thinkingland

Just discovered the webiste, folkstreams.net - A National Preserve of Documentary Films about American Roots Cultures.  There are topical listings of documentaries on families, traditions, arts, and culture.  A couple of the films were on quilt-making as a folk-art.  The film, Quilts in Women's Lives, profiling three different women and their quilt-making traditions was what I wanted to share with you today.  The common theme of a touchable, tactile object like fabric and the quilt making and finished product being a means to conversation, therapy and memory preservation was captured in the words of each of the women.

Here's a trailer to the film...

I just learned about the Polish Animator, Witold Giersz.  One of his short, animated films from the sixties is for sale on ebay in 16mm format.  I'm always searching for good shorts to include in the 16mm short film festival that I curate with my sisters and hold every few years.  Giersz's animated shorts will now be added to my "keep an eye out for" list.  I learned more about the scope of the animated films by Giersz from an interview posted on the Michael Sporn Animation company's "splog".  The interview originally appeared in a 1980 issue of the European magazine, Animafilm.  The article mentioned Giersz's unique usage of paints directly on celluloid that were uncommon in mid-century animation.  The film, The Little Western, that used the mixing of paints to form characters sounded interesting...and I found it so you also can enjoy the artful storytelling.  So, here it is...Maly Western (1961) by Witold Giersz.