FILMS
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Teaser video no. 1 -- Official
AC Projects presents Mana, A new film by Eric Minh Swenson
Andi Campognone, Director of AC Projects and Eric Minh Swenson, Founder of EMS Productions announce the making of a documentary film on southern California artists who share the skill and affinity of surfing and how their love of, and interactions with the dynamics of the ocean inform their artwork. Each artist approaches their work differently in their process, mediums and styles, yet they all share a reverence for the power, beauty and complexity of the ocean. They are additionally unified by their strong community and family connections, each with a commitment to younger generations through art and surfing.
The documentary will be shaped by the directorial vision of Los Angeles-based filmmaker Eric Minh Swenson, who has produced over 120 films featuring major LA artists, curators and collectors. Celebrated cinematographers Marcel Morin and Sarah Mueller of Vitae Sessions and renowned curator and art champion Andi Campognone will compliment Swenson's aesthetic oeuvre. Mr. Swenson's team will craft a feature length film focusing on the brotherhood of a group of artists selected for their contributions as modern day pioneers of the southern California art world, each working on their own terms within the light and space, finish fetish, design and assemblage movements that have come to shape and define the Los Angeles art scene. As divergent as each artist's work is in comparison, they all share a common thread in their process and vision and are constantly driven by the influences and forces of family, friendships, stoke, aloha and the common bond of the unseen mana (power) of the land and sea.
Their interaction and conversation with each other and the environment will be the focus of Swenson's, Morin/Mueller's and Campognone's visual narrative. Filming will take place within the first two weeks of July 2013 and center around the Kailua-Kona side of the Big Island with excursions to significant ceremonial and surf sites around the island. Shooting in the spirit of Terrance Malick and Werner Herzog, the film will convey a serene, meditative mood where Zen philosophy, art principles, bravery and humility form a cohesive narrative of what will undoubtedly become one of the most ambitious and celebrated films created on Southern California art, surf culture and history. The film will also be débuted and screened in coordination with a major Los Angeles museum exhibition featuring the art of these eleven influential artists.