COMING SOON! Lost Bird (Zinkala Nuni)
Based on the song “Little Bird (Lost Bird of Wounded Knee)" by Brad Colerick
This tale of "found & lost" portrays the troubled life of a Lakota baby who survived the 1890 Massacre at Wounded Knee, only to struggle with identity and acceptance in white high society along with the loss of her own cultural heritage and people. Presented in a montage of animated ledger art, vintage silent movie clips and historic photographs set to an original song written and performed by Brad Colerick, it gives voice to one whose own was taken from her. The song “Little Bird" (Lost Bird of Wounded Knee) was written and recorded with a Lakota drum and Native American flute to capture her bold spirit as well as her struggles. The use of ledger art, a genre introduced by imprisoned American Indians and known for child-like simplicity of line and color, is intended to respect a Native American storytelling tradition. We used historic Lakota, Oglala, and Ioway illustrations where possible, (and recreated some where needed,) on top of actual military records, reactionary telegraphs and broken treaties as the canvas for the characters at Wounded Knee.
The song and film are a posthumous acknowledgement of a terrible tragedy — not just for one life, but for many. Our hope is that people will learn more about “Lost Bird” and the Native American Adoption Law recently upheld by the Supreme Court, and find a place in their hearts for Zintka.
Detailed citations can be found at deepmagic.fun/lost-bird
Hummingbird
A young woman, isolated, depressed and hiding in her towering manse, is inspired by the antics of a hummingbird in her garden and a magical moonrise to reflect, embrace life, and emerge. "Emergence" is the key word behind each frame and every note of this tone poem written and performed by virtuoso guitarist Gregory Porée. The story is being told entirely without words in this short, limited-animation, musical montage. We sense the woman's sadness, but are rewarded with her transformation as she embraces life and expresses gratitude, after reflection inspired by a magical moonrise and her daily spying on the carefree flight of the hummingbird in her garden. The paintings by Edouard Vuillard and illustrations by Italian architect Augusto Cavazzoni are combined and brought to life with a "dancing camera" that mimics one of the film's two characters, a hummingbird. Archival dancing girl footage filmed by Thomas A. Edison and other, modern stock footage and film clips, manipulated as moving illustrations, are employed.
Fireline
Fireline is Brad Colerick's tribute to dedicated firefighters in their seemingly endless and extremely dangerous task of controlling wildfires in California. It’s also a song in which he steps out with new and innovative collaborations - pairing the rap of Jul Big Green with the banjo on fire of Steve Hanson. The visual counterpoint is the dynamic performance of Flow Mayhem, fire dart dancer, as the singer's muse. Black and white footage of the band is ghosted over the full color footage of raging wildfires and a choppy editing technique visualizes the staccato banjo plucking by Hanson.