EP. 1817: Filmmaker Mark Kaplan (Revealing Raymond)

WILDsound interviewed Mark Kaplan about his personal documentary film "Revealing Raymond," a 15-minute film about uncovering his father's hidden past. Mark discovered home movies from the 1950s featuring his father Raymond when he transferred old VHS tapes to digital format, which sparked his motivation to create the film after learning about his father's traumatic childhood through Ancestry.com research. The film uses rare 8mm home footage, census records, and personal photos to tell the story of Raymond's childhood as an orphan during the Depression, his terminal illness that lasted six years, and the emotional impact on Mark as a child. Mark also reconnected with his father's niece through DNA testing after making the film, establishing a new family connection. The interview concluded with discussion about Mark's recent retirement from teaching at Parsons School of Design after 25 years, and political commentary about the upcoming US elections. —— Subscribe to the podcast: https://twitter.com/wildsoundpod https://www.instagram.com/wildsoundpod https://www.facebook.com/wildsoundpod —— Love for you to try the Indy Film Festival AP. • Daily new film festival of the best new films from around the world. New archived festival to watch anytime. • Library of over 500+ award-winning films to watch anytime. Go to https://www.wildsound.ca and sign up for the free 3-day trial. Check out the daily film festival (and previous ones from last month) at https://www.wildsound.ca/browse Always an amazing lineup of films. Inspiring for storytellers.