Event

Instant Dreams

Fri Jul 19: 8.30pm
Sat Jul 20: 5.00pm, 8.00pm
Sun Jul 21: 5.00pm, 8.00pm
Mon Jul 22: 4.00pm
Tue Jul 23: 4.00pm
Wed Jul 24: 8.30pm
Thu Jul 25: 8.30pm

Willem Baptist
Netherlands
2017
1h 31m

About
Instant Dreams is a feature documentary by Willem Baptist (Wild boar, Im Never Afraid!) about the fascination and love for Polaroids. When Polaroid announced the end of instant film in 2008, the last still-working factory was bought by a small group of enthusiasts. Among them is the retired scientist Stephen Herchen who previously collaborated with the inventor of Polaroid and is still trying to unravel the secret of the lost chemical formula.

In this overwhelming cinematic journey, Baptist introduces us to a number of individuals who connect to Polaroid in special ways: the German artist Stefanie Schneider, who does a photo shoot in the California desert with her last existing original Polaroid stock; New York Magazine editor Christopher Bonanos, who wrote a book about Polaroids history and tries to capture the relationship with his son with his instant camera; and a Japanese girl who first discovered the magic of Polaroid in Tokyo. Everyone tries to keep the instant dream alive in his or her way.

Slowly we also begin to feel the magic of Polaroids. Like the instant photos, we are chemical creatures full of unpredictable reactions. Eventually, the Polaroids in Instant Dreams are a metaphor for our desire to capture our dreams.