Born to Fly at SXSW!

It was our first time at SXSW, but we truly hope it won't be our last. We had a great time from food trucks (I'm looking at you Chi'lantro) to pedicabs to great films and great company to Allen's boots and tacos, tacos, tacos. We really felt embraced by the festival community - as well as the people of Austin, who are eerily and authentically nice! 

Our world premiere at the Stateside Theatre was a thrill, and Jim Fouratt filmed our Q&A! Cat and Elizabeth's re-telling of the now infamous bowling ball dropping story is not to be missed! You can watch it here. Then we were on to The Violet Crown Cinema - where all the chairs are pretty much couches or beds (meaning AMAZING!). The audience for this Q&A asked some pretty insightful questions about the nature of documenting such revolutionary work, and how Elizabeth can surpass the London performance. Laura Flanders filmed! You can watch it here. 

Also, we started an instagram account in honor of SXSW; here are a few highlights!

Born to Fly World Premiere at the Stateside Theatre!

Catherine, Mickey Cottrell (Inclusive PR), Elizabeth Streb, and Jonah Blechman (Inclusive PR) after a long day of interviews.

Laura Flanders, Elizabeth Streb and Catherine Gund 

Associate Producer Jessica Ruffin playing it cool next to the robot-headed monster.

But SXSW wasn't all running around downtown Austin taking selfies, we also had a couple great dinners hosted by filmmaker (and B2F archival camera person!) Ellen Spiro and longtime supporter of contemporary artists and Art Matters Board Member Laurence Miller. Like SXSW and so many aspects of Austin, Spiro's and Miller's homes both demonstrated a creative convergence of art, comfort, and forward-thinking. Laurence Miller has converted his home into an exhibition space for artists to explore the domestic through their practice - it's called testsite. The current installation is by artist John Cooper - who wove garden hoses throughout the house - creating a maze that brought out the kid in all of us.

Sadie, Catherine, and Jessica at testsite.

Andrea Mellard (The Contemporary Austin) and Catherine enjoying testsite.

Elizabeth Streb also presented a talk at the Contemporary Austin - Jones Center. We were thoroughly impressed by the innovative architecture in the Community room. And we were even more impressed by the number of people who pushed their way through downtown traffic in order to hear Elizabeth speak.

All in all a great success. Looking forward to Cleveland this weekend and Full Frame on April 3rd!

Visit #borntoflymovie on Instagram for more great pics!

BORN TO FLY will premiere at SXSW!

We are thrilled to announce that BORN TO FLY will have its world premiere at SXSW this March. Out of pool of 892 documentaries submitted to the festival, only 8 were chosen for the documentary competition. We are totally psyched! You can read more here.

We've also cut a new trailer to celebrate. Check it out below. And spread the word, Like, Share, etc!

A personal reaction to 'Born To Fly'

Elizabeth Streb and two of her dancers. One Extraordinary Day . London 2012

“The highs were so high, I’m still coming down” Fabio, one of Elizabeth Streb’s dancers, said in recounting their monumental performance of “Human Eye” in London. In this amazing event that was part of a series of shows in London called One Extraordinary Day, the dancers were strapped to a Ferris Wheel and executed their performance in the air, 400 feet above ground.

Streb’s mind-blowing work is something that speaks for itself, but hearing her and her dancers talk about it reveals a whole new layer of courage, talent, passion and fear. It’s extraordinary how as a viewer, when looking at Streb’s work, I could almost feel the blows, the falls and the hits that the dancers performed. Hearing Streb talk about the human body, referring to its ability to ‘carve the air’ and changing its relationship with its surroundings, you begin to re-evaluate the nature of your own body in the world. Listening to the dancers speak of their experience of this extreme performance gave me a sense of what it must take to become a part of Streb’s vision. They speak of immense fear and worry, but also excitement, energy and the feeling of invincibility.

The Ferris Wheel. London 2012

I was also very impressed with Streb’s personal relationship with her dancers. At the London performance One Extraordinary Day, as the STREB Action Heroes climbed towards the sky far above the safety of the ground, Streb’s eyes followed them. She accompanied them; she was scared with them; and she was excited with them. As a viewer, I could not help but wait at the edge of my seat to experience what would happen next. In this kind of work, the dancers are the flesh of the art piece. And as the art and the artist climbed up that ferris wheel, I felt myself climbing with them, holding on to the cold metal, covered in safety straps and experiencing how the wind feels that high up. Unencumbered by crowds, trees and the busyness at ground level.

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STREB dancers strapped to a Ferris Wheel, 400 ft in the air. One Extraordinary Day. London 2012

One of the things that I really enjoyed about the movie was the fact that the human aspect was very much explored. The dancers who compose Streb’s action pieces are interviewed and provide a d­eeper understanding to all of the complex layers and the hard work that Streb’s pieces need in order to be executed. To me that was one of the most interesting parts, that the film would be able to switch back and forth from the private world of the people who embody the work, to the broader vision of Streb’s thinking process and overall direction.

When Streb started her career as a dancer she pushed her body to its limits even at the expense of her health. Now she needs to direct others to follow her footsteps that require physical risk, emotional strength and determination made of steel. I loved seeing how Streb deals with those complicated and personal relationships. Her overpowering vision of dance, the human compositions that via performance investigate the different aspects of what it means to be a moving mass of flesh; this with the fact that her art is made of people for whom she cares for and worries about.

It is only natural to feel out of your comfort zone with Streb’s work. It is meant to pull you out of the common perception of yourself, to wheel you in and expose you to a world of flying people, spinning bodies and dancers far above your head.