Fatima’s Ghosts - Director’s Statement

Fatima's Ghosts is a uniquely American Story. It examines how, in this decade, it is the appearance or mirage of truth that carries more validity than any actual truth; that what we have been told or otherwise may think has happened is far more important to us than what has actually happened.

The film was produced in competition for the 48 Hour Film Project: Detroit on the weekend of July 18th, 2008. 48 hours to create an entire film from script to final cut was an intriguing idea and a challenge I couldn't pass up.

Even more intriguing, perhaps, were the possibilities presented by an old abandoned piano warehouse that I suddenly realized I had access to. This incredible location and all of its filmic possibilities would be the true genesis of the story; a story which I completed only four hours after the beginning of the competition.

Pre-Production meetings in that empty warehouse gave rise to the film itself, evolving from scraps of paper, old napkins and yellow legal pads. It began with simple ideas about imagery and creating a feeling. Characters themselves soon developed to bring about these feelings. Dialogue began to flow from the characters which then developed into scenes and finally an entire script.

It is a rare situation indeed, when one can be surrounded by as many talented filmmakers, so attuned and in touch with their individual crafts, as I found myself that weekend. It was clear from the outset that every member of the cast and crew had a deep appreciation and understanding of the language and the history of film. We all reached deep within our souls and far beyond what we knew our abilities to be (on an impossibly tight schedule and on the hottest day of the summer). The result of it all is a film that almost precisely matches my initial vision for it.

Joseph Johnston

Director, “Fatima’s Ghosts”

July 2008