Through the grainy image of a television, a timid 67-year-old man with a seemingly frail body stands in front a vacation home waiting to leave. Everything is from old home video footage. A voice narrates from behind the camera.
CAMERA MAN
"Well we had a good time Blair."
BLAIR
"Yep."
Both don’t seem to know what to say.
CAMERA MAN
"It’s always good to see you. Some interesting times."
There is awkward silence. The camera man breaks it up.
CAMERA MAN
"Praise God."
This is an old home video of my Grandfather Gordon, and his identical twin brother Blair. I spent hours looking through home VHS tapes one day trying to develop a documentary idea for my UCF senior film, and found this.
Gordon and Blair are both 75 years old. Blair lives a lonely life up at a rehab home in New Jersey, while Gordon lives a more quiet family oriented life down in South Florida.
I could probably count the amount of times I’ve seen Blair on one hand. But, oddly enough, I’ve probably seen every other single person in my family (still alive today) more than a dozen times every year, which includes my Grandfather. Our family is the closest one I know. So as I struggle with an idea for a class project to shoot, I find it interesting these two identical twin brothers find more time to avoid each other then actually see one another. Well at least it seems that way.
So I ask myself, is there an unsettled issue at hand? How about the fact that Blair has kept secrets half of his life? And why does my family seem to forget about Blair? No one goes up to see him, and the majority of them barely even call. Or why I even want to make a film about all this? Am I just making something out of nothing? Disturbing our family's bond together?
The last few questions I seem to ask myself more then the others. But, there is a story here somewhere. Isn’t there?
**
Grandson makes film about home movies he read too much into?
Two twin brothers duke it out at the age of 75?
**
Okay well maybe not those. But there’s something here. Now I just have to try and find what it is exactly.
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About Me
- Corey Frost
- Corey Frost graduated from the University of Central Florida film program. After graduation, he worked the 2010 NFL Season at NFL Films in New Jersey. Most recently Corey has taken a position at NASCAR Media Group in Charlotte, North Carolina. Corey also works as a freelance filmmaker and editor. His most recent works include: "Wind Beneath Our Wings," a 15 minute award winning documentary exploring the 30th anniversary of the Audubon Birds of Prey Center; "The Silver Moon," a narrative short film; and "Close By That Much," a film dissecting his own families relationships.
