Month: October 2017

Behind the Scenes of “Little Evil” with Alex Campbell

by

Filmmaker Alex Campbell has developed an impressive international career that spans film, television, commercials, theater, and photography. Based in London, the young writer and director was awarded the inaugural Sundance Ignite fellowship after his film Journey Home won the Sundance Ignite “What’s Next” challenge in 2016. Alex’s most recent short film HUSH premiered at the British Film Institute and has since gone on to win awards at film festivals in North Africa and Europe. His films Journey Home, The Trench, and HUSH have also been screened at a number of prestigious International Festivals around the world, including the Africa International Film Festival, the Encounters Film Festival, and the Aesthetica Film Festival.

Last year, Alex participated in IA&A’s J-1 Exchange Visitor Program and spent five months as a film production trainee on the set of Little Evil, an American horror-comedy film that was recently released on Netflix. In the movie, a recently married man named Gary (played by Adam Scott) wants to bond with his stepson, who seems to be a bit unusual. Soon, Gary begins to fear that the boy might be the anti-Christ and chaos (naturally!) ensues. As a trainee, Alex spent his days with the film’s production team, shadowing the director and learning the in-and-outs of post-production.

To get in the spirit of Halloween, we caught up with Alex to hear more about his experience working on the set of Little Evil and how his exchange helped advance his filmmaking career back in London.

What was it like to work on the movie’s set?

I started my traineeship in the film’s “prep week”. During this first week, I had the opportunity to take part in table reads, assist during storyboard review sessions, and sit in on major production meetings between the director, director of photography, and other heads of department. This was a great opportunity to really meet and get to know the crew, and allowed me to get great time shadowing and interacting with key members of the production team as they ran test shoots and made final preparations for the start of the production.My responsibilities and duties changed and adapted over the duration of the traineeship due to the ever-changing nature of a film production. As we moved into production, I received mentorship on how to make the frame surrounding the main action feel alive and natural for when directing background and extras. I also had the chance to shadow the director and production team during shooting and assist them with day-to-day tasks of all kinds whilst receiving on-the-job training and guidance.

The duration of my traineeship was spent deeply integrated in the Assistant Director’s (AD) department. The AD department works with all members of the production team and was the ideal place to gain an overview of the entire production as they work and liaise daily with the camera, lighting, grip, electric, hair, and makeup departments. There is never a dull day on set, with so many locations and set ups, from monster truck stunts to household interiors. Every day was energetic and different with each posing its own challenges and rewards!

How has your on-set production training advanced your career as a filmmaker?

Since my traineeship, I have learnt so much through shadowing and working alongside numerous members of the production team for the entire shoot. The placement has given me a chance to gain an understanding of the style and process of the key creatives involved in bringing Little Evil to life. From their techniques and craft, to how they shoot a scene, and to an insight into how Eli, the film’s director, directs actors and his crew to achieve his vision.I felt as though I had undertaken a complete crash course in the rules, rights, and wrongs of making a mid-budget feature and gained a greater understanding of how an independent film is made, both on- and off-set in the United States.

Since returning from the United States, I’ve continued working as a director back in the UK, most recently completing a documentary called Voices of Britain commissioned by the British Film Institute for broadcast by the BBC. I have also recently taken a position in the creative production department at the London School of Fashion where I work directing content for their internal and external clients.

What does cultural exchange mean to you?

Having spent time in Cleveland, OH, and Los Angeles, CA, I’ve experienced different ways of life, different cultures, and the different interests, passions, and work that creatives in America are exploring today. I gained a greater understanding, empathy, and interest in the American film and arts culture, along with a set of friends, teachers, and mentors who I hope to spend time with and collaborate with for a very long time to come.From visiting LACMA and The Broad, to roller skating and big sporting events, to seeing film premieres and being invited into artist’s personal studios, to meeting with filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival, this opportunity has given me the best insight I could have imagined into the “American Experience” and how that differs from what I grew up with in the UK.

I think the ability to share with those that I met along the way my experiences and perspectives from growing up in the UK, and to hear their stories, is at the heart of what cultural exchange really means to me.

 

To see more of Alex’s work, check out his website, connect with him on Twitter, or follow him on Instagram! 

Gohar Dashti: Here & There, Then & Now

by

Gohar Dashti works at the intersection of art and society. The Iranian artist has spent more than twelve years navigating the various social issues of the world through photography, bringing sensitivity and empathy to the art form. Trained at the Fine Art University of Tehran, Gohar often draws on personal life events in order to build bridges between the personal, universal, real, and political. Her work is inspired by her surroundings, her memory, and her personal perceptions, and it sparks important dialogues about conflict, citizenship, and civility.

International Arts & Artists (IA&A) is proud to have supported Gohar in her early career as a participant in IA&A’s ArtBridge program. In 2008, Gohar was part of a group of six emerging and mid-career Iranian photographers who visited the United States to participate in ArtBridge (pol-e honari, in Persian), a unique exchange program coordinated by IA&A’s Cultural Exchange Programs. The aim of this one-of-a-kind exchange was to establish relationships and networking opportunities between American and Iranian visual artists and arts professionals, and to promote mutual knowledge and cultural awareness in the two countries. A principal focus of ArtBridge was to explore the role of the arts in local communities in the United States and Iran.

Before her visit to the United States, Gohar told IA&A:

Growing up in the period that there were no relationships between Iran and U.S. made us (as a new Iranian generation) curious to know what [it’s] like to go and experience life in [the] U.S. As a photographer, I have always been interested in different cultures and the influences that one can affect from his/her culture.

