It was all too real – sitting on a camping chair inside Adventure HQ while the audience deposited their phones inside a cooler box to “disconnect” from the digital world for the next few hours. There were some who were hiding their phones in their bags, afraid to be away from them and some were more than eager to feel what the star and director of the film experienced – to be completely disconnected with the world and so they handed over their smartphones to the box. This was when Project Pause began to roll.
The film is a self-made documentary about Wouter Kingma’s decision to disconnect from the world – no emails, no laptops, no WiFi, clients, calls, everything that there is about communication for a week to see how it feels to be away from the gadgets we use every day. In his own words the film is more about his pursuit of “having nothing to do, no to-do lists and just having fun”. And I for one believe that he made that point quite clear in the film.
With only a camera and a satellite phone (which was never even used) as his only gadgets, he stayed for a whole week in the Empty Quarter, cooking his own meals, reading books, writing, sleeping, biking, running and even braving a sandstorm — things that according to him he didn’t have the time to enjoy that much back in civilization. He’s very proud to say that “I read books, and I normally fall asleep when I try to read books, but being there is just different, there’s so many things to do and so many time and it felt great to be able to enjoy myself away from everything.”
I love how the film becomes a call to disconnect from technology and social media without it being its primary goal. Wouter’s goal was just to have to do things and enjoy and it just so happened that the film’s humility worked very well as it promoted such a strong message – a message that is highly relevant today.
Those who will see this short film should expect to be taken away by the film’s simplistic beauty. The daily documentation of the actor’s activities in the Empty Quarter is a must-see as he explores and finds peace within himself in a world where it its quite difficult to find because of all the external factors that surround our daily lives. The film fiddles lightly on the heartstrings – it’s not a tearjerking drama, but it’s more of a gentle reminder that we are all human and that sometimes, we deserve to do the things that we want to do away from the corporate world, the technology world and all other distractions there may be. In conclusion, this film is a kind reminder – to all of us, that sometimes, all we need is nature and some time away from our gadgets and we’re in for the experience of a lifetime.
Directed and Starred By: Wouter Kingma
Words By: Keith Perena
Photos By: Wouter Kingma
