JOHN AND MICHAEL
Regie: Shira Avni, Kanada 2004, 10 Min.
JOHN AND MICHAEL ist eine Hommage an zwei Männer mit Down Syndrom. Sie verbringen ihren ganz normalen Alltag als Liebespaar im Heim. Tief bewegt von der grossen Liebe zwischen den beiden Männern, hat die Filmemacherin einen rührenden Animationsfilm über das Paar geschaffen.
Die Regisseurin Shira Avni ist 1974 in Israel geboren und wuchs in Montreal auf. Die Ausbildung zur Filmemacherin erhielt sie in Montreal und der School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Weiterführender Link: http://www.onf.ca/webextension/johnandmichael/index.html
Statement der Regisseurin zum “Pink Apple Award”
“I am deeply honoured to accept this award, and wish I could be at the Pink Apple festival to thank you all in person!
There are a lot of phenomenal people who have been involved in the film – too many to thank here, so please forgive me for this incomplete list. I am forever grateful to my producer Michael Fukushima, and executive producer David Verrall, at the National Film Board of Canada, who had faith in me and went out of their way to make this unusual production possible. Helene Tanguay has been doing a fabulous job of making sure the film gets seen. The whole NFB studio is full of amazing, supportive, talented people. Chris Sullivan, Shellie Fleming, and Joe Cavalier at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where the film began, provided enormous amounts of love, support, and wisdom. Liz, Dan, and Karla from the band Ida, who did the beautiful music in the film, have been an absolute pleasure to work with, and I hope to make more films with their music. And Brian, of course – the wonderful, talented young man who narrated the film. If I start naming the rest you will be here all night, so let me just say thank you to all.
John and Michael is based on my memories of two men with Down syndrome I had the privilege of working with at a summer camp in Ontario, Canada, many years ago - two of the funniest, loveliest people I have ever met. They had an extremely close relationship and were absolutely inseparable. Upon hearing news of John's death, I found myself constantly doodling little scenes of my memory of the two of them, and wondering how Michael was coping with John's death.
Working on this film has been a very emotional experience, and I have been moved by the responses John and Michael has evoked in others. It's inspiring to work on a simple story that seems to make people think and feel deeply. I hope this film can play a role in opening people's minds and hearts to ideas of love and difference. Thank you very much, and have a wonderful festival!“
Shira Avni
<< zurück