The special needs documentary streamed free all-day long on Jun 25
When I talked to Joey Papa this past spring, he was wrapping up another crowdfunding campaign for his documentary, which seems commonplace for so many artists these days. In fact, there’s little that’s commonplace about In the Land of Canaan. After the sudden loss of his daughter Canaan last year, Papa set out to make a film — not on the challenges experienced by those with special needs children but rather on the misunderstood truths those children taught their loved ones.
Since our interview, Papa has changed his pledge of a single online premiere to an all-day affair. In the Land of Canaan was free to stream on the project’s website all day yesterday (Note: United Way sponsored a more formal premiere yesterday in Milwaukee).
While Papa didn’t have previous filmmaking experience, he does draw on his skills as a professional speaker, opening things up with poetic narration like “Children with special needs possess a unique access to this land.” Papa’s recitation that “4.5 children are born every second” happens over a meiotic animation of colored droplets. Broad voiceovers float over abstract imagery and sweeping landscapes, lending a personal impetus a distanced perspective (you get a feel for this in the film’s trailer).
These abstractions also segment Canaan‘s lifecycle, structured via “chapters” beginning at conception through birth and death (being “born into eternity” as Papa and his wife Nikki refer to it in the film). Between these chapters, Papa functions as a nomadic guide, sitting down with multiple families in different cities to capture their experiences with special needs children.
Their stories are harrowing and inspiring. These are children with spinal muscular atrophy, microhydranencephaly, or spina bifida and Papa isn’t anything but afraid of getting up close and personal with them. Parents recall finding about their child’s diagnosis and reflect on the challenges in “the real world,” after families have left the NICU and “comparisons start.” Wheelchair-bound children ask to walk freely on the playground. Husbands and wives share frustrations of starting and stopping feeding pumps late at night or losing anxious family friends.
These moments from other families are Canaan‘s strongest and most poignant, and yet it’s all centered on Canaan Papa, who never received an official diagnosis before passing away. Joey Papa replays his video diaries, a kind of cathartic documentary precursor on his YouTube channel. The darkest entry shows what would be the family’s final visit to the hospital and rather than simply edit in a portion of video, Papa replays it on an old CRT television in the middle of a darkened room. The effect only compounds the sullen moment for the family.
It’s hard not to be moved by In the Land of Canaan, despite Papa relying on a few overplayed elements of documentary. Admittedly, it’s a lot of talking. Given the cathartic powers Papa’s aiming for, though, it’s tough to imagine another way of recalling the profound effects of these children. Teachers testify to their classrooms becoming less judgmental and vague concepts like “grace” seem nearly impossible to expound on without Papa’s authorial voice. Whatever that “miraculous, transformative power” is, there’s an inkling of it here.
- Joey Papa is still raising funds for final productions costs on In the Land of Canaan. You can find more information at inthelandofcanaan.com