F I L M

Divine Sparks Trailer

ORIGINS
I created Divine Sparks as an illustrated manuscript many moons ago.  During a year’s sojourn, I lived in a tiny mountaintop village in the wilds of western Crete with no computer, radio, TV, newspaper, telephone, stores, hot water or English!  Spring arrived, and as the mountainside began to bud and bloom anew, I wrote a tale about the world’s beginning, and cut pieces of paper into colorful abstract shapes.  My celebratory story about the transformative processes of creativity and the cosmos affirms the origin, diversity, and regeneration of life.  It speaks to the inner urges in each of us to grow and evolve “toward the light.”  

HISTORY
The Divine Sparks story clearly resonates with people.  Over the years, it has been transformed into 12 different projects in 8 different media—usually in local or regional venues.  People have often urged me to make Divine Sparks more accessible to a larger audience.  Five years ago, a friend suggested I learn computer graphics and make an art video for children—as if that would be easy!  Five years later, Divine Sparks is now, almost, a film.  A grant from IFP launched the making of this film, and brought us near the end of production.  We’re seeking tax-deductible donations to carry Divine Sparks film to the finish line.      

STYLE
Neither a documentary nor a traditional plot-driven story, this is truly a multi-media art film.  It is daunting and exciting to interweave several disparate approaches to film-making.  One challenge is writing, and keeping to, a detailed storyboard and tight film schedules.  A second challenge is being open to—and filming—unscripted and unexpected events as a vital part of the film’s creative process.  A third challenge is using found, old, and archival images (including stills from the 40’s and reel film footage from the ‘50’s) to enhance the story.  The fourth challenge is interweaving these different approaches so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  

Some key imagery evolved spontaneously.  For example, while on-location in the West Indies, a mother hummingbird built a nest, brooded and hatched a baby!  In the film, these images appear seamlessly.  I believe this unusual multi-process approach adds to the film’s vibrancy, uniqueness and charm.   

CLIPS
To see Divine Sparks trailer, click on the clip at the top of the page.   

For pictures of filming on-location, see the TRAVEL-BLOG page.