Frédérique Buck is a journalist and filmmaker living in Luxembourg, Europe. She preferably works on social or political themes. “At Night, I dream” is her second documentary after “Grand H” http://www.grandh.net.
She is now on the pre-production of You Kai, a short hybrid film mixing live action and animation and supported by the Film Fund Luxembourg.
Director Statement
This unpretentious film is a very personal project (i spent my childhood surrounded by beautiful elderly people – it’s a tribute to them and to aging.)
I filmed during the summer, on the FilmicPro App, spent days in the elevator hoping for connexion and magic. I chose to film in the elevator because i found it interesting how human connection (our encounters) is influenced by space and time. In an elevator, you have to have real talk because the voyage is very short. You have togo the the essential. Furthermore, the small space makes people standing next to each other much closer than social rule actually allows. That is fruitful to interesting exchanges too.
At first, i planned to ask more existential questions but I realized how much daily life related questions tell about the olders. Some of the people i filmed got very attached during the shooting, i got quite attached too. Others didn’t recognize me, day after day I remained a stranger, due to their loss of memory. I found very touching how all the different persons feel about their life, all are stuck in the care home, some seem to have an innate love for life while others are clearly bruised and extremely sad and lonely.
I could have stayed in that elevator forever – it is a place of life, of magic.
Documentary Film Festival. Los Angeles & Toronto 