This Holiday Season we at The Baby Mini Doc Project have a whole lot to be grateful for, and it’s not just cute babies dressed in adorable holiday outfits (though – seriously – this is a huge perk!). The seed of gratitude I’m referring to goes much deeper, and began germinating long before my own son, Inigo, was born.
I remember elbowing my husband, Chris, at one point during the newborn haze with Inigo, whispering, “We should be filming this!” Inigo was fast asleep on my chest, drunk on milk, and making (what seemed to me to be) the cutest snoring sounds ever. How could we not record this?! Chris scrambled half-asleep to grab the camera and started filming. When Inigo woke up, it was my turn to film daddy putting him in the carrier. Then daddy filmed me giving Inigo one of his first baths. We did this back and forth dance, switching between baby and camera all day. It wasn’t until we collapsed in a heap at the end of the day that we realized – wait – at no point did we ever get all three of us together in front of the camera!
My husband and I are both filmmakers and admittedly this was not our finest filmmaking moment. Chris’ background is in editing and producing short form content, mine is in documentary filmmaking. My first documentary was a 30-minute piece about growing up with deaf parents that I produced as the senior project for my undergraduate degree. It was so terrible that it took me seven years to turn it into the award winning film that became “Silent Music” and it motivated me to go back to school to get my Masters in documentary filmmaking. That’s when I made a film about Chris’ family, called “Share and Share Alike”. Notice a pattern here? I went on to work with groundbreaking filmmakers in New York City; I collaborated with pioneering Caribbean filmmakers in Toronto; I worked on high end commercials in Antigua (where I am originally from), but nothing ever gave me the high that capturing intimate family moments did. How on earth was I ever going to bridge this divide between my experience and my passion?
It was that moment, in the quiet of sleep-deprived newborn bliss, when I realized we weren’t capturing our full story, that some clarity came to me: “I should be documenting these magical days in the lives of other families with babies!” And thus The Baby Mini Doc Project was born. Check out some of the footage of my son that fueled this original inspiration HERE.
So this Holiday Season, I’m offering a heartfelt thank you to my family, my husband’s family and my son for indulging (and putting up!) with my constant need to document intimate family moments over the years. Because following that instinct has led me to this beautiful manifestation (I’m also a yoga instructor… so yes… I’m all about manifesting!): The Baby Mini Doc Project. I also have extra special gratitude and love for the wonderful families who have welcomed me into their homes to film with their precious little ones to date, who you can meet in our portfolio HERE.
It is a true honor to witness and make art from these sacred, magical and fleeting first weeks, months, and years with babies and their families. While families often remember to pull out the camera during special occasions, we at The Baby Mini Doc Project get a special amount of joy out of capturing magical family moments as they unfold in every day life. After all, I truly believe being present for these moments is the source of true bliss! So however your family celebrates the holidays, don’t forget to look up from all the merry making to savor the present moments with your loved ones (both the little ones and the big ones!)… and if that ever proves challenging, do get in touch with us at The Baby Mini Doc Project!
Sending much love, warmth, and blissful present moments for the Holidays and Every Day,
Melissa
Founder / Director, The Baby Mini Doc Project
