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Logline

A feature documentary exploring the lives of two men, as they attempt to overcome their childhood trauma, renounce violence and lead better lives.

Synopsis

Violence is all around us, but something we are very reluctant to try and understand, get to the bottom of. Why? Because it represents the worst of us, as human beings. We are fearful of it, both in our capacity to perpetrate it but also to be the victim of it. Driven by fear, we are able to judge, condemn and punish it, but rarely understand it.

Once committed, it leaves an indelible mark, on the victim and the perpetrator: in the former, as the victim strives to recover and carry on with their life while the pain of the violent act, and its traumatic effect, wreaks havoc and suffering, pervading every aspect of their being; and in the latter, as the perpetrator lives with the consequences of their violence, manifest in guilt, shame, isolation, remorse, judgment and retribution.

Many are not interested in the causes of violence, likely stemming from their core belief that, as mankind is innately violent, it is every man’s responsibility to keep this dark disposition in check, and should he fail to, then he must be cast out, unable to control what the majority of us are able to.

But what if violence is not inherent within us, rather the outcome of life experience. What if it is pain, both emotional and physical, that leads to violence, with some subject to far more than others, and in turn far more likely to perpetrate it?

Both men, subject to serious childhood trauma, went on to commit violence. The film will look at how they, the victims of it, became its perpetrators – but also how both seek to renounce it, confront their victims and transform themselves. Are there steps a man can take, things he can do and feel, to end his cycle of violence and destructiveness?

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Meet the Filmmakers

Nick Taussig – Director/Producer

Nick Taussig is the author of four novels, most recently The Distinguished Assassin. He has also written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Independent and The Huffington Post. He recently directed A Space in Time, a feature documentary response to the diagnosis of his two sons, Theo and Oskar, with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal muscle wasting disease. Supported by the BFI, it was released by Bohemia Media in 2021. He is also a film producer. His recent credits include producer of Stardust (dir. Gabriel Range), Audrey (dir. Helena Coan), the double BAFTA-nominated McQueen (dir. Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui), Churchill (dir. Jonathan Teplitzky), and Lek & the Dogs (dir. Andrew Kotting). In January 2013, he set up Salon Pictures with fellow producer Paul Van Carter.

Riccardo Servini – Director/Editor

Riccardo is a director and editor with over 15 years experience in the industry and a reputation for pulling off big, cinematic ideas on small budgets. Beyond “A Space in Time”, he has directed a wide variety of projects including original short films and music videos, as well as content for live-action PlayStation4 game Erica for Sony. His editing work includes the Sundance selection Dawn of the Deaf, short documentary Silent Roars for BBC4, and commercial work for Google, Adidas and Glory International. He has lived with the chronic illness, Crohn’s Disease, since 2009, and increasingly dedicates his focus to the world of documentary, aiming to help shine a spotlight on extraordinary stories within the disabled community.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.