How We See Water
a live film score experience with the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival and Vermont Symphony Orchestra
Film by Robin Starbuck and music by Matt LaRocca
Robin Starbuck has been filming in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico for over four years. In Chiapas, the poorest of Mexico’s 31 states, the survival of indigenous adults and children is simultaneously fragile and rich with cultural significance. As with most of Starbuck’s work, her aim with this project was to produce a film would be largely artistic and lyrical. As she says, “The film is auto-ethnographical and through it I am seeking to establish a link between ancient Mayan beliefs and my experience of indigenous Chiapian life today.” Because these links remain ephemeral the combination of film, animation, and text in How We See Water intentionally allow for a poetic and expressive construction of meaning. Starbuck’s intent is to capture an essence of place and history rather than delineate these. The text for this film production is derived from fragments of the Popol Vuh, (an ancient Mayan sacred text - or ilb’al), and the film’s imagery was both shot on location and animated in Starbuck’s NY studio.
The inspiration for the music of How We See Water lies in the traditions of Mayan music and vivid imagery of the film. The score is based on the scales, harmonies and instruments used by Mayans, but reimagined for a modern orchestra and crafted in a way to accentuate the striking visuals of Chiapas and the juxtaposition of modern and ancient worlds.
This project is supported by the VSO and the Vermont New Filmmaker’s Festival 2018
Music Score of How We See Water
Read a review of the VSO's Made in Vermont Tour which featured How We See Water here
Robin Starbuck has been filming in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico for over four years. In Chiapas, the poorest of Mexico’s 31 states, the survival of indigenous adults and children is simultaneously fragile and rich with cultural significance. As with most of Starbuck’s work, her aim with this project was to produce a film would be largely artistic and lyrical. As she says, “The film is auto-ethnographical and through it I am seeking to establish a link between ancient Mayan beliefs and my experience of indigenous Chiapian life today.” Because these links remain ephemeral the combination of film, animation, and text in How We See Water intentionally allow for a poetic and expressive construction of meaning. Starbuck’s intent is to capture an essence of place and history rather than delineate these. The text for this film production is derived from fragments of the Popol Vuh, (an ancient Mayan sacred text - or ilb’al), and the film’s imagery was both shot on location and animated in Starbuck’s NY studio.
The inspiration for the music of How We See Water lies in the traditions of Mayan music and vivid imagery of the film. The score is based on the scales, harmonies and instruments used by Mayans, but reimagined for a modern orchestra and crafted in a way to accentuate the striking visuals of Chiapas and the juxtaposition of modern and ancient worlds.
This project is supported by the VSO and the Vermont New Filmmaker’s Festival 2018
Music Score of How We See Water
Read a review of the VSO's Made in Vermont Tour which featured How We See Water here