During their three-week visit to the United States, the group attended workshops that examined the history of art in cultural hubs, held roundtable discussions, and went on visits to artists’ studios, galleries, museums, universities, and other cultural organizations. The program culminated in The Burden of Representation: Contemporary Iranian Photography, an exhibition of the artists’ work at IA&A at Hillyer (previously Hillyer Art Space). The ArtBridge exchange proved to be a visit full of dynamic interactions, new experiences, and exposure to varying perspectives.

Since her participation in ArtBridge, Gohar has become an internationally-acclaimed photographer with exhibitions at prominent museums and galleries around the world including the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the Mori Art Museum (Japan), the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), and the Contemporary Art Museum (Tehran), to name a few. She has participated in multiple artist residencies and has received numerous awards and scholarships, including the MacDowell Colony fellowship (Peterborough, NH), the DAAD award (Berlin), and the Visiting Arts award, 1Mile2Project (London). Her work has been featured in various media outlets such as the Boston Globe, the Guardian, and the Huffington Post, with Forbes’ Jonathan Keats characterizing Gohar’s images of Iranian civil society as “a deep psychological truth.”

Gohar Dashti, “Today’s Life and War”, 2008. Image courtesy of the artist.

IA&A was honored to collaborate with Gohar on Urban Mapping, a new exhibition at IA&A at Hillyer featuring work by ten Iranian photographers and video artists. In her curator’s statement, Gohar explains:

Public spaces have long been the nurturers of urban life, economic and political transformations, and citizens’ social communications. When we utilize the public space composition, it means that we are considering the close relationship between the private space and the public space. People are always moving between these two spaces and the relations governing the two, bringing out fears and ties. The severity of these crises is revealed when the two grow further apart.

Urban Mapping reveals the impact of political and social transformations of pubic space on the collective experience of Iranian citizens. The exhibition uses photography and video as a tool for reflecting upon these public spaces’ new meanings. Urban Mapping will be on view at IA&A at Hillyer from September 1 to October 29, 2017.

A selection of work from Urban Mapping. Clockwise from top left: Arash Fayez, “Ramblings of a Flâneur”, 2008. Ghazaleh Hedayat, “Snake and Ladder”, 2012. Rana Javadi, “Enghelab Street, Tehran”, 1978. Saba Alizadeh, “Light and Soil”, 2011. Behnam Sadighi, “Ekbatan, west of Tehran”, 2004-2008. Mehran Mohajer, “Between & Non-Between”, 2017. All images courtesy of the artist.

From Tehran to Washington, DC, Gohar continues to create work that connects audiences through a shared humanity and promotes cross-cultural understanding. IA&A is amazed to see the incredible achievements Gohar has accomplished since participating in ArtBridge in 2008 and looks forward to seeing what she does next!

Art in Context: Iran

by

On October 11, 2017, International Arts & Artist (IA&A) hosted Art in Context: Iran, a discussion on Iranian culture, identity, and the broader conditions impacting creative work and partnerships. The discussion was held in conjunction with Urban Mapping, an exhibition of photography and video art on view at IA&A at Hillyer (formerly Hillyer Art Space). Curated by Gohar Dashti, Urban Mapping examines the concept of “public space” from the perspective of ten contemporary Iranian artists.

The conversation, which was moderated by Nazila Fathi, reporter and author of The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran, featured voices from the arts, media, and nonprofit worlds, including Bahar Jalehmahmoudi, an Iranian-American installation artist and sculptor, and Shahrooz Shekaraubi, Founder and President of the Aftab Committee, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that supports Iranian-American artists and their works.

During the discussion, panelists reflected on how shifting social and political conditions have shaped successive generations in Iran and the diaspora leading to different forms of creative resistance and new developments in the Iranian art market. Panelists discussed their contrasting interpretations of works featured in Urban Mapping, from the hyperpolitical to the uniquely personal. Shekaraubi and Jalehmahmoudi noted that many Iranian and Iranian-American artists experience an undue burden of representing their entire culture to viewers. On the issues of censorship and resistance, Jalehmahmoudi and Fathi highlighted various ways in which artists, filmmakers, and writers working in Iran contend with limits on free expression. Shekaraubi identified challenges particular to the Iranian context, including the concentration of galleries in Tehran, the political conditions impeding international exchange, and the influence of art collectors seeking work that aligns with stereotypical views of Iran.

________________________________________________________

A project of IA&A’s Cultural Exchange Programs, the International Partnership Initiative champions international work between American arts institutions and their counterparts abroad by creating a forum for discussion and discovery among leaders in the artistic, academic, diplomatic, and policy communities. The Initiative’s research and programming facilitates cross-cultural understanding and builds stronger ties through global partnerships in the arts.

Alumni Update: Hyppolite Speaks at One Young World

by

“At a very young age, my eyes have seen what no child should see; my ears have heard what no child should hear. That’s why I work with young people to halt the intergenerational transmission of hate for a much more peaceful future.”

#J1Alum Hyppolite Ntigurirwa recently delivered a powerful address at the One Young World summit in Bogotá. As part of the “Peace and Reconciliation” plenary session, Hyppolite shared with the audience how he is spreading his message of peace, using theater as a tool for healing, reconciliation, and peacebuilding in post-conflict communities both in Rwanda and abroad.

In 2016, Hyppolite participated in IA&A’s J-1 Exchange Visitor Program as the first international young leader to be selected for Arts Connect International’s Artist-in-Residence program. During his program, Hyppolite connected with other artists and social activists, acquired key arts management skills, and further developed his artistic body of work. He continues that work today through his Be the Peace Initiative.

Watch his speech below and read more about his exchange experience here.