New short film ‘Verbatim’ uses actors to document an incredible exchange which featured in a 2010 US case.
A film director has taken court reporting to a new level by turning a bizarre legal transcript into a short film.
‘Verbatim’, which was featured in the New York Times earlier this week after winning best short film at the Dallas Film Festival, recreates an exchange between Baker Hostetler lawyer Dave Marburger and a government employee about the meaning of the word “photocopier”.
While the film re-produces the dialogue contained within the transcript exactly, director Brett Weiner employs liberal artistic license in depicting the behaviour of the pair as he has the actor who plays Marburger lose his temper with the witness.
For any budding British short film makers reading this article, may we refer you to the judgments of retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Alan Ward.
The full transcript of the exchange featured in the film is below:
Deposition of Lawrence Patterson in Cuyahoga County Recorder's Office Case