So here I am back again in Farrera, a tiny village with 22 inhabitants in the Spanish Pyrenees, two and a half days drive from where I live in Andalucia. My last residency here was eight years ago.
Farrera is a magical place where artists, writers, musicians and scientists come to live together- merge- and work on their individual projects related to mountains. Some stay for a month. I'm here for two weeks. My project is to paint my way back into my screenplay, which is set in Patagonia and Bolivia.
My companions at Farrera this week have been two young women. One has inspired me greatly with her project to record the sounds of the village and surrounding valleys. I never noticed how sweet the sound of gentle rain is, nor how exciting the sound of footsteps on uneven terrain. Odile has also introduced me the work of two film makers ( animators) whose work I find fascinating. I'll post the info below.
Last year, after eighteen months working on the screen play, it ground to a halt.
It wasn't just writers block. I couldn't decide whose story it really was. Was it the young French ( disinherited) artist whose baby has been kidnapped, or the guilt wracked Jewish grandmother? Or is it the granddaughters story, the kidnapped child who grows up to become a singer with an exceptional voice. Two different perspectives on the loss of a child, three generations of creativity blocked and un- blocked, and ultimately a story of healing and hope peppered with exciting art, music, dance, acrobatics and clever animation. Can't wait to see to see it !!
But Oh! The back story.
In screenwriting it's a case of show don't tell. How to explain- how to show the complicated back story- very tricky.
Last year I decided to use animation for this, but still the story stayed mute, deep frozen.
In the early 1980's I wrote four screenplays. As I stepped into my new life as a step mother in 1985, many things came to a halt, and a few things flourished unexpectedly.
My first two days at Farrera were magic. My protagonist showed up big time, Rachel, the young artist.
Farrera is a magical place where artists, writers, musicians and scientists come to live together- merge- and work on their individual projects related to mountains. Some stay for a month. I'm here for two weeks. My project is to paint my way back into my screenplay, which is set in Patagonia and Bolivia.
My companions at Farrera this week have been two young women. One has inspired me greatly with her project to record the sounds of the village and surrounding valleys. I never noticed how sweet the sound of gentle rain is, nor how exciting the sound of footsteps on uneven terrain. Odile has also introduced me the work of two film makers ( animators) whose work I find fascinating. I'll post the info below.
Last year, after eighteen months working on the screen play, it ground to a halt.
It wasn't just writers block. I couldn't decide whose story it really was. Was it the young French ( disinherited) artist whose baby has been kidnapped, or the guilt wracked Jewish grandmother? Or is it the granddaughters story, the kidnapped child who grows up to become a singer with an exceptional voice. Two different perspectives on the loss of a child, three generations of creativity blocked and un- blocked, and ultimately a story of healing and hope peppered with exciting art, music, dance, acrobatics and clever animation. Can't wait to see to see it !!
But Oh! The back story.
In screenwriting it's a case of show don't tell. How to explain- how to show the complicated back story- very tricky.
Last year I decided to use animation for this, but still the story stayed mute, deep frozen.
In the early 1980's I wrote four screenplays. As I stepped into my new life as a step mother in 1985, many things came to a halt, and a few things flourished unexpectedly.
My first two days at Farrera were magic. My protagonist showed up big time, Rachel, the young artist.
