Have You Found Your Julian?

Yet another set of awards for the docudrama "In Search of Julian" that beautifully portrays the toll of masking your true emotions and how they can affect your personality. The 37-minute film is the journey of an adolescent girl who decides to find and be proud of her true identity, rather than chisel herself to fit in the social moulds of her peers. The journey was not an easy one, it was full of pain, loneliness and despair but once Julian (who portrays herself in the film) decides to be proud of her true identity, she manages to creates a niche called - herself. Julian becomes aware & proud of her unique qualities that she did not even know she possessed.

Recently the film won two more awards in the 7th Indian World Film Festival 2023, for best screenplay & cinematography. What makes this film universal is that though the story is the honest journey of a teenage girl, it gets people in the third, fourth or fifth decades of their lives thinking about their true identity? Are we who we are or are we all still using the painful social chisels to fit the predefined moulds of our peers and the vicious circle of seeking approvals. In search of Julian boldly talks about People Pleasing & how it has become the virus without any vaccine.

The film's texture creates a powerful impact on the audience as they travel this emotional roller-coaster with Julian. The story telling style is simple but it thaws the coldest hearts. According to the writer & director Julian Sidana "I wanted to tell my story in a language that could relate to the people in one of the most effective ways called Cinema. It is engrossing to see how a cinematic experience can change someone's whole perspective towards life. I wanted people to see the real Julian not only with words but through vision, motion and expressions hence I decided to act as well. Whatever I do, I put my heart and soul into it without worrying about the outcomes or setting an agenda. We were content to give our hundred per cent in the best way possible and that allowed the whole thing to flow seamlessly."

In the journey of creating this film Julian got complete support from her mother Dolly Sidana who also produced the film. According to Dolly "When Julian discussed the idea of this film I was completely amazed at her clarity, maturity & creativity of handling such a sensitive topic. Being a creative person myself I loved the screenplay and was proud that my adolescent girl had raised such a pertinent issue in this film which is the cause of major mental health issues today."

The resilient Julian who perseveres in her journey fearlessly redefines social identity. It gets us thinking about our own unique identity that we have tucked away somewhere and are busy painfully chiselling our lives to somehow fit into predefined social moulds.

In search of Julian is a must watch across age and gender.