“Home is a refuge from the storm” – a place where everything is going to be alright”
Living in a cabin in the woods on your own must be the ultimate dream for anyone who’s ever found herself sick and tired of the rough-and-tumble of living in a city. Put aside the plethora of cultural activities, the job selection, a large dating pool and more choice to everything, the urban landscapes offer so much more than just the fun side of it.
There’s a lot one can get fed up with; car horns, the constant noise, the rude intolerant people, the man-made dirt and endless air pollution, traffic jams, the screaming and the vulgar side of human nature when too many people live in a confined space. Add to that an ever-increasing volume of information on just about anything; one just wants to escape the hell out of wherever they found themselves in this modern age of digital information overload.
‘Coffer‘ – a 6 minutes short documentary by production company Lost & Found Films, shows just what happens when one runs out of fucks to give. Or rather, saving your fucks for something worthwhile instead.
John Coffer is a tintype photographer who decided to live in a cabin he’s built himself just outside of New York. He’s been living that way for over 25 years, and has built himself a name, as it keeps popping up whenever one searches for a traditional tintype photography method. The end result is satisfying – living on his turf in his own terms, becoming a law unto himself without crossing anyone’s path. Perfect life if you ask me.
Recent titles that recall the call of nature such as ‘Into the Wild‘, ‘Tracks‘, ‘The Kings of Summer‘ and many more suggest a tendency, or a trend for a new, old human experience; reconnecting with nature. Such motions suggest that mankind seems to have temporarily lost touch with its own authenticity, and needs to search for new ways to prove oneself – and finds it in a setting where we are stripped off of various technology we are used to and can’t live without.
The story of John Coffer reminds us that at the core of human authenticity lies the need to create, and sometimes, we just need to exit the noise of the man-made world in order to hear ourselves better – and find inner peace.
COFFER
Produced and directed by: Ben Wu and David Usui (of Lost & Found Films)
Presented by: This Must Be The Place
Featuring: John Coffer
Music by: Michael Hurley & Marisa Anderson
