New Urbanism Film Festival - The Urban Cloth Project: Creating a Social Fabric
Environmental Artist Sharon Kallis leads a year-long project to grow and produce cloth in downtown Vancouver, and to foster a relearning of local knowledge, and with that, the joy of community and the need to care for the land around us.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Martin Borden
Watch The Urban Cloth Project: Creating a Social Fabric here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I am interested in showing how small, thoughtful actions can influence larger changes in the way we live. Sharon Kallis has been working for years to connect people with local knowledge and skills to understand our relationship to the land, to build community, and to show how we can make better use of our resources.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think the film can act as a kind of template for someone to start a similar project, or at least to become aware of what cloth is, where it comes from, what we have lost in the globalized, consumer world we live in, and maybe, to make purchases more thoughtfully when it comes to clothing.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
We are faced with some monumental problems in terms of the environment, and how uncontrolled production/shipping/consumption is a threat to the planet. At the same time, we can see the beauty of small gestures, of the memory in our own hands when we learn to grow plants, to spin thread, to weave cloth, and to be part of a culture that values this.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
I am a very small-scale filmmaker who works solo, and very closely to my subject. Every step of the film making process was linked to the seasons and the local environment. As the crops grew, as our skills evolved, the film changed course.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback I’m most interested in is when people realize that cloth doesn’t come from a store, that it is something they can grow from seed or gather by hand. I can sometimes see wheels start to turn, and a local community develop when people are given this information.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The whole process has. I admit to being a bit clueless in regard to clothing and the scale of its impact on the environment. As soon as I learned to spin wool and linen myself, a little window opened.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I would love to see that people start growing their own cloth, that they start to consider the damage the cloth industry has done to the planet, and that they opt out of the fashion/consumption treadmill that is presented to us as the norm.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Right now I’ve been interested in how film festivals can get the ideas in this film out to a larger public.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I’d like to think of it as one small community speaking to another. The potential is what others might do in their own communities. Start a garden. Share some skills with other people. Stay out of the mall…
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Where do clothes and fashion come from? Who makes them, and at what cost? Can I step outside of the consumer world and do something different and more meaningful?
Would you like to add anything else?
To see some of the other projects Sharon has done, check out her website at: https://sharonkallis.com
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am working on a longer version of this subject, looking at other artists and artisans who work with cloth, and challenge the consumer model of fashion.
Interview: October 2016
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We are moving stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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The Urban Cloth Project: Creating a Social Fabric
Environmental Artist Sharon Kallis leads a year-long project to grow and produce cloth in downtown Vancouver, and to foster a relearning of local knowledge, and with that, the joy of community and the need to care for the land around us.
Length:
6 min 21 seconds
Director:
Martin Borden
Producer:
Martin Borden
Writer:
Martin Borden
About the writer, director and producer:
Martin Borden is a Vancouver based filmmaker. His subject matter concerns the collision between culture and nature, particularly as it relates ideas of sustainability and local knowledge.
Key cast:
Sharon Kallis https://sharonkallis.com
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists)
Film Festivals
Funders:
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Community Arts Council of Vancouver, British Columbia Arts Council
Made in association with:
Environmental Youth Alliance, eartHand Gleaners Society
Release date
2015