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Andrea Pass and Dominique
Keller creators and producers of CEA talk to DOFN about the
making of the film.
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 Susanne
Fosse: (To Andrea):Your
production notes give the impression that the film is a throwback to
a time before technology and urban dominance. What principal theme was
shaping (the project) at concept stage?
Andrea Pass: An old black and white photo of my great grandmother, my mother in tow, standing chest high in her New Dayton wheat field was the inspiration for this project. I remember being in that wheat field as a child. I remember the sensation of running my hands over the tops of the long grasses and the waves that seemed like an ocean of gold when the wind would gust over the wide expanse. The farms our Canadian grandparents grew up on are
pictures, stories, or maybe childhood memories and nothing more. Farming
practice has changed, the family farm has changed and the way that
we view life and the pace of our lives has changed as well. A large
shift has happened in only a few generations. CEA is a piece about
that change. |
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Andrea Pass: There were many discussions about the opening of the film. In the planning and development stage we thought that starting with the abstract texture and pattern of a shaft of wheat would be the most interesting way to introduce our environment and also to establish an intimacy with the women in the field. On filming day we decided that we needed to have the option of seeing the dancers growing from the field, thus answering the question “why are they there”. In the edit suite the macro images seemed a little creepy…this really wasn’t the feel we were hoping to establish with the film. All of the wonderful people that helped with this film loved the opening images of emerging from the field and that was the one that we went with in the end. Overall the image of the rolling ocean of wheat swaying in the wind and the sensory texture of the wheat were exactly what we hoped to achieve when we started this project. I think that is what the viewer takes away. I think that the natural pace is what the viewer takes away. Susanne Fosse: (To Both): Your cinematographer Lisa Fryklund has a really expansive reel of work going back 20 years. How did she get involved in the production? Andrea Pass: With the wonderful persuasive powers of my co-producer!!! Dominique Keller: While we were shooting this piece I was working with Lisa on a series. I was impressed by both her experience and her attention to detail. She is diligent and has a wonderful esthetic and is driven to create beautiful images--I thought she would be a good fit for this film. I was lucky that she was both available and willing to take on the project.
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Susanne Fosse (To Dominique): This film takes place entirely in a wheat field. However, Aboriginality, your latest film, features dance/animation, and is partly spoken in the Indian language Cree. What draws you to what would be considered unusual projects? Dominique Keller: While
we were shooting CEA I was working on Aboriginality. They are very different
films. CEA is about simplicity and beauty, Aboriginality is multi-layered
and covers complex social and cultural elements. What drew me to CEA
was the idea of making a simple image compelling. I was inspired to
create Aboriginality based on my experiences working with filmmakers
in the Aboriginal community. I don’t consider these projects unusual;
to me they are just ideas and stories that have inspired me enough to
drive them onto the screen. I have learned to only make films that I
really love because I have to live with them for a number of years both
before and after they are shot. I am actually still making and remaking
Aboriginality, it is definitely an example of a film that I have lived
with for a long time. It will be released this year however. Andrea Pass: The movement was started in a studio during the winter of 2001, so the transitions and quality of movement were worked out before any of the dancers started rehearsing in the summer of 2005. We had the incredible fortune of having a large field with tall grass beside the studio, so throughout the summer we worked the quality of the movement while dancing on the grass. We had to try to figure out how to get our footing without crushing large areas of grass, and how we would interact or choreograph the movement reactions of the grass. The filming day was for everyone the first time they had danced in a wheat field. Many thanks need to be given to the farmer, who made sure that there were no weeds or thistles in the field. Susanne Fosse(To Both): The music score by Cedric Barry and Colin Maier has a very minimalist quality. How did that come together in post production? Andrea Pass: The music was developed
while we were working on the funding of the film. Colin and Cedric had
a basic structure to work from, five separate parts to the music. The
goal was to create a sound that was Western Canadian,that avoided the
stereotypes of country music or classical dance. We were privileged
to have not only two wonderful composers but musicians capable of playing
almost any instrument. |
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Susanne Fosse(to both): What projects are you currently working on? Andrea Pass: I just finished dancing
in the Corps de Ballet for Ballet Victoria Holiday production of Court
of Miracles. I am planning to head back into the dance studio this year
to explore some new ideas. Dominique Keller: Like I said earlier I am just finishing post production on Aboriginality. I am also in development on a documentary about my grandmother. In addition to these I have just finished the first draft of a feature film script that is roughly based on my teenage years.
This
film is part of
Dance, Camera, Action 2
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