Crank up – “Walk Together”

Finally, finally, and finally, I could finish shooting for the film “Walk Together” the other day. I really thank my students and teachers who acted in scenes and helped us for the film. Without the help of others, I wouldn’t be about to complete my duty. And also I can’t help feeling that God assisted us because in the original stories that students brought me, there were a couple of hearing boys appearing on the stage. However we are all deaf except teachers so practically it wasn’t very possible for us to make it, but what surprised me was that at the beginning of this term new young hearing teachers were assigned to our school, needless to say students didn’t know that they were coming. And they came to us and students bought the stories with hearing boys and we made the film. What is that? You may say “it’s by accident”. Yes, it would be true. Or you may say “Lucky!” Oh, very right. Or you may say “It’s God’s will”. Well, I don’t belong to any religious organization or institute, but I have my own religious sense in my mind and can’t help feeling that it was God who sent us the young hearing teachers to our school for the film and made me work on this film. Although I took the role of “Director”, I didn’t feel that “I” made it and in truth I would be just a marionette of God. Namely I acted as a director in the film called “Making the film: Walk Together”.

And on the other hand, it was really tough days for me. In Ghana, everything is not organized and people are not punctual at all, and what’s worse, people don’t keep promise, saying “sick”, “forgot”, “another work” etc. I would say that it was a kind of miracle to finish shooting with them within the time given. I talked to a new hearing teacher about the film and his role and explained what he would do in each scene with the document of scenes in order to get his agreement and he accepted it. But a week later he came to me and said that he didn’t want to act because he was supposed to say “I love you”. Needless to say, I explained about it and he agreed to that but he said he didn’t want to say it. I was really surprised and a bit angry but I persuaded him anyway. Everything was set up and shooting had started then, how could I explain it to my students and cancel making the film?   

And another hearing teacher didn’t show up to the school on a shooting day, though I promised with him about the shooting in the previous day. When I called him, he said “sick”. I knew that he hadn’t been very well, but it was very obvious that he picked up my call outside because of the noise that I heard on the call. I would stay at home to rest when sick, but he might pick it up on his way to hospital. However he could’ve called me in the morning if he went to hospital. I prepared everything and waited for him, but suddenly I had to cancel the shooting on that day due to his “sickness”. There were some other difficulties with them in shooting. However it doesn’t mean that they’re incapable or incompetent or inferior, they’re not used to such organized behaviors for a project with other people. In Ghana everyone is easygoing; no one has sense of time; everything is unorganized, and people don’t notice that they’re all being lazy in the sense of developed countries. So I can’t complaint to them; they just acted as ordinary Ghanaians. It was nice reminisces with them now.

My students did a really good job in acting, shooting, and editing. Basically I got them to work all the processes to make a film because it’s a part of education and it’ll be a good experience for their future. I really enjoyed myself in shooting with them and now it is placed in the album of my heart. Yesterday students have all gone home for a vacation and I completed all my duties. I’ll leave here on Monday and arrive in Japan on December 25, 2013. Thank you all and I thank the God of Ghana.