Mamu Ensemble Together<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a film made by La Bo\u00eete interculturelle that we had sent him for his thoughts, described that impact so well: <\/p>\n\n\n\n“First of all let me say that I found the images strikingly beautiful. And perhaps the reason for that beyond the exemplary, technically excellent cinematography, is the way your subjects are depicted, that is simply as themselves, vulnerabilities clearly evident. And that intimacy is what draws a viewer in, the person, speaking or making music is vulnerable, and that in turns exposes the vulnerability of the viewer. That vulnerability, not being a conscious act but rather an emotional reaction to what they see, as real and authentic. The viewer, I believe can no longer “dismiss” this person, this “other” because of the sensitive, non judgemental aspects of the camera’s “eye” and of the direct and accepting message apparent in all the dialogues, the situations, and the direct to camera “conversations”. As a viewer, one must engage in a reciprocal way, to such a direct, “one on one” conversation, and the “other” ceases being the “other” and the viewer then changes in discreet but tangible ways, not just about accepting the person on-screen, but also, by default others who look like him or her, and can no longer be dismissed or categorized, but rather additional steps might be taken in future encounters, with the now innate knowledge that every or any person can be interesting. That it is wrong to prejudge a person or a situation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd this what your film absolutely and wonderfully accomplishes. We see “Canadians” opening up, exposing their own vulnerabilities in so doing, and quietly making the very point of the film, of the exercise of this band of likeable musicians, reaching out, and being rewarded. Your viewers will likewise feel a reward for getting to know these people who seem to have a love of life, of others, despite the fact that they may have been judged (unfairly) so much, yet as one of them said, “I can accept you the way you are, can you not accept me?” That phrase in particular, with its searing simplicity, and clarity, is impossible to refute.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThere are others, who surprisingly speak more as philosophers, on the subject of racism, because they have had to live with it and confront it. In turn, the viewers, regardless of previous prejudices, must now not only realize them, but also question those prejudices. And this is the very success of your film.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt was so good to see Nathalie on camera, being the Nathalie I always loved, and again, I have to commend the exceptional camera work, and the steady, hugely creative editing that kept me watching to the end. A beautiful, quietly powerful film. Bravo & Brava. Good luck with your tour. And Thank you very much for reaching out and allowing me to see it.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\nJim leaves behind a legacy of gentleness, creativity, and humanity, visible in every frame he so carefully captured. He will be remembered as a treasured collaborator, a sensitive artist, and above all, a friend with an immense heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo credit: <\/strong>Vincenzo Pietropaolo<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is with deep sadness that we pay tribute to our dear friend Jim Aquila, c.s.c. \u2014 a kind-hearted and gentle soul whose talent behind the camera left its mark on so many projects, and so many lives, over the years. Jim was far more than an exceptional cinematographer. For many years, we had the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":22502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-updates-and-articles"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22504"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22505,"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22504\/revisions\/22505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boiteinterculturelle.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}