Instant Dreams
Instant Dreams
| 14 December 2017 (USA)
Instant Dreams Trailers

There could hardly be a more telling contrast between the analog and digital eras than the beautifully blurry memories captured in a Polaroid picture and the thousands of pin-sharp photos on an iPhone. In this ambitious visual essay, Willem Baptist explores the visionary genius of Edwin H. Land, the inventor of the Polaroid camera. Even today, all sorts of people are keeping his instant dream alive. Former Polaroid employee Stephen Herchen moved from the United States to Europe to work in a laboratory developing the 2.0 version of Polaroid. Christopher Bonanos, the author of Instant: The Story of Polaroid, tells us, "When I heard Polaroid would stop making film, it felt like a close friend had died." Artist Stefanie Schneider, who is working with the last of her stock of Polaroid film, is using the blurring that occurs with expired film as an additional aesthetic layer in her photographic work.

Reviews
SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
suffer_well This is how you made a documentary. At times I felt like I was watching a Kubrick's movie. This movie was not just beautiful, but also very meaningful. It wasn't just about photography, but for humanity in general. And it was not just a documentary, but a very distinguished piece of art. I felt so happy and I smiled a lot during its screening at Sofia Film Fest. I was impressed by the way life, time and people were presented in this movie.
dexterhollander Really liked this movie a lot. As a photography student myself it was really inspiring to see such a philosophical (dare I say spiritual) take on photography. Made me think and revalue the essence of my (analog) work. Capturing the moment and thinking about time a lot. This movie is quite a trip with strong cinematography and visuals, which I found refreshing. I'ts not a typical documentary by a long shot and I mean that in the best way.
El Tata A documentary is an article (visual, written or sound) explaining a situation, an object, a person or a combination of those. At that explanation is possible to alternate the time or space of the story in order to be attractive to the audience. Instant Dreams was an awful ride. I learned absolutely nothing about the chemical process of the Polaroid Camera, or how was truly the discovery of that type of photography. This movie is visually amazing, but does the public really think that those visuals are the real chemical process behind every Polaroid Photo!? The characters! Man, I'm truly sad for the documentarist who found these people. I'm sorry but they are not even that much interesting. Couldn't you find some other artists?...Well, the only thing that I learned from this movie is that it is possible to get into festivals and get prices tricking the people, and that makes me sad.
jungerhanson I managed to catch a screening at the documentary festival in Amsterdam. I was intrigued by the trailer, which I found heavy-handed but wildly intriguing. I was interested in learning more about Polaroid. I did, but got more then expected. Tbh I was blown away by it. What was brought to the screen was beyond anything I was expecting. Space Odyssey in a Herzog - Malick kind of way, if that makes any sense. A visually striking retro ride for sure. There is no plot outline written yet. It's hard to describe, without spoiling anything I would say the movie leans towards being a visual poem. The characters have surreal connections to Polaroid film. The story is layered with fascinating quotes, a reoccurring theme of Christmas, a search for a chemical formula, an artist in a pink bathrobe and her funny chickens. I found it hard to wrap my head around all the details. There's one part of the movie involving the inventor of Polaroid, which totally blew my mind. I enjoyed it immensely and made me want to dig up that old Polaroid camera.