Jesse Van Den Dungen - My Radiation Treatment (2007)

 

Artist's Statement

I was inspired to make the film by my experience of being treated and by the great staff at Peter Mac. The film was edited around the footage that I was able to take when I was treated.

The choice of having an American voiceover, obviously different to my own, was made to diffuse the heaviness of the film's content, as it is done to mimic the U.S. TV series 'The Wonder Years'.

Judge's Comments

by Deb Verhoeven, Associate Professor of Screen Studies, RMIT University

This short film captivates with its droll observational humour. Using a voiceover that sounds faintly reminiscent of The Wonder Years and other hokey, heart-warming American sitcoms, this is a simply told story that quietly gets under your skin.

The film takes the day-to-day events of Jesse's final cancer treatment and twists them around, giving them a sense of outer-worldliness. From the drive into hospital to what we hope are final goodbyes the film puts us in Jesse's shoes. This is particularly so when the camera is positioned inside a radiotherapy machine, a scene with a disconcerting science-fiction feel to it.

When Jesse's American alter ego describes with ‘hopeful sadness' his hope that he will never see the staff at Peter Mac again we can all relate.

The filmmaker's ability to achieve an almost whimsical tone in circumstances that would appear to be anything other than whimsical is inspiring. ‘My Radiation Treatment' is an outstanding film.

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