“Scene + Heard: Scored” is a project, funded by the City of Victoria, that connects the oldest form of storytelling with some of the most modern. Following up on sold out performances in 2008 and 2010, this third incarnation of PUENTE Theatre and CineVic: Society of Independent Filmmakers‘ project is the next phase of a collaboration project between six local filmmakers, six traditional oral storytellers, and local musician made good, Oliver Swain. Each story is either a traditional story or is the tellers own personal expression illuminating an experience of multiculturalism.
Swain has created an original and beautiful score to segue seamlessly between the pieces, music inspired by the stories & diverse cultures they come from. And the treat is that Swain will be performing the score live!
Each of the performances is a unique collaboration, and audiences should expect to experience stories and images as varied as the artists taking part. The live performers intertwine their tales with film, animation, video, and now music, almost like fireside story with a multi-media enhancement.
The artists participating are Rob Hunter, Wangsu Ma, Raji Basi, Janice Valdez, Jennifer Ferris, Paulina Grainger, Grace Salez, Mark Borowski, Rachel Moore, Scott Amos, Denver Jackson and Maureen Bradley. Program Administrators are Bryan Skinner, Paulina Grainger and director Lina de Guevara.
The performance pieces showcased are:
- CEREMONY OF DEATH: Is a personal story told by Raji Basi about a young Indian girl’s first experience with a death ceremony conducted by the older women of her community. It is poignantly accompanied by the film images of Grace Salez, a graduate of the film/video program at Emily Carr.
- THE JACKAL’S LAWSUIT: A litigious collection of animals seek their own forms of justice in this story inspired by the wildlife of Paulina Grainger’s African homeland. This colorful traditional story is beautifully illustrated by filmmaker Rachel Moore, an honors graduate of ECIAD’s animation program.
- BETWEEN: Is the true story of a young indigenous man’s soul, told for both audience and ancestors to hear. It is a collaboration of filmmaker Scott Amos and Cree/Métis performer Rob Hunter about finding balance and floating between identities.
- LADY LALUNA: Told by Janice Valdez and visualized by filmmaker & cinematographer Mark Borowski, Lady Laluna is a story of a young Filipina princess with a gifted voice and an ill fated romance with a young outsider.
- THE WHITE BONED DEMON: Is narrated by Wangsu Ma from China and visualized by filmmaker Denver Jackson from South Africa. The story is a traditional Chinese myth based on the tales of the Monkey King, Wukong. Denver uses many different techniques from animation, hand-painting on paper to live-action, to create a visual mixed media representation of the tale. The atmosphere and mood is delightful and playful, and incorporates theatrical elements into its visuals. It is a powerful mix of the two mediums.
- THE WILD WOMAN: fuses contemporary dance and drama on film to recount a timeless Czech fable. Director and UVic Associate Professor, Maureen Bradley, teams up with storyteller Jennifer Ferris to create a video triptych in high definition.
Video excerpts of Scene+Heard: Scored
Filmed by Bryan Skinner