my city

This is Brent Shrewsbury's "Hollywood on the Mississippi".  I have a personal connection (a story, a memory) to almost every location he chose to shoot.  Spending most of my life here I've seen things come and go.  The landscape has changed so much.  These grainy images of this sleepy town juxtaposed to 'San Quinton' is pitch perfect.  It's a good humored love/hate relationship to Memphis I can relate to. 

I also like the story behind it.  He got his hands on a free can of film and off he went. The economy of means is something I've been thinking about a lot lately.  Doing more with less is an essential part of the creative process - whether it's writing a poem, making a drawing or a film. 

 

He explains:

This film explores Memphis’s abandoning of architectural integrity in favor of sprawl and waste. Many of the locations depicted in this film have since been demolished. Ultimately, this is more an “experimental documentary” than a “music video.” However, since the length and edits were dictated by a single musical piece, I chose to classify it as a music video.

Synopsis: I was on summer vacation from college when this project erupted from a can of free film. With respect for my hometown, and a limited amount of raw stock, I chose each shot deliberately. However, unfortunately and unforeseen, the opening shot of the film caused my associate and attorney, Richard, along with myself, to be added to a Homeland Security watch list. Scolding us for taking photos near a bridge, the Arkansas police sergeant then took our pictures for the FBI.  

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