"A Conversation With My 12 Year Old Self"

When Jeremiah McDonald was 12 years old, he filmed himself having one side of a conversation with his future self. Now, twenty years later, he finishes the conversation.

I'm writing some of my thoughts about the film below the embedded player. If you'd rather just let the film speak for itself, feel free to skip reading the rest of this post after you watch. I won't be offended.



I couldn't possibly love this short film more than I do. I can relate pretty easily to the themes explored, and I love it from a filmmaking point of view as well. The way Jeremiah used the twenty year old video (certain parts of which I'm sure were taken out of their original context) to create this conversation is inspiring. He has used the footage a few times before, but I think this time he really met the potential of the whole concept and made something truly special with it. It's funny, charming, and even incredibly touching and thought provoking. Especially for being only 3 minutes and 47 seconds long. I love the contrast in personality between the 32 year old and 12 year old Jeremiah. It perfectly illustrates the kind of change one goes through as they leave childhood and enter adulthood. The 32 year old Jeremiah's performance is also brilliant. I love the way he seems so impatient and even slightly bitter toward his younger self for being responsible for how he turned out. My favorite part and easily the most poignant part is when the 12 year old Jeremiah holds up a piece of artwork he did of a cartoon rabbit named Roy (that seems to be inspired by Roger Rabbit) and asks his older self if he still draws Roy. It's kind of heartbreaking.

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