HOW MAY I HELP YOU
LOGLINE:
Through a series of vignettes scripted from real phone conversations between call center workers and customers, How May I Help You reimagines fleeting personal encounters between strangers.
"Ella Harmon's debut film, "How May I Help You", offers a deep dive into the soul of modern society. Channeling the spirit of masters such as Godard, Truffaut, and Antonioni, Harmon crafts a poignant commentary on today's techno-social landscape..."
- Lonely Wolf International Film Festival
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT:
How May I Help You is an ode to the seeds of connection that manage to sprout through an alienated landscape. Call centers tend to be secretive. They are a place where the line between one's personality and the brand they represent blurs. In researching this film, I spoke to dozens of call center workers over the phone about the most impactful interactions they'd had at work. From over fifty stories, I chose three vignettes that spoke to larger resurfacing themes. I let the words of the participants dictate the script as much as possible. By shooting How May I Help You as a series of recreations, I aimed to both protect the identities of participants and acknowledge my role in the narrativization of memory.