is important.
Learning to love as much as possible, forgive easily, be kind to our planet and to ALWAYS remember to go on that adventure - you never know what you might learn or discover!
Shannon Thompson - Director
Credits
Director - Shannon Thompson
Label - Out of Comfort
Man - Sol Somerville
Director of Photography - John Ross
1st AC - Madison Ryan
Editor - Loren Kett
Sound mix - Chris Sinclair
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