Myself and Martin Duckworth filming the Grannies in Vermont.
I am still working on my film about the Raging Grannies, the movement of elderly women fighting for peace, social justice and the environment with satirical songs and the occasional guerrilla action. I have decided to edit some of the Grannies’ songs as music videos, and so I am gathering some special footage in addition to the usual documentary material. The idea is, in my mind, to obtain striking visuals and special effects without having to spend much money. As part of this effort I recently went to the Bread and Puppets Theatre in Vermont with Louise-Édith Hébert, a francophone ‘Mémé déchaînée’ who is an important person in my film. Two other members of our team, Carole Roy and Terre Nash came along for the weekend, along with my wife Jocelyne who has vivid memories from visits to the Bread and Puppets theatre when she was young.
Indeed, Bread and Puppets has been going for several decades now, performing with giant puppets in a natural setting. I thought the images of the theatre could be a way to evoke street theatre as one of the original inspirations for the Raging Grannies, founded in Victoria, B.C., 21 years ago. And thanks to DOP Martin Duckworth, we did get some spectacular images of the Grannies and the puppets. Also, we filmed Louise-Édith making her own puppet and bringing it to the show. In addition, eleven Vermont Grannies responded to our appeal and showed up to sing some songs. A good time was had by all, and a few more tapes were added to my pile. This film is severely under-financed, and it is just the kind of film that will become harder to make with the conservative government’s cutbacks. In fact, if my friends and colleagues didn’t support it, I wouldn’t be able to make it at all.
Louise-Édith Hébert with the puppet she made. Bread and Puppets actors and staff are meeting in the background.
Thanks to Jorge Bustos-Estefan for help with this blog.
