No Indy Film Without Community

Less than a week to go before we roll camera. So much preparation, so many details, so many panic attacks and bouts of terror, so much excitement and awe at the help and support that goes into such a big undertaking. This is indy film, arriving in a community and finding those magic angels, that lead to more magic angels, that will donate time, food, locations, animals, cornfields, rehearsal spaces, wood, props, wine, hard work, vitamins, vehicles, paint, dirt, advice, moral support, and all those myriad things that go into making a film. People who help because they want to, because they want to support the creation of something. There is no way to make an independent film without all this support, and for that I am eternally grateful. 

That's why those thank you credits go on so long at the end, and that's why independent films actually make it to the screen.

The story of the cow....

This is Stella, she is the star of my movie. When I told my father I was going to make this film, he said, "you're really going to have a problem finding a cow these days".  I didn't believe him. He was right. I arrived two months ago, and it's taken me about a month and a half to find a cow that I feel can play the role of Stella. Sure, there's cows around, but the modern Friulian cow is a far cry from the cows fifty years ago, happily living in the family stall, working in the fields all day and getting milked and brushed at night. No, the connection and dependence on animals has transformed, the animals are now mechanical beasts, mostly unused to a human touch. From what I've seen they live in tight quarters, never go outside, are milked by machines, and if they're lucky, (or not) they'll get some piped in radio music to keep them from getting too bored. So, from what I've observed, farm animals here and in most places I think, have become completely disconnected from people's lives. Cows are basically are food machines -  we don't have relationships with them in the way a lot of people used to. It's a sad thing to see, since it wasn't all that long ago that these animals were part of everyday family life. And so, it's been a lot of looking and learning about cows, to realize one that is used to people, calm, and will let someone milk her by hand is a rare thing indeed. But in a magical serendipity that always seems to happen just when you lose hope, I found an AD who along with being brilliant and talented and a a generally amazing person, is related to a vet. And the vet has led me to Stella. Now we walk her and talk to her and start rehearsing. The sacred animal, la sacra bestia, is getting her 15 minutes too....(and about time!)

ANIMAL BLESSINGS - The agony and the ecstasy

Two weeks to picture. Actually, 13 days now. Here I am, in the home village of my father, San Giovanni di Casarsa (San Zuan) in the Friuli region of Italy. I'm here to make a film, a short, little independent film, called "Animal Blessings" inspired by my father's family, by the complex and unique rebelliousness of Pier Paolo Pasolini, and by the almost mythical tradition of farming life, and especially the work of hard working farming women.

So here I am, about a year after writing the story in my little cabin in the woods, dreaming of scenes in the past, the late 1940's, in a place and a culture that doesn't really exist anymore. Since then, I've left my island home to come and live in Europe, and now finally, it has come time to make this film. And yes, there are children, and animals, and the re creation of the past, in a now modern, hyper industrialized region. It's crazy, yes. And I'm feeling quite overwhelmed, to say the least, as the time to shoot draws closer. So I've decided to share some of this unfolding "locura" with you, to calm myself down, and reflect a bit on this wonderfully strange and always surprising process called pre production.

Back to the Blogosphere

Barcelona, January 17, 2009

A new year, a new start to the blog world. I have relocated from my hermetic life living on a cabin on Galiano Island to re entering the world of academia as a masters student of visual culture at the University of Barcelona. I've left the quiet, natural solitude of west coast life for the sometimes overwhelming rhythms of a large European City. As I dive deep into the philosophical underpinnings of visual culture, connect with new communities, and navigate through the labyrinth of this new existence, I will be doing my best to post my reflections, thoughts, and musings. Stay tuned...