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MOBLES
Logline:A 58 year-old immigrant continues to dedicate his life to horses and the sport of polo. As players come and go, Mobles is there working, with a smile on his face, and an everlasting thirst for life. Year after year, Mobles’ spirit and work ethic strengthen and enlighten his community.
Concept Summary:
Formally known as Honorio Ramirez, Mobles is a groomsman for horses that play the sport Polo. An iconic sport known for its prestige, high-class, and good looks; has another romantic side: the workmen behind the scenes of the game. Mobles is one of these employees except he is the one that remains there all year long, unlike the other groomsmen who come to the polo club only during the summer months, Mobles is there for thanksgiving, Christmas, valentines day; he is there almost everyday taking care of horses. Beloved, and highly respected by his peers and employers, this film takes you on a journey through the work lifestyle of Mobles. The story stems from the everyday interaction between the filmmaker and Mobles as the film covers Mobles’ daily routine of feeding, cleaning, and riding the horses. The film then observes Mobles interaction with his clients and fellow groomsmen to then showing the sport of polo: its fast-pace, competitive environment could easily mask the presence of Mobles until we come back to him, why he does the work he does, his perspective on life, and the essence of his work. The film captures Honorio in the span of three years, showing him getting older but showing the consistent pride in his work, his strong presence in the polo community, and his consistent thirst for life that we all crave to have. The story follows no typical climax or resolution; rather, its intention is to take the viewer on the journey of Mobles’ work days, his daily obstacles, motivations, and emotions. Immersing you in the environment, the plotline rises and falls with the ebbs and flows of a hard worker, strong-willed, positive, and dedicated human that we can all relate to, look up to, and admire.
CONNECTION TO THE PROJECT:
The director, Mia Kiera Sweeney, is a fellow polo player of 6 years. Mobles has worked for her mother, then further in her polo career, Mia Kiera worked for Mobles. Spending routine days with him, developing a close friendship that allows many of the typical barriers in documentary to be nonexistent. The close friendship between the filmmaker and the subject is what allows this story to be told in an intimate and authentic way.The producer, Ilias Kyriakidis used to live and work in Santa Barbara for a few years while attending school there. Although now, he resides in a different city, he hopes to see this town flourish, be represented through media in creative and respectful ways and finally he hopes to tell a story about the community that gave so much to him.Both filmmakers have access and are welcomed to the community of Santa Barbara. Mia's vision and close connection with Mobles combined with Ilias' producing and coordinating background make an excellent team of young and serious filmmakers that want to tell the story of Mobles in a respectful manner.
Topic Summary:
This is a story about a human rather than an object being entrapped in the social disparities that surround him. Without dismissing the existence of such disparities, our goal is to represent the social and cultural context through visuals rather than words. Polo represents a higher class status that Mobles dismisses and as he proudly navigates his life through his eyes, status and personality. The Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club, became the home for Mobles. He is faced with the reality of an immigrant whose work and passions are overlooked. Santa Barbara is a community well defined by its bubble. A place of privilege, escapism and beauty. The very same themes that are reflected in Moble's character - Mobles managed to create the perfect bubble that ironically reinforces the ideal world in his small yet happy life at the polo club. Questions that the film will rise are existential: By looking at Moble's passion for life and positive mindset for his work as a groom, one can be surprised as to why he is not critical of his own existence and happiness. Mobles becomes a paradigm of a man being happy regardless of the social implications that would present him as a person of conflict. The conflict in his character stems in his philosophy, his ergo and relationship with god. The project will shine light on the work being put in one of the exclusive world sports, the relationships between workers, and cover the topics on animal ethics, labor ethics and class ethics.
THE DIRECTOR:
Mia Kiera Sweeney is a recent graduate from University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelors in art practice. She is originally from Washington DC and Southern California. With an ever-growing interest in class, public policy, and documentary filmmaking; Mia focuses on capturing environments or people who inevitably influence modern-day society despite their subtle roles.
Mia’s work:
https://vimeo.com/707627230/fc9cedb73a
https://vimeo.com/514537265
THE PRODUCER:
Artistic Approach:
The film will rely on the constant and fluid movement of the camera in conjunction with the consistent movement of the main character, and the horses. Quite literally, Mobles and the horses are typically always moving throughout the day. For the horses: it's for their health, for Mobles, it's for his work, and his way of living. Along with fluid shots, there will be mainly one static shot for the main interview which will anchor and streamline the historical info of Mobles.
The camera will capture Mobles alone, amidst his peers, his employers, horses, and polo players. We will use the fluid camera movement to smoothly transition from these environments to give a panoramic view of Mobles’ personality and the overall atmosphere that he lives in. The fluid movement of the camera, however, will not resemble the work of a ronin, or gimbal; it will be handheld without the shaky component. In this way, the camera will follow diagonal lines, straight lines etc.
Additionally, there will be use of zoomed in shots, some almost abstract, some just revealing the gray hairs of Mobles’ beard to show his age. These shots are meant to make the documentary somewhat personal as the filmmaker closely follows the movement of the subject. Just to zoom out the lens later, revealing the environment this subject is placed in.
Project Timeline:
Due October 31st: Prepare Interview Questions, Secure funding for film equipment, Prepare Shot Lists and a production schedule.
Due November 30th: Complete filming.
Due December 1st: Enter Post Production Phase with our first rough cut expected to be ready by January 30th.
Due January 30th: Complete a rough cut. Acquire necessary funds for post production (in case we need licenses for any music) pay editors, graphic designers.
Due March 31st: Possible Reshoots at the Polo Fields for more b-roll footage during Polo competitions. (This is an estimate)
Due April 30th: Possible continuation with editing
May: May 1st Final Cut Ready if reshoots are not needed.
May 31st Final Cut Ready if reshoots are needed.
June 2023: Submissions to festivals
CREATIVE PERSONEL:
Director:
Mia Kiera Sweeney
is a recent graduate from University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelors in Art Practice. She is originally from Washington DC and Southern California. With an ever-growing interest in class, public policy, and documentary filmmaking; Mia focuses on capturing environments or people who inevitably influence modern-day society despite their subtle roles.
Producer:
Ilias Kyriakidis
Ilias is also a recent UC Berkeley graduate with a bachelors in Philosophy and Film. He currently works in Post Production for a feature length documentary while starting his own Media Business. Ilias has worked in numerous short film projects both as a student and post graduation. His academic background in philosophy and film as well as his multicultural identity pushed his ambition and goals to work in producing stories and the formation of creative, imaginative and meaningful digital content.
Accessibility:
Our final cut is going to include subtitles in both English and Spanish whenever required due to the bilingual production. We have planned translated versions for the release forms we will use during filming and finally we are going to make sure that during production, our limited crew is not discriminated in any way for in case they have a disability, are neurodiverse, blind/have low vision or deaf.Lastly, in the final phases of post production we plan to include audio descriptions in the subtitles.
