'Fall in Love with Dating' Bumble

Sheila Johansson directs ‘Fall in Love with Dating’ for Bumble.

Turning dating into a place for self-discovery and exploration.

Words from Sheila below.

It can be tricky to capture the online experience on film. Could you tell us how this film gets it right?

SJ: I wanted the film to feel like someone describing their online dating adventures to a group of friends. Almost everyone has at least one “dating app story”, whether that’s good, bad or plain weird. So the film is about the realities of “dating online”, but more about the journey that dating can take you on than a story of finding “the one”. Hopefully, that’s what makes it relatable.

What would your advice be to filmmakers looking to capture moments?

SJ: All moments mean something; even the smallest ones have a story. Try to find the voice behind the moments, not only beautiful images.

Try to find the voice behind the moments, not only beautiful images.

It’s an ambitious cut. What was the thinking behind the use of split screens and still images particularly?

SJ: The split screens and stills allowed us to tell the story of an entire “dating journey” in a relatively short amount of time. I wanted the different “screens” to show the experience of using the app in a creative way (instead of showing actual phones and screens). They also let us elevate certain moments and details to show a greater range of feelings. Our brilliant editor Nikolaus Kohler did a great job of adding to that feeling of non-linearity, too.