Commonplace Exchanges

Synopsis

International students face several challenges: language barriers, adapting to different cultures and lifestyles, and grappling with the loneliness of living far from home. This project focuses on how participatory online documentary film can aid international students in the processes of deciding to study abroad, focusing on four international students from different countries living and studying in Toronto. Through this interface, users can navigate between clips according to theme in whatever sequence they choose. Interviews and video footage present the students’ daily lives. This nonlinear documentary project conveys some of the cultural complexities involved in going abroad and allows users to add their own experiences via comments or video responses and creating new documentary subjects.