Salt of the Earth

Dear Sephi,

A film like this only gets made once, for one man, on one night. Being trusted with it means a lot, and I'll treat it with the same care as my own work.

Thank you for sending everything over. I've read the brief cover to cover and I love it even more now. You've already done the hard part: the story, the people and the moments that matter are all there.

This is a living document, so it'll change as we talk. It covers both options with prices, how I'd make the film, a few thoughts on the brief, and what I need from you to hit the dates.

One quick question before anything else. Your brief has the party on the 8th or 9th of December. Is 1 December a hard deadline, or a buffer before the night? If there's a little room, Option A can get the full film to you in time for the party itself.

Two ways to make it.

Both are proper story films, made to the same standard. The difference is length and time.

A word on budget

I'll be straight with you. Option A sits above your $10,000 budget, and Option B sits around it. Made to this standard, around a two week trip, this means a lot of late nights and weekends, and I'd rather give you an honest number than squeeze it down and cut corners you'd notice on the night. If budget is the deciding factor, we can scope Option B to the lower end of its range, and it'll still be a properly finished film I'd be proud of.

The final figure within each range depends on the scope we agree, mainly the final shot count and how many faces we need to build.

The deposit is front loaded for a reason. The first stretch is where I'll be running several models side by side, with lots of casting tests and explorations, so most of the tool spend happens early. Starting on the 5th also gives me the days I need to build the faces and the sets properly before I fly.

How I'd make Avi's film.

Casting comes first. Nothing gets generated in bulk until you've looked at every face and said yes.

The age ladder

For Avi, Shlomit and Joseph I build an age ladder: one locked portrait for each decade of their lives, taken from your photos and stepped forward or back a decade at a time. Each person gets a proper character sheet with front, three quarter and side views, plus their wardrobe for that era.

The face I'll spend the most time on is Avi today. Everyone at the party will be comparing it to the man sitting next to them, so it has to be right, and it stays hidden until the grandchildren run through the door.

The table

The table is the heart of your story, and I love it. I'll build the room once, as a master set, with the camera in one fixed position, then dress each era into that same frame. The light, the colour, the length of the table and the view through the window all change, but the two seats in the middle never move. When the camera finally lifts away at the end, it should feel like letting out a breath.

Option A: the trailer, then the full film

This one turns the party into a premiere. Fitting for a man who's spent his life booking everyone's flights, right? The trailer isn't a separate project. It's cut from real shots of the full film, so every hour spent on it moves the main film forward too.

Option B: the 3 to 4 minute film

A shorter film still has to feel complete, so I wouldn't just trim the long one. I'd tell the story through its strongest beats: the cold open, Szczecin and the first lift to the window, the table across the eras, the wedding, 1973 and the empty chair, Sephi's birth and the question, the suitcase and Taiwan, Shlomit's line, the grandchildren at the door and "This is it." The radio, the ping pong table and the army thread would be the first things I'd add back if you upgrade later.

The closest thing I've made

Priority Seat started as a few sentences my dad told me about something he saw at a bus stop. Making one man instantly recognisable at two very different points in his life was one of the biggest challenges in it.

My thoughts on the brief.

The big ideas are really strong. A few I'd keep exactly as they are, and a few I'd change to make it a better film in the time we have.

Voices and language.

Nobody on screen speaks, so there's no lip syncing and no need to clone anyone's voice. Everything you hear will be real.

I'd narrate in whichever language you actually speak with your dad. Everything spoken gets subtitled in the other language, and the titles and cards appear in both.

From Thursday to the premiere.

I'm away with my family from 11 to 25 November, so the work happens either side. The two dates that matter most are the 5th, when we lock in, and the 10th, when you approve the faces.

A bit of trust, and a few things from you.

To hit these dates I'll need some creative freedom. It's the difference between something rushed and something that feels made.

What I need from you