Imagine getting chucked out of class for not concentrating when your mind was exploding with ideas. Your struggle to put pen to paper is rewarded with detentions and exclusions. Repetition is an attempt of support with no value to your understanding of the question. This form of education drives you further away from institutions, never to regain your belittled confidence in communication again.

This documentary offers a glimpse into the confusing world of people failed by the institution supposed to serve us all, and the examination of a solution so simple it could save thousands of pounds of taxpayer’s money.

More background info

Picture This is a documentary film project led by Falmouth-based students Dan Evans and Richard Blake. ‘Our work is distinctive in its approach to personify an everyday problem in a fresh way. We want to relate real life stories that not only grip audiences but empower them as well.’

Dan and Richard have been working alongside Oliver West since 2008 promoting his book In Search Of Words and documenting workshops and conferences in order to publicise his visual learning techniques. In February, Dan and Rich started shooting their first full length documentary uncovering the problems that face those with dyslexia in everyday life. They met a vast array of dyslexic sufferers while seeking to gain an understanding of what it’s like to live with dyslexia. They would then introduce Oliver West to see whether his unique visual learning techniques could help someone who has been failed by previous education.

They chose Duane Davis, a 16 year old from Penryn, Cornwall, who had been out of school and in trouble with the police for the last four years. Duane is chronically dyslexic, which he and his mum, Maggie, believe to be the sole reason he was ushered out of school with empty promises of getting the help he needs. Frustrated with the position he has unwillingly found himself in, Duane feels stifled by his incapability to communicate and truly express himself. His lack of schooling has left him unemployable, and he seems unable to shake his bad reputation with the police. Is it possible that Oliver’s simple technique of folding up an A4 piece of paper can help young offenders like Duane?

The documentary is moving into its final stages of production, and will be complete by May 2009. In the meantime here is a brief trailer to give you a better picture about what they are doing…

 

Videos (click on the thumbnail to view the video below)

Teaser	Teaser 2	Final Film