Do You Own Your Mind or Does Your Mind Own You?’ iSyndrome, A New Movie by Barak Shavit
BARAK SHAVIT
FILMMAKER — ‘iSyndrome’
(Read more here and watch the trailer)
Join filmmaker Barak Shavit in creating a movie about consciousness and increasing an awareness level in our culture with iSyndrome — now on Indiegogo! iSyndrome is a 20-minute narrative short film about a young and brilliant brain researcher suffering from Depersonalization Disorder, losing his mind. His wife, a post-materialist researcher, tries everything she can to save him, even if it means reaching the end of life, and going to the heart of consciousness.
Film Courage: Where did you grow up? Barak Shavit: I grew up in Jerusalem. I’m very thankful and feel lucky to have lived in Jerusalem. It’s hard to describe what it’s like. It has a bit of everything; old and new, urban and nature, holiness and mundaneness, peace and terror, art and falafel:) Because it’s such a popular touristic place, as a kid I met so many tourists and for me it felt like I’m living in the belly button of the world.
My favorite spot was in a forest next to my house. It was an old and deserted British military post overlooking a valley at the entrance to Jerusalem. In the eyes of a kid it was just about the coolest place to go to.
“Try not to think of anything for 30 seconds. If you try it, you will soon realize that the mind has a will of its own and you can’t stop it, not even for 30 seconds. You get a glimpse of a different point of view. This is what we explore in iSyndrome.” Barak Shavit
Film Courage: Which of your parents do you resemble most?
Barak: I look like my dad. His parents are from the Czech republic. My mom was born in Iraq — i look nothing like her:)
Film Courage: Did your parents lend support toward creativity or encourage another type of career/focus? Barak: Both my parents were very open minded and let me do just about anything I wanted.
Film Courage: Was there a turning point in your life that drew you to meditation and consciousness?
Barak: Ever since I can remember myself I was pretty much obsessed with consciousness. Meditation, however, came later.
I was in India, and saw a poster inviting everyone to a meditation course to discover nothing less but the ultimate truth, regardless of any religious belief or origin! Sounds too good to be true, and… you can only imagine how disappointed I was… But still, I was very intrigued by the technic and after I got over my disappointment, I saw all the beautiful things meditation has to offer.
Film Courage: Is the Mind and a concept of Our Self one and the same?
Barak: Most of the time our tendency is to consider ourselves as a mixture of mind and body. Probably most of us live 90% of the time in our minds — plaining the future, reflecting on the past. We do this automatically. We have so many ideas about ourselves but little idea about the mind. One of the nice things about meditation is that you get to know your mind. Usually we think that we control our mind. But in meditation you soon realize it’s the other way around. It’s very simple to test this; try not to think of anything for 30 seconds. If you try it, you will soon realize that the mind has a will of its own and you can’t stop it, not even for 30 seconds. The mind is simply working, regardless of what power you think have over it. When you realize this you can start to see the space between who you are and the mind. And then there are question marks about us being just mind and body, you get a glimpse to a different point of view. This is what we explore in iSyndrome.
Film Courage: Does this relate to the term “self-realized?’
Barak: I can’t say i fully understand what it means to be “self realized.” But I think it’s a state in which one experience the mind as a phenomena that happens to oneself — rather than the mind is oneself. Another way to look at it, is that our mind is free already and the common saying “free your mind” should actually be “ be free of your mind.”
Film Courage: So much of Western culture seeks to beautify the body. How do we make the mind beautiful?
Barak: A beautiful body is a concept of the mind. This concept changes all the time and each generation has a different concept of beauty. Few centuries back being fat considered beautiful. Now days skinny is. So I don’t think we need to make the mind beautiful because it is what enable beauty in the first place. The mind is so vast and mysterious and for me this is what makes it so appealing. It’s mesmerizing like gazing into a black hole.
Film Courage: Have you studied with a Guru? If not, do you have a mentor?
Barak: I’ve been lucky to study with Christopher Titmuss. He is a great teacher and inspiration.
