Kickstarter

For 10 days at the end of October, I will be filming the preparations for an annual flying of kites (barriletes) on Dia De Los Muertos (All Saints Day), November 1st. In four towns in the region of Sacatepéquez, locals work together to create dozens of mandala-like kites over the course of 3 months. On the Day of the Dead, they float them in the skies as homage to dead ancestors — the greater their beauty the more they please the heavens. The kites are all rounded in shape, ranging from a couple feet to 30 feet in diameter.

I will be focusing on the smallest of the four towns, Santa Maria Cauque, and its predominately indigenous population. I'll be filming in the mountainous farmland where they fly the kites as well as the community center where they construct them. The aesthetic inspiration is Frederick Wiseman's style of non-narrative observational documentary, with a heavy emphasis on sound. The Sublime Frequencies imprint is another inspiration and Olivia Wyatt's recent "Staring Into The Sun" (to be released by them this fall) is a great example of a non-didactic approach to ethno-folk cinema. Check it out: http://vimeo.com/9468566

Funding will go towards airfare, translation and filming assistance, food & lodging, additional sound and video gear, and supplemental equipment rentals, including a 2nd HD camera. It will also fund editing help once I return.

This will be the first of several planned projects to be filmed in New York, Mexico and Guatemala over the next 3 years.