"Standing on the Shoulders of Giants"
In honour of International Women’s Day, built around the unfiltered memories of their team, The Women Who Made Us is a touching monument from Rocking Horse Pictures that serves as a love letter to those women in our lives we ought to have written to a long time ago. It’s also part masterclass in how to translate those small gestures of life, the ones that make us who we are, to screen. We love this video, so allow us a few words.
Rocking Horse have history in crafting story driven by themes of philanthropy. So, by the point we arrive at this piece, regardless of whether we come as producer, prospective client or brand film data cruncher, there’s something here to digest for each of us. For example, if you’ve come to Showcase seeking inspiration for that troublesome upcoming pitch or project, from a production standpoint we should note that this is in essence a collage. A patchwork of just the right creative colours that allows personal story to connect.
The savvy decision to incorporate the most relatable visual tools and techniques like home footage, montage and stills mean we immediately have skin in the game. Afterall, these journaling methods are known to us since we’ve all taken pictures, haven’t we? And when we take them, they’re typically of things that matter to us most, aren’t they? Combined with a crisply cut soundtrack that lands it’s beats in narrative time, audiences are invited to step into a reflective space, recalling the shapes of those someones standing behind cameras in their own memories, shutters a-clicking. Then naturally we say, “well, who were those people?”, “what influence did they have on me?”. This is where film ‘making’ dovetails into message.
Most of us are serendipitous enough to have, or have had mothers, in the primary sense of the word. Some of us might simply have known mother-figures, while others may count on sisters, or friends who have occupied the role. Matriarchal connection alone is not enough to quantify the impact of women on a life and Rocking Horse prompt us to consider this point in terms of influence. What significance have they had? The innovators, creators, orators, doctors, nurses, educators, psychiatrists of our memories. It’s powerful stuff, and inspiring.
What’s clear here is that every beat in this piece has been curated, considered, hand-picked. Just like the care most receive in formative years. There’s another article to be written on this film that explores the themes of hard work, friendship and love too, but I feel urging you to experience it for yourself is all that should be done here. I trust your subjectivity to know you better than I ever would. Those are, however, stand out reasons why this film is so moving.
Gratitude is an emotion we all carry in complex forms, though never take nearly enough time to acknowledge or examine. The Women Who Made Us offers solid grounds for why we should. Be it the sister who became the friend, or the friend who became the sister. An aunt who acted the uncle, or niece who schooled our understanding of strength by going their own way. In the end, these are our own little histories, and we should be thankful for the ones who gave them to us.
It may even have been the mother who often sat into the wee hours teaching you how to approach a blank page, when you just couldn’t get the words out.