Film Courage: You and your wife’s company Blue Monkeys Productions makes promotional videos, commercials and video clips. How has meditation been beneficial in relation to filmmaking?
Barak: In the making of commercials and promotional videos a lot of time there is pressure and inconvenience. Meditation helps you to be focused and to take things in the right perspective. More than that I feel that it helps cultivate a better attitude toward creation and a to have positive interactions with the people we work with. Perhaps that’s the greatest benefit.
“I think it’s a matter of time until we’ll see more and more “consciousness movies.” People have a strong urge to understand their reality and to do that you have to go through the mind. So, to my eyes, it’s just a matter of time. These movies, like we said before are not bound to a certain genre, and can come in all sizes and shapes. and this is why I can easily see them take place in our culture. I haven’t seen it yet but it seems that the Pixar animation “Inside Out” is also heading that way.” Barak Shavit
Film Courage: How long did it take you to begin writing once you thought of the idea for iSyndrome? How long did it take you to write the script?
Barak: The story of iSyndrome blazed in my head all at once. I had a bunch of ideas of how to translate the very amorphic mind and consciousness concepts into a story in motion and sound. I played with them for a while. One night, my wife and I were driving back from the cinema, and then as we talked, the story of iSyndrome pop in my mind. I saw it from begining to end and liked it.
Barak Shavit
Film Courage: Why are you crowdfunding?
Barak: There are genre films and there are also theme related movies. For example, theme related movies can be a “time traveling movie” or an “end of the world movie.” Theme related movies can be in many different genres while dealing with a specific theme. I feel that there are many people who want to see movies about consciousness, and this audience is just beginning to form. We had some excellent early birds such as “The Matrix” and “Fight Club” but yet they are still not under the theme related title it should be — “consciousness movies.” I feel there a huge audience for “consciousness movies,” and that crowdfunding is a great platform to reach this audience and to connect with it. We are in the campaign a few days now, and already I have received very warm reactions, and I see lots of people reacting with great interest to the theme.
Another thing I love about crowdfunding is that if people like what you do, they support you. This is opposed to what usually happens in Israel where you have to interest government related institutes in order to get funded. Nowdays, with the changing attitude of the minister of culture towards film funds, and the conditioning of fundings to political views, the importance of crowdfunding is greater than ever.
Film Courage: How long have you been planning the Indiegogo campaign for iSyndrome? What went into the pre-planning?
Barak: It took about three months, mainly because you have to start at the end, meaning you have to have everything done before you begin. We formed a crew, casted actors, built a visual language, designed all the posters, had a PR plan and so on. We had everything ready before the movie:)
Film Courage: How long did it take to prepare the excellent pitch video for iSyndrome? What crucial elements did you want in the video?
Barak: Our video has two parts. The first one is a teaser. It was important to show some of the concepts and the vibe of the iSyndrome, and also to have a glimpse of who the characters are and in what world they act. The second part is more on the personal level, reaching out to people and invite them to support and join us to this exciting journey. The teaser was relatively smooth to make. The personal part, however, was a lot harder than it seemed. We actually had to reshoot it… It took way too long…
Film Courage: Once finished, what do you want audiences to gain from watching iSyndrome?
Barak: I’m aiming for a certain experience I want the viewer to have. I think it’s something hard to put in words, and this why I make the movie. Also, I rather have people watching and feeling for themselves instead of saying what I wish the experience should be.
Film Courage: What are your plans once iSyndrome is finished?
Barak: To send it to as many festivals as possible, and to get as many people as possible to see it. At the same time, continue working on two other shorts.
BIO:
Barak Shavit has worked on a number of award winning film and commercial projects. Such as the award winning feature film “It’s never too late,” the short “F is for Falling” for the ABC’s of Death2 by Magnolia Pictures and many others films. He also established Blue Monkeys Productions, where he and his team produce commercials and promotional videos for some of the leading brands world wide, such as Microsoft, IBM, Unilever and many more.
