You and Me, and Me Too explores the themes of love through poetic and observational documentary modes. We follow the evening of my friend’s Andrew and Jess, who are very much in love, dating each other. We see that they go grocery shopping together, they speak, the tone is light-hearted, whimsical and cute. It’s shot mostly observational. I did not give any direction in these scenes. I just told them I was recording a documentary, pointed my phone at them, and pressed record. All actions and reactions are authentic.

The audio is probably one of the most important parts of this short documentary and what brings this all together. All the sound bites are from famous movies, which talk and speak on the role and theme of love, the theme in which we see play out and can relate with. From answering the question, “what is love?” to “what is possible because of love?” We hear multiple perspectives about a universal feeling and theme and motive and consequence of love in our daily lives.

Love makes us move. It binds us to someone else, despite difficulties and hardships. It makes the most mundane moments, like shopping at the grocery store or sitting on the couch much more sweeter and worthwhile. It is one of the most important reasons we work, we dream, we put up with someone’s nasty attitudes. It is this overwhelming, inexplicable feeling that can really only be experienced and shown. You can’t touch or taste. We can only feel it, we can point at it and say “that’s love.” That’s what I want this documentary to be like. And it’s that much more beautiful and that much more real because all the actions are undirected and genuine.

We talk about movies and this idea of love so much. All the sound bites are from famous movies. The combining of reality and the representation of reality is transcendental because love itself is transcendental, surpassing typical, and conventional forms of films. The combining of the two, for me, is an expression of the love I have for my friends, but also the thoughts and feelings I myself have about the beauty and purpose of love in human lives.

This was very much inspired by The Act of Killing and Sherman’s March. Killing is a very observational documentary and has many moments of self-reflection that are observed and captured, in which I echo in some sort of way, like when Jess looks at Andrew and it goes into a freeze frame. I wanted to hold onto that moment. I see Sherman’s as another commentary on how awkward love can be. So taking that, I was inspired by the handheld style of people and interactions and wanted to echo that as well.