45 minutes    Colour/B&W    Surround Sound    HD/BluRay/SD Formats

copyright 2009

synopsis

Set to the music of Glass, Preisner, Keating, Prokofiev and Apocalyptica (among others), “Certainty” is an exploration of life, death and climbing trees. Weaving material from the filmmaker's personal archive with the Space Race and nuclear tests, the film is a compelling look into personal loss set against the flux of time and history.

“Certainty” is made up of eleven chapters, each of which examines my first experiences with death, its aftermath and the questions both large and small that resulted. Linking all the stories is my youthful enthusiasm for NASA and the race to the Moon. That heroic narrative is full of nuance, straddling the gap between the nightmare of nuclear destruction and the promise of a shining future among the stars. My understanding of the political purpose behind the Space Program grew at the same time I learned how short life really is and how the pain of loss is tempered by knowledge.

There are only a few spoken words in “Certainty.” Instead of voice over or on camera narration the film uses carefully designed text and subtitles in combination with eleven extraordinary pieces of music (one for each chapter) and a superb and subtle sound design. Each chapter builds, one on the other, through the stories, images, music and sound towards an end that is both subtle and hard in its clarity. The few words that are spoken in “Certainty” belong to President John F. Kennedy:

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. Because that challenge is one that we’re willing to except, one we are unwilling to postpone and one we intend to win.”

Kennedy’s heroic call to action promises hard work and challenges whose ends are found in the act of doing. “Certainty” challenges its viewer to respond to that call on a more modest level: a call to action to live before we are lost in death.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

This film is unlike any I have attempted in the past. Rather than masking memory and emotions I decided to share some of the most difficult and beautiful moments I have experienced. The fall from innocence, the loss of grace, the death of a parent - events that change us forever and are the mark of a generation that is now slowly moving towards death. My childhood is forever linked to Kennedy, NASA and the Apollo missions to the Moon. Like so many others, the promise of that time left me hopeful in outlook and scarred by betrayal. And it was fun, too! Translating these experiences to a visual and sound form determined the shape of “Certainty." It is an unusual film in many ways, yet familiar in others.

"Certainty" speaks directly to the hopes and anxiety of the audience in an exposed and very personal manner. Many attending the test screenings needed to leave immediately after to compose themselves before returning to speak with me. Their own life experience or loss of parents and loved ones had been resonant with what the film was saying. It also spoke of a time when they believed in a future without limits that gradually was taken from them. The film gave them a way to express their loss and their knowledge in a sad if hopeful way. Several have begun projects as a result of seeing "Certainty." What better impact could a filmmaker wish for?

"Certainty" is crafted from found images, archival footage from NASA and the US Department of Energy and material shot specifically for the film. A film without words, it relies instead on image, subtitles and the stunning music of Glass, Preisner, Debussy, Apocalyptica and others. In many ways I wonder at the film, unsure of its future yet thrilled to have made it.

                                                                                David Hauka

                                                                                Director