ABOUT

In the Western world the harsh reality of war is no longer really known. Unfortunately around the world the story can be very different. War Child works every day in war-torn countries helping the children in need, trying to ease up the painful situation they are in. As an organization War Child tries to help children in conflict areas and support creative output in several countries, including Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this short film, “Batman” plays football, a game of hide and seek and even guitar to brighten up the days of the young child refugees. A playful afternoon of piggy back riding and laughing suddenly takes a horrible turn to reality.

Batman is simply the fantasy of a child trying to seek refuge in his imagination. The video reminds us of the harsh realities of civil war in Syria that has led to the displacement of millions of Syrians and the murder of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.

An overwhelming storyline

The editing wasn’t easy, as Oscar Marmelstein, Editor recalls: ‘Working with Jeroen Mol, the Director who also worked as an Editor on this film, was very inspiring. We edited day and night, creating a never stopping constant stream of ideas. The project could easily become overwhelming because of the storyline, but each morning we picked up all the new ideas in order to create an edit with the most impact. The message needed to be strong and very clear, but also take the viewer on a journey.’

Escaping reality

You see a young refugee having fun with Batman and at the moment you start accepting the fantasy story line as reality. The music really plays with your mind throughout the film. The edit builds up to the moment the viewer finds out Batman is not really there, but the little boy is dreaming on the shoulder of his dad.

The important message of this film is: “Fantasy is often the only way to escape reality.”

‘Let’s hope it makes people think about this terrible refugee issue and actually start helping them’ wishes Marmelstein.


Client - Warchild
Responsible at client - Daphne Groenendijk, Nienke Teunissen, Veronique Hoogendoorn
Creatie - Marcel Frensch, Rogier Mahieu
Production - RNDBT Content
Executive Producer - Lex Szanto
Regisseur - Jeroen Mol (In Case of Fire)
Line Productie - Bee On Set Productions
D.O.P - Gabor Deak

AMBASSADORS
Editors - Oscar Marmelstein & Jeroen Mol
Grading - Brian Krijgsman
2D Artists - Jeroen van Berkel, Peter van Rij, Koert van der Ploeg
3D Artist - Jonathan Krijgsman
Sound Design - Rens Pluym