FILM SYNOPSIS
We ride, we drive, we walk. The daily trip to work is often thought of as lost time, but for many there is profound meaning in the journey.
In “Commuting,” we meet Caroline, Shinji, and Daniel. Caroline is a 46 year old social worker who, following a day of stressful work in the psychiatric ward of a busy hospital, finds peace on her two hour walk home through the streets of Paris. Shinji, a Japanese expat living in the Netherlands, finds deep connection with the country he never wanted to visit through his daily train journey across the Dutch countryside. Daniel reflects on the three hours he spent every day as a twenty-year-old on the bus while living in Los Angeles, where he had found an unlikely dream job.
CREDITS
Director/Editor: Daniel Carlson
Shot by: Daniel Carlson and Julia Jacquette
Archival footage: "You Look Just Like Your Pictures," a film by Jonathan Kahana, courtesy of the Estate of Johathan Kahana
Score: Ekki Maas, Gerald Menke, Olivier Rocabois
Thank you to Jennifer Horne, Shinji Otani, Caroline Hummel, Shawn Hayden, and the Prelinger Archive.
BIO
Daniel Carlson is an American filmmaker and musician working in NYC and Amsterdam. Originally from Chicago, he studied filmmaking with Stan Brakhage and John Luther at the School of the Art Institute before embarking on a more traditional production path, making short documentaries about all manner of subjects.
Carlson also has directed numerous music videos for artists including Elvis Costello and Meshell Ndegeocello. He is currently in post-production on his first feature-length documentary “What Is De Poezenkrant and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?” Carlson is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Kean University, where he teaches film production. As a musician, he has toured extensively in the US, Europe, and Asia. His fifth - and most recent - album “Caught in a Dream” was featured on numerous best-of lists for 2024.
