Wimborne filmmakers hope to show what ‘dementia’ can feel like

Memory Boom is a documentary by Dorset filmmakers Antosz Wojcik and Ksenia Glenn.

Sleepwalker Studios Creative blur image of a man wearing glasses looking down at the ground — Memory Boom is a documentary by Dorset filmmakers Antosz Wojcik and Ksenia Glenn.

The makers of a new documentary have used destroyed 16mm film to capture “what dementia feels like inside”.

Memory Boom is a Dorset-based film by Antosz Wojcik and Ksenia Glenn that explores the impact of a neurological condition.

“Ksenia and I suffered from senile dementia,” Mr. Wojcik said.

He said he hopes it brings viewers closer to the sense of “disorientation” they witness their loved ones go through.

The actual footage was shot between the 1930s and 1960s

Sleepwalker Studios Image of a man holding a fish aboard what looks like a ship — The actual footage was shot between the 1930s and 1960s

“We can gain some understanding with such a difficult thing that people in our lives are probably going through,” Mr. Wojcik said.

A pair of filmmakers from Sleepwalker Studios in Wimborne were commissioned to make the piece by a cinema in Exeter who unearthed archive footage.

The Phoenix Cinema found some 16mm film in its basement and decided to digitize it, Ms. Glenn said.

The film, which showed actual footage from the 1930s to the 1960s, fell into decline and decline.

Among the damaged footage were images of unidentified people going on vacation and traveling the world.

The Exeter Phoenix cinema in Devon found destroyed films in its basement.

Sleepwalker Studios A boy in a hat holding snakes and also covered in snakes. There are red dots on the front of the image. — The Exeter Phoenix cinema in Devon found destroyed films in its basement.

“When I was going through the archival footage, it made me think, what do these images look and feel like, and what might they remind people of?” asked Mrs. Glen.

She said they looked to the local community for inspiration.

“When we showed the archive footage to people in Dorset and Devon, it reminded them of their grandparents living with dementia and that’s how the initial concept for the film came about,” she said.

The filmmakers said that working with the damaged material was “difficult” but “fun”.

Sleepwalker Studios Creative curl image on screen — The filmmakers said that working with the damaged material was “difficult” but “fun”.

After that stroke of inspiration, it took the team just over six weeks to put the production together.

She said it was “difficult” but “fun” working with the damaged frame and trying to piece it back together.

They used voiceovers and other creative effects along with archival footage to show what they hope is how dementia affects a person’s brain.

The film will premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on November 22, before showing at the Phoenix Cinema in Exeter, followed by other local cinemas in Devon and Dorset.