Kit Whistler and J R Switchgrass of @idletheorybus

New meaning of life drives doco

Sunday, October 27, 2019
Lecturers produce award-winning look at “Vanlife” community

An award-winning documentary produced by two Avondale lecturers through a crowdfunding site tells the story of an alternative pursuit of freedom on the road.

The Meaning of Vanlife started with a conversation between producer Lynnette Lounsbury from the university college’s School of Humanities and Creative Arts, husband and director Jim and the founders of Vanlife Diaries, an Instagram account sharing the stories of so-called “Vanlifers.” Now, three years later, it is a feature-length film exploring the Vanlife community’s mission to live life intentionally on its terms.

Lynnette, Jim and their two boys travelled to the United States and lived Vanlife while filming. “It allowed us to capture some of the more simple moments showing what life is like for full-time Vanlifers,” says Lynnette. “I found you can live comfortably with very little.”

Lynnette describes the Vanlife community as one that values earning an income autonomously. Social media enables some Vanlifers to live off their lifestyle “but it is a lot of work to build the following and keep up with the content.” While Instagram has brought exposure and popularity, many Vanlifers have regular jobs. Instagram is just the platform for connecting with other modern nomads, says Lynnette.

Connection—with nature and with others—seems to be a core value, too. Jim says there is a “genuine sense of care for the wellbeing of others [in the Vanlife community], a place where few people ask, ‘What’s in it for me?’”. The heart of the film is that “every community, no matter how alien from your own, is made up of people just looking to find a meaningful, love- and adventure-filled life” says Lynnette.

International student Ashley Cotter has lived on the road in the United States. She is glad the documentary highlights the lifestyle more than the Instagram trend. “To live on the road you have to be more intentional with what you want and what you have,” she says. Cotter is majoring in communication, in which the Lounsburys lecture at Avondale. “I’m glad I have lecturers making something that means something to them, so I feel free to make something that means something to me.”

Public relations students at Avondale were involved with the documentary early in 2016, planning the campaign on Kickstarter among other things. Having students connected to the documentary is “fantastic,” says Lynnette. She hopes the experience has given them the confidence to start their own projects.

Avondale alumna Linda Ciric took the public relations class. “It is inspiring to see such high-level of work being produced by your lecturers,” she says.

The Meaning of Vanlife won the Arizona International Film Festival prize for “Best Foreign Documentary” earlier this year. It premiered on Australian streaming site Stan in April.

Photograph

Kit Whistler and J R Switchgrass of @idletheorybus are two of the central characters in the documentary The Meaning of Vanlife. Credit: J R Switchgrass.

The Meaning of Vanlife

Watch the official trailer of the documentary The Meaning of Vanlife.

WATCH TRAILER

Share

Linda Edorsson
Author

Linda Edorsson

Linda Edorsson is a Bachelor of Arts students majoring in communication at Avondale University College.

Return to website