About
For the last months we have been working on the script for the film together, combining a lot of our experiences and skills to create a story we believe can make an impact.
“We follow Raj, a young Indian student delivery worker for dingzapp.de who gets
a letter from the immigration authorities which threatens his visa status. In order
to secure his stay in Germany, he must get a paper from his boss… but who is his
boss? We follow Raj through Berlin as he tries to
find out who he works for.”
The resulting 20 minute film will be used as a tool for organizing discussions about working-class life, migrant labour, and solidarity. Through screenings and community events, the film will act as a springboard for wider political conversations and aims to serve as a means of empowerment for delivery workers.
How did we get here?
After a couple of months of writing our story, we began brainstorming what our fictional company (or Fompany) should be like. We had so many ideas but after a while we managed to get it down to a few key elements. Many things stuck, one thing was the “predictive” ordering element. Or something that is so fast, it is basically NOW. There is no end to hyper-consumeristic-convenience…
From our company design sessions we also created the name Dingzapp. One of the main conditions for creating this name was it had to sound annoying. And we are quite happy with the result. We will seamlessly fit into the market.
After we had the name, a couple of random brainstorming sessions brought us to the logo…a mix of a bell for ding and a lightning bolt for zapp. We were lucky and very grateful to have a designer fix up our design and make the bell look less like a flying condom rocket. Can it be unseen?
Finally the colour scheme was settled upon with much deliberation. But we think it looks pretty cool.
As part of this project, it is important that we can participate as much or as little as we want (or are able), depending on our capacities and our dreams and wishes. The aim here is to enjoy whichever part we wish to partake in—from learning about camera and acting, to teaching and guiding, to sharing stories and experiences—so that everyone can really feel a part of it.
The film which we create together is the object around which we organise ourselves, and in this process we can connect and learn from each other (in more ways than expected and anticipated). Not only have delivery workers learnt more about filmmaking, but filmmakers have been brought closer to the realities of the working conditions of delivery workers.
We have received funding to hold workshops to train people who are not familiar with filmmaking to participate together on a film set. People with more experience and knowledge in their specific areas will pass on expertise, to show people how they can be behind the camera,recording the sound and empowering people in whichever way possible to contribute, striking a balance to ensure the final film will remain professional. Having the crew act more as mentors will act to break down the typical hierarchical structures in filmmaking.
Well, that’s all for now. If you are interested to learn more about our project, simply write us a mail by filling out the contact form (yes, that part is real!) or email info(at)dingzapp.de and someone will get back to you shortly.
