The Trouble with Being Human These Days takes us on a journey through 21st century Europe as it hurtles on a crash course with what is certain to be an uncertain future. Our guide is Professor Zygmunt Bauman, one of the most influential thinkers of our age, a modest prophet whose 57 books, written over half a century, deal with  complex issues of contemporary consumerism, morality, governance and economics.  

 

Our Vision

 

We are a group of friends united by a passion for current affairs and concerned with the dramatic transformations happening around us on a global scale. The outcome of this economic and political turmoil is difficult to predict, but we all agree we should nevertheless struggle towards a position of awareness and understanding; only then can much needed change come.

Forming a closely-knit film crew, we have devoted the past two years to producing and filming The Trouble with Being Human These Days, a documentary focused on the life and work of Professor Bauman. We've spent thousands of hours on numerous discussions, phone calls and email exchanges in order to follow his incredibly busy diary, managing along the way to organize interviews with a number of experts in the related fields of politics, sociology and art. Our efforts have resulted in over 50 hours of footage and now it is time to roll up our sleeves and complete the third and final stage of the process post-production or editing.   

 

Our Story

The idea of making a film about Zygmunt Bauman first came to us in August 2009, after Grzegorz's visit to Prof. Bauman's house in Leeds. This was when he met Prof. Bauman for the first time and, having taken his photographic portrait, immediately became fascinated by his warm, inspiring personality and his deep, yet accessible wisdom. Grzegorz joined forces with his friend Bartek, who became the director of The Trouble with Being Human These Days, and Prof. Bauman's friend Mark Davies, the current director of the Bauman Institute, who agreed to interview the Professor.

And so, what started as a series of private meetings and casual conversations at the Professor's house, soon grew into a two-year journey leading the film crew from lecture to lecture, all attended by numerous crowds as interested in Zygmunt Bauman's theories as were the crew themselves.

 

The Impact

Our film presents Zygmunt Baumans unique ideas alongside his extraordinary life story in a thought-provoking and visually compelling way. It is a bold attempt at characterizing our contemporary, increasingly globalized, society through a prism of Zygmunt Baumans concept of liquid modernity.

For decades, Zygmunt Bauman has been painstakingly trying to disperse the darkness surrounding each individual in Western consumerist society. He has been relentlessly pointing out the traps of free market economics and unearthing  ugly flaws in the system. Despite the sense of irony he is famous for, the Professor is in fact a passionate defender of key core values which are the prerequisites of a more equal and at heart happier society. He praises these ideas in a way which helps us see the value they add to our lives and gives us hope that living by them is in fact possible.

Our film serves to popularize Zygmunt Bauman's school of thought and to share this hope with as many people as possible.

There is a big demand for serious discussion regarding the current state of our global society and we believe our documentary can become a valuable addition to this debate. Even now, many people from all around the world have already contacted us to express their wish to see the film as soon as it is ready.

 

What We Now Need & What We Are Offering

 

"Questioning the ostensibly unquestionable premises of our way of life is arguably the most urgent of services we owe our fellow humans and ourselves"  - Zygmunt Bauman (Globalization: The Human Consequences)

 

We believe the strength of Zygmunt Bauman's argumentation in our documentary can help audiences start asking these questions. Our wish is to engage you in the process of questioning our world and its ways, a process which can change not only your life, but also the lives of others around you.

Please join us in this journey! 

During the production stage we have been supported by the Polish Cultural Institute in London and the Bauman Institute at the University of Leeds, using our own resources to fill gaps in public funding, but now that we have finished filming and prepared a rough cut we need to focus on the final phase of editing and making the film widely available. This is a costly process which involves:

  making alternative versions of the edit,

  purchasing rights to use archive footage,

  polishing and refining the finished cut

  adding complex colour and filtering effects

  producing impressive graphics,

  adding professional sound mixes,

  paying for an original music score and covering performers' fees

  producing a professional HD master tape which will allow the film to be screened around the world

 

Our aim is to raise $9,000 to make the post-production process happen and to create a finished version of our movie. This will not, however, be possible without your help and support.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you believe in our film, please spread the word about it! Let know as many people as you know about the film! You can use the buttons above to post our IndieGoGo page on Facebook or to share it on Twitter. Or, if you prefer, please email friends, family or anyone else you think might be interested.

Feel free to do whatever you think might help us finish the project!

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Thank you for your time today and we hope you enjoyed reading about our film.