How does a beautiful idea begin? When does that idea become art? Eyelids, a short film shown this year at Cannes and the Chicago International Film Festival, began in 2007 as a doodle on a post-it note. Brad Bischoff, a student at Columbia College and the co-founder of the production company, Look at Rubbish, first envisioned Eyelids as a Valentine's Day poem for his girlfriend. As friends from Look at Rubbish got involved, the project grew to include a children’s book and eventually the short film. The result of this collaborative process is a touching story narrated by Bischoff’s grandfather and filmed on black and white 16mm film.
Eyelids is a tender story about a boy who wishes to live on the eyelids of a girl he likes. From this intimate vantage point he will watch her life unfold: holding open tired eyes, wiping away tears, and painting peaceful dreams at night. While watching the film last week at the Chicago International Film Festival I was taken by its unabashed kindness. Here is a straightforward, albeit extraordinary, tale of love and devotion with not a whiff of cynicism. What a pleasant surprise.
Ours can be a fearful and wary time. We distrust our leaders and question the simplicity of religious doctrine and political ideology. Bill Maher, John Stewart and Michael Moore make us laugh while simultaneously affirming our worst suspicions. These realties make a film like Eyelids either the height of naivet? or a glimpse of something so genuine that its existence catches us unprepared. Our judgment may say less about the film than the reality seen through our own eyelids.
Eyelids
