Just Being Here

Beginning my final year of college amidst a global pandemic left me wondering how, in a time of self-isolation and separation, I might create a film that would help people discover that we’re not truly alone. My thesis film, “Just Being Here,” shares the story of Walter. Walter has lived alone most of his life and finds solace and wonder in the nature of his backyard. This film is about his, and our, sense of place: both in the interconnectivity of the natural world that we inhabit and the social connections we so profoundly need as a part of our shared human experience. “Just Being Here” invites vulnerability and offers companionship. It teaches us how to appreciate the spaces we occupy as a source of comfort in the absence of others.