Northeast Films [NEF] is many things. Sometimes it is a
contemporary playground where Warren Miller hangs
with the ghost Robert Altman, promising to keep the story going for many
posts to come. However perhaps my favorite characteristic is the phenomenology present
in the consistent voice and gaze of the camera. It is a hopeful one. Let me
explain.
The eye that takes in each scene is able to shapeshift from one benevolent view to another: first as an ant up at the long-boarder's transport system, then as a common bird hovering low taking in the action of characters living the day purely for the joy of it. Other favorite shooting angles include plants given priority of focus while activities blur by in the background. Am I an insect? Maybe, yes, I can believe it... because while observing cropped views of bike wheels through the forest, the event is clearly more important than any single identity pedaling. Being present seems to be the only important criteria.
Creative efforts like NEF's are an elegant reminder that artistic expression comes from everywhere in the universe. Not just sometimes, but especially, outside galleries and museums. The places depicted in these films are from the realm of the living. Both the viewer and the viewed momentarily inhabit the same time, same place, in connected by disconnection between their respective shells.
The eye that takes in each scene is able to shapeshift from one benevolent view to another: first as an ant up at the long-boarder's transport system, then as a common bird hovering low taking in the action of characters living the day purely for the joy of it. Other favorite shooting angles include plants given priority of focus while activities blur by in the background. Am I an insect? Maybe, yes, I can believe it... because while observing cropped views of bike wheels through the forest, the event is clearly more important than any single identity pedaling. Being present seems to be the only important criteria.
Creative efforts like NEF's are an elegant reminder that artistic expression comes from everywhere in the universe. Not just sometimes, but especially, outside galleries and museums. The places depicted in these films are from the realm of the living. Both the viewer and the viewed momentarily inhabit the same time, same place, in connected by disconnection between their respective shells.
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