In the middle of a laundry we discover an improvised mechanic's workshop. An old man talks with his tools. His son invades the space wanting to film him and at the same time making an unusual proposal: to rebuild a motorcycle together. The proposal disconcerts the father who gradually allows the son to enter his world. The son begins to delve deeper into questions and issues that go from the mechanical to the personal and open up seemingly hidden conflicts. Other characters also appear; the siblings, the mother and all seem to live the consequences of an obsessive and apparently absent father. The son does a patient, constant job of communicating and trying to understand his father and his obsession with motorcycles that has always caused a distance between them, as well as conflicts with the other members of the family.
Is it possible to restore a relationship like repairing a machine?
For as long as I can remember, my father took refuge in his workshop to restore old motorcycles. It was never a business, he didn't ride them, he didn't show them off and that was always an enigma to me. In my memories he was a stern and inflexible man with my upbringing and that of my siblings. As a result of mutual misunderstanding and impossible dialogue, I lost the confidence to speak freely with my father and we drifted apart. Years later, when we met again in Ecuador, my father gave me the first motorcycle he bought and that gesture, which I did not understand, was the impulse that led me to approach him and try to establish a dialogue. By doing so with film as my tool of expression, changes, new perspectives and questions arose as I filmed: Who is my father and who am I? If I understand his passion, will I be able to understand him, will I learn something about myself?
Perhaps the most important question is: Will spending time with my father and restoring an antique motorcycle with him allow us to restore our eternally conflicted relationship?
I think it is important to capture this direct and visceral reality with the documentary, which for me is the precise tool. At the same time, I hope that my questions and the situations that arise from them can allow the viewers to project themselves and generate emotions and reactions to their own conflicts. The film will then acquire its true value and communicate about the universality of human relationships, around themes such as growing up, becoming an adult, re-communicating, forgiving and reconciling.
Creation Documentary
Stage: Production
Country: Ecuador
Languages: French - Spanish
Director: Emmanuel Blanchard
Producer: Julia Silva
Production House: The Invisible Republic
Awards:
ICAC Documentary Development Fund 2018
Bolivia Lab 2019
AcampaDoc 2020
IFCI 2020 Documentary Production Fund
MOTORCYCLE FEVER is in production. We film the movie in Quito, Ecuador, with a small team and in the midst of the Covid-19 emergency worldwide, facing a new way of making cinema. We are currently looking for partners, co-producers, distributors in Ecuador, France, Canada and the rest of the world. Premiere scheduled for 2022.
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