Iron in the Soul (2008)
1h 45min
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- Synopsis:
Leah Gordon is an artist and curator and has produced a body of work on the representational boundaries between art, religion, anthropology, post-colonialism and folk history. Gordon's film and photographic work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, UK; Parc de laVillette, Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, the Dakar Biennale and elsewhere. Her photography book Kanaval: Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haiti (Soul Jazz Books) was published by in 2010. She is the co-director of the Ghetto Biennale in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; was a curator for the Haitian Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale; co-curator of 'Kafou: Haiti, History and Art' at the Nottingham Contemporary and on the curatorial team for the 'In Extremis: Death and Life in 21st Century Haitian Art' show in 2012 at the Fowler Museum, UCLA and 2013 at the Musees de la Civilisation, Quebec City.
A Pig's Tale (1997)
A piggyback ride of a documentary linking Haitian pigs, Vodou and US economic imperialism. Juste, a Haitian Rasta who grew up in Brooklyn and Edgar, a Vodou priest, embark on separate searches to unearth the truth behind the US-backed pig eradication programme from the early 1980's which destabilised the previously self-sufficient peasant economy and effectively privatised pork production.The film shows the carelessness of the USAID programme and the devastating effect it had on the peasant economy.
Atis Rezistans:The Sculptors of Grand Rue (2008)
Grand Rue is the main avenue that runs through downtown Port au Prince, Haiti. At its southern end is a community that has a historical tradition of arts, crafts and religious practice. Contemporary Haitian artists Celeur, Eugene, Claude and Guyodo all grew up in this ghetto atmosphere of junkyard make-do and artistic endeavour. Their powerful sculptural collages have transformed the detritus of a failing economy into bold, radical and warped sculptures.Their work references their shared African and Haitian cultural heritage, a dystopian sci-fi view of the future and the transformative act of assemblage. The monumental works they have created are liberally scattered around this slum area, transforming the clamorous area into an organic art installation. This multi-layered film is a portrait of a neighbourhood materially poor but culturally rich, and a meditation of the links between sex, death and creativity as expressed through the Vodou spirit Gede, that influences all their work.
Bounda pa Bounda: A Drag Zaka (2008)
An observational film that documents Bounda pa Bounda (Cheek by Arse), a character from the Jacmel carnival, as he drags up in a sacred Vodou altar space before going onto the streets with his Rara band. The film is a meditation on gender transformation within a sacred environment.- Directors:
- Leah Gordon, Anne Parisio
- Producers:
- Leah Gordon, Anne Parisio
- Aka:
- Iron in the Soul: The Haiti Documentary Films of Leah Gordon
- Studio:
- Soul Jazz
- Genres:
- Documentary, Music & Musicals, Special Interest
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