Christmas With Dad

Christmas With Dad

By Connor Mccormack

'Christmas with dad' is a short documentary about a 23 year old called AJ, who is a father of 8 children, 2 being biologically related. The short film is based on a council estate in Bristol, a poverty stricken area, and throughout the film you get a clear insight into the violence and difficulty this lifestyle brings to the families, and the impact it has on the children.

The main focus of the film is on the dad. On first appearance you would not sympathize fully with someone of this nature, but as the documentary goes on, the viewer gets a bigger in site to the family. The viewer can clearly see the struggles with controlling 8 children, and how they have tried their hardest to give the children a perfect Christmas. Jealousy surrounding the family is clear, mainly with the oldest son, and the documentary delves into how AJ attempts to help his oldest step son with his drug habit. Towards the end of the story, AJ talks about the possibility of him loosing his site in the next 2 years, with his only wish to be able to see his new child being born. This makes the viewer sympathize with AJ, broadening your mind into a bigger in site, and not just basing impressions on image.   

The whole story is based around the home, giving a good in site to the viewer and sets the scene, so you can relate to the characters on a more personal level.The shots are fairly basic, with no special effects or creative shots being captured, giving the film a very down to earth feel, due to the story being the most important factor. The dad acts as the narrator in a lot of the film, when explaining each of his children, clips of each child is shown on screen, with him narrating. The sound throughout is basic, with the same tune being played in the majority of it. I think this is effective, because the main aim of the documentary is not visuals or dramatic sound, its the story that Connor Mccormack wanted to capture the viewer.