On Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at 11.30am Joseph Gallivan interviews filmmakers Daniela Repas and Simone Fischer about the work-in-progress animated documentary “Pour the Water as I Leave”. It is the story of seven Bosnian refugees who left during the Bosnian war 25 years ago and settled in the US. The movie takes video, turns it into hand drawings, then into animation, to tell the story of real people interacting with actors and dancers, who play the part of refugees. Repas talks about mixing fiction with fact and analog with digital, and Fisher talks about her medium format photography and how BTS (Behind the Scenes) work is incorporated into the movie. An installation of drawings and photos opened on Friday, March 3 at 220 SE Market Street, Portland, and runs until March 31, the night of the fundraiser party.
This interview was recorded in person without masks on March 3, 2023, using a Zoom HN2 recorder and engineered by KBOO volunteer Ray Bodwell. https://kboo.fm/blog/55224
IG @pour_thefilm or FB @pourthefilm
FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:
https://www.sixbillionsunsproductions.com/exhibition-press-release
Portland is home to a strong Bosnian community, and many are former refugees who made a home here after the
Balkan War in the 1990s.
Pour the Water as I Leave
is a 90-minute animated, narrative/documentary hybrid feature
film by Portland-based, Bosnian-born filmmaker Daniela Repas. It tells a story about what happened to Bosnians 25
years ago and how it relates to refugees worldwide today.
The art exhibition
Pour the Water as I Leave: Installation, Vol I: Film in Progress
opens on Friday, March 3 at 5 pm
and will be held at
220 SE Market Street, Portland, OR 97214
.
In
Pour the Water as I Leave
, Bosnian refugees tell their stories, some for the first time. Experience the filmmaking
process in the first installation of a series that invites viewers to walk inside this film-in-progress. The exhibition
features behind-the-scenes photography by Simone Fischer, hand-drawn animation cels, and animated excerpts
from the film by Daniela Repas, the Bosnian-born, and Portland-based director, animator & creator of
Pour the
Water
as I Leave
.
The exhibition is produced by Shrine13 and Six Billion Suns Productions, hosted by Sator Projects, and is funded in
part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
Other upcoming events include a free Friday, March 17th, 5 pm panel discussion with the artists and Portland
Refugee Support Group discussing Community & Storytelling, held at 220 SE Market Street, Portland, OR 97214.
The closing night fundraiser and party for the ongoing film production will be held Friday, March 31 at 5 pm,
220 SE
Market Street, Portland, OR 97214
. At the closing night fundraiser and party, guests will experience a Balkan-style
celebration including food and drinks, the art exhibition, a First-Look at an excerpt from the film, live music, dancing,
the closing of the online auction, and a Feed the Need fundraiser, and meet the filmmakers, cast and interviewees.
All ticket sales and donations are tax-deductible, and proceeds go towards the completion of the film production.
“ My stories have always been rooted in my Bosnian heritage. To survive a war requires as much luck as it does
imagination. Pour the Water as I Leave is my homage to all the moments that lingered between both. I was eleven
when the war in Bosnia started and fifteen when I became a refugee. Subsequently, I experienced a decade of
moving through countries, refugee camps, and bureaucracies. This film has its foundation in my personal stories,
while it is focused on testimonies of Bosnian people. My goal in this film is to capture the experience of exodus
with the belief that when unraveled, these stories might offer comfort in their honesty and resilience.” - Director
and Animator, Daniela Repas
“As a still photographer, what I do best is capture everything between the lines. So when I’m shooting behind the
scenes on a film set, I’m capturing all the communication. On this film it was the dancers rehearsing, Daniela
directing, the DP setting up the shot in Bosnia, etc. So as a fly on the wall on set, I get to show you what it takes to
make this story of Pour the Water as I Leave. I am a film photographer working in black and white 35mm medium
format and large format celluloid which was very cohesive with Daniela’s animation aesthetic of black graphite on
white paper. This allowed me to really be completely myself doing what I love to do while collaborating on this
incredible story. On a deeper level, late in my life I learned I am of Balkan ancestry, and I feel that this project was
my ancestors’ way of calling me home.” - Photographer, Simone Fischer
Pour the Water as I Leave
: brief film synopsis (click above for public link)
See a clip here: https://vimeo.com/
Film title: Pour the Water as I Leave Director: Daniela Repas Producer: Jessica Daugherty Web:
###
For more information:
https://www.sixbillionsunsproductions.com/event
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Joseph Gallivan has been a reporter since 1990. He has covered music for the London Independent, Technology for the New York Post, and arts and culture for the Portland Tribune, where he is currently a Feature Writer. He is the author of two novels, "Oi, Ref!" and "England All Over" which are available on Amazon.com
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