I Lived in Japan and the Netherlands

Since I was the winner of the Ottawa Filmmakers’ Weekly Film Challenge for week 32, I got to choose the theme for the following week. I chose the theme “Foreign Languages” because I thought it would be fun to make a film in a different language. I’ve been learning Japanese and Dutch ever since I came back from living abroad in Japan and the Netherlands, so I wanted to test my skills and write a script in both languages. At first, I tried coming up with a storyline that incorporated both languages, but time started running out and I was left with only one day to submit my film! So instead, I decided to use old footage from my time abroad and turn that into a short film – documentary style. I quickly wrote a script in Japanese and Dutch that I would narrate over the videos. I basically recounted my time studying abroad in Tokyo and threw in shots of my favourite moments from my exchange. Then I went on to talk about my time living in the Netherlands and compiled a bunch of videos from my travels around Europe. I had a lot of fun going through old footage and it made me miss traveling and visiting my friends so much. Seeing all my friends’ faces again and all the fun times we had together made me feel so nostalgic (oh the memories!!!). I am so glad I made vlogs throughout my travels so I could relive all the fun and exciting moments years later. My Japanese and Dutch skills still need a lot of work though, but lately I’ve been studying every day. I hope I’ll be able to travel back to these countries once Covid-19 is over, so I need to make sure my language skills are still up to par!

To watch more videos about my time abroad, visit my second YouTube channel – Jazzy Chan.