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A Bird's-Eye View of Growing Up

Jul 28, 2015 | 831 videos
Video by Mishka Kornai

The experience of getting older is a nebulous thing—life is unpredictable and has many chapters. Mishka Kornai's documentary attempts to encapsulate what it's like to grow up, using testimonies from 75 individuals. The documentary traces the arc of a life in soundbites: being a child, turning 15, going to college, getting married and then divorced, and experiencing the death of a parent. All the scenes are captured from directly above the subjects using cameras on either a crane or a drone. "Growing up is like your reflection in a mirror becoming clearer and crisper as time goes by," one subject says. "To flower, that's my idea of growth," another adds. "You come out as yourself."

This film was commissioned by the television brand VIZIO. To see more of Kornai's work, visit his website.

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Author: Nadine Ajaka

About This Series

A showcase of cinematic short documentary films, curated by The Atlantic.