DN EP 116: Stay in My Memory - Katy Davis
18 Dec 2008 @ 02:00 am
If you're a long term DN follower you'll know that I've been a fan of Katy Davis' mixed media style of animation since she came on the show - DN037 - with her film Gobblynne. Well it's my pleasure to have Katy back to talk about her new music video for Bim's Stay in My Memory.
DN EP 115: They Turned Our Desert Into Fire - Mark Brecke
14 Dec 2008 @ 06:20 am
Photographer and filmmaker Mark Brecke has dedicated his career to capturing images of some of the unimaginable crimes against humanity in regions such as Cambodia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Sudan, the West Bank, and Iraq. He joins us this week to discuss his work in Darfur and how it developed into the sobering feature documentary They Turned Our Desert Into Fire.
They Turned Our Desert Into Fire - Mark Brecke
10 Dec 2008 @ 07:04 am
They Turned Our Desert Into Fire (2007)
In July of 2005, Mark Brecke was invited to Capitol Hill to give a presentation of his work in Darfur to members of Congress. The train-trip from San Francisco to Washington D.C. presented an opportunity to raise awareness about the crisis and became the subject for his documentary, They Turned Our Desert Into Fire.
In dramatic contrast to the bucolic American landscape outside the train, Brecke’s images of human suffering in Darfur and the refugee camps of Chad confront various train passengers. In many cases they had no idea the Sudanese conflict was so grave, nor the situation so dire. Some were shocked, other reduced to tears.
Complementing the photographs are moving accounts of Mark’s experiences and comprehensive expert analysis, which illuminates the full dimensions of the crisis and raises serious questions about the world’s apparent indifference. For the passengers, and thus the film’s audience, a cross-country train trip becomes an enlightening and emotional journey which raise the central question in They Turned Our Desert Into Fire - “Why does the public not know about this epic crisis and how can the world continue to do nothing?”
Though there are several layers of awareness within the film, the most compelling question raised is, ”Which had greater impact, showing the photographs to passengers’ on the train or showing them to members of the United States Congress?” It illustrates that the Sudanese genocide is not simply a problem to be rectified by the worlds governments, but that it is also a crisis that desperately needs attention by all of us.
DN EP 114: The Life Size Zoetrope - Mark Simon Hewis
5 Dec 2008 @ 04:21 am
We've featured several animations here on Directors Notes in past two years, but Mark Simon Hewis' The Life Size Zoetrope stands out for its shear ambition. Turning a carnival ride into the zoetrope of the title, complete with people turning the pages of flip books to create the animation is no mean feat, but luckily Mark joins us to reveal how it was made possible.
The Life Size Zoetrope - Mark Simon Hewis
3 Dec 2008 @ 12:24 pm
The Life Size Zoetrope (2007) The Life Size Zoetrope is the celebratory life story of one man, told via a one-take live action shot of a human zoetrope containing the film.
DN EP 113: E.T.A. - Henrik Bjerregaard Clausen
28 Nov 2008 @ 07:00 am
When the collaborators at JUNK / Demoscene began work on a quick one minute animation back in 2004, a four year production cycle and two in-between shorts certainly wasn't the plan. Director Henrik Bjerregaard Clausen joins us to discuss how the aptly named E.T.A. eventually made its way to completion, and why the extended production cycle led to a film well worth the wait.
DN EP 112: Flowers Don’t Grow Here - Shira Pinson
20 Nov 2008 @ 09:21 am
Despite a firm warning against embarking on a debut feature amongst the homeless children of Kiev, when you don't speak the language and have little to no knowledge of the area or characters involved, from the journalist whose article provided the original inspiration, Shira Pinson forged ahead to create her documentary Flowers Don't Grow Here. She joins us to discuss how she overcame these obstacles to become a trusted confidant and bring truth to the stories of these forgotten casualties of the shift from Communism to Capitalism.
Flowers Don’t Grow Here - Shira Pinson
19 Nov 2008 @ 04:44 am
Flowers Don't Grow Here (2005) Flowers Don’t Grow Here, told through the eyes of a gang of Kiev’s street kids, offers an intimate and uncompromising portrayal of the young individuals paying the ultimate price for political reform.
The film offers a unique window into the stark realities of life in a country in crisis, illuminating a nation seemingly paralysed between ‘old' and ‘new' Europe. Young mothers, united siblings, close friends and sworn enemies form an unusual underworld of society, governed by their own rules, haunted by prostitution, substance abuse, crime, violence, child abduction, and even murder.
