Presence of Water is the visual diary of a my estrogen induced memory of the last few months of pregnancy. A luscious blend of collage and memoir, it takes place in Northern Italy when I was eight months pregnant. Time compresses into the finite, and the I become a stranger to myself as I physically becomes "two people". Formally it is a hybrid, a grafting of two genres, a crossroads between the experimental film and the autobiographical essay, gracefully defying the boundaries of any particular genre. Two voices; an Italian father and American mother guide the viewer through multi-layered optically printed surfaces and vibrant saturated colors in a personal documentary about taking detours, loss and rediscovery. Shot with my baby in one arm and the camera in the other, the film speaks directly about the interference between life and the camera's 24fps documentation. The presence of water reflects time, eternally in motion, and mirrors the ebb of tides as a central metaphor to this sensuous story of one woman's voyage to Italy.
Exhibitions/Screenings
- 2011 Convivium 33 Gallery, Josaphat Hall, Cleveland, OH
- 2004 Kent State University Kent, OH
- 2002 Joiner Center, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA
- 2001 Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH
- 2001 Shorts International Film Festival, New York City
- 2000 Nashville International Film Festival, Nashville, TN
- 2000 Women in the Directors Chair, Chicago Illinois
- 2000 Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
- 2000 Zygote Press, Cleveland, Ohio
- 1999 New York Expo of Short Film and Video, New School for Social Research, NYC
- 1999 Independent Film Channel 2000 Finalist, Angelika Film Center, New York.
- 1999 Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor, MI.
- 1999 Bar Harbor Film Festival, Bar Harbor, ME
- 1999 Media One Roadrunner Digital Film Festival- Winner Best Documentary Film
- 1999 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA
- 1999 University of California, San Diego, CA
