Photo Live Issue 3

Q: Mr Baptist, why is it important
we keep Polaroid alive?
The more connected we are, the
smaller the world seems to get and
the less we really experience. When
is the last time you got lost, really
lost? I can’t remember.
I really enjoy the fast moving digital
age but I’m also old school, in
a sense that I really have strong
memories of writing pen-pals and
waiting for an actual letter to arrive
weeks later, discovering weird
records on your own in a record
shop or winding up in alien places
because you just walked miles in
one direction because you felt like
it. Embracing the unexpected and
having the time to really take in
experiences are things that I feel are
lacking nowadays.
Polaroid pictures are tangible, draw
you in and compel you to think
about the moment. At the same time
the results are unexpected, blurring
fantasy and memories over time.
Q: People love to hold a printed
photograph, how do you
communicate that feeling in
your film?
Holding it and sharing the moment
is very important, the social aspects
of it. In Instant Dreams we see for
instance one of the characters,
Christopher Bonanos a writer at New
York magazine, casually shooting
pictures on his SX-70 camera at a
party and handing them out to the
guests. While the picture develops in
their hands interesting unexpected
conversations start to happen. One
could say that the chemical reactions
happening within those who partake
in this ritual mirror those happening
within the Polaroid pictures it self.
Q: Tell us a bit about how the
project got started? What was
the driving force?
It all started with coming to terms
with my desire to keep on shooting
my films on S16mm celluloid while
moving to digital.
Trying to keep that feel of cinematic
mystery alive in a digital world
using artificial means. Secondly the
realization that many people do the
same, putting filters on their digital
photos to make them feel more
‘analog’ or ‘real’.
I saw an interesting way to use the
story of Polaroid, it’s invention and
the love people have for it, as a
metaphor to tell a bigger story about
our relationship with photographic
images and our desire to capture our
dreams.
Why do imperfect images feel more
real to us than accurate captured
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ones from your latest device? Or
what if I told you the concepts for
the Iphone and Instagram where
invented in the 70’s? These are some
of the ingredients that triggered me
to make this film.
Q: What do you think of
photography today and film
making in general, are we
relying too much on post
processing and special effects?
I think, the more digitally tinkered
with films or photographs become
the less the experience affects us.
At the same time there is a growing
longing for authenticity in our digital
world. Thus we ironically try to
artificially create it.
Q: What’s your next project?
I’m shooting a documentary for
television about show-wrestling in
The Netherlands and contemplating
transitioning into feature films as a
director and looking for a suitable
project to direct.
www: instantdreamsmovie.com
Instagram: instantdreamsmovie
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