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How We See Waterhttps://vimeo.com/357429940

For information about screening this film contact:  robinstarbuckfilms@gmail.com      How We See Water is also available in Spanish

“Robin Starbuck is an avant-garde New York filmmaker and video artist whose work examines the ways images are used to inform, insinuate, provoke, and intrigue.  Her experimental documentary, "How We See Water" explores the intersections of indigenous history and contemporary life in Chiapas, Mexico through the lives of two young women who work to gain their independence through education.  Ruminative, but with an undercurrent of urgency, the film seeks to illuminate the struggles, joys, and contradictions in these young women's lives through the visual experiences that attend them.”  Paden Douglas


"How We See Water" follows the lives of two young women, Juana Gomez Ramirez and Rosa Maria Hernandez, in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, as they grow from girls to young women and struggle to fulfill their dreams of obtaining an education while also serving a vital role in earning a living for their families. The survival of children in indigenous Chiapian Mexico is both fragile and resonant with cultural history. Working with the guidance of Melel Xojobal and the Na Bolom Museum, Starbuck filmed with these young girls and their families for over four years. Structurally, ‘How We See Water” utilizes both realistic and non-realistic devices and a shifting temporal emphasis throughout. The film combines footage of Chiapan life with animation, interviews, and dance. Both the visual and aural components of this film seek to interrogate conventional narrative structure and how this is represented in documentary film.


Director/Producer/Writer: Robin Starbuck

Primary Participants: Juana Gomez Ramirez and Rosa Maria Hernandez

Field Producer: Scott Duce

Camera: Robin Starbuck and Scott Duce

Additional Camera: Jeremiah Davis, Hannah Rifkin, Tori Himes

Field Audio Recorder: Tori Himes

Interpreters: Miles Gordon, Sas Weber, Sofia Siedel, Amber Zimay

Research Assistant: Julia Prushan, Xueni Yang, Isabella Vargas, Gayatri Degan,

Communications Management: Paden Douglas

Animation: Robin Starbuck

Music: Zoe Keating  www.zoekeating.com

Additional music: Street musicians of San Cristobal de las Casas

Sound Design: Robin Starbuck


Screenings To Date:

New York Film Anthology, NYC

Midnight Soul, Norrbotten, Sweden

Montreal Independent Film Festival, Canada

International New York Film Festival, NYC

Berlin Art Film Festival, Germany

Indie Open, Brooklyn, NY

Toronto Indie Shorts, Toronto, Canada

Boden International Film Festival, Sweden

Socially Relevant Film Festival, NY, NY Award Winner

Amsterdam Short Film Festival, Netherlands

Vermont Filmmakers Festival, Middlebury, VT

High Tatras Fit Festival, Prešovský kraj

North Dakota Human Rights Festival

Oregon Documentary Film Festival, Portland, OR

Atlanta Documentary Film Festival, Atlanta, GA

New Deli Film Festival, India

Collected Voices, Chicago, IL

Mumbai International Cult film Festival, India

Ethnografilm Festival, Paris, FR

Venice Shorts, CA, Award Winner

Eau Clair International Film Festival

Film In Focus, Best Mid Short Documentary

Rome Music Video Awards

Short Cut CineFest, Romania, Award Winner

Georgia Documentary Film festival

Esto Es Para Esto, Monterray City, MX 

Munich Music Video Awards

Long Story Shorts, Bucharest

International Sound Future Awards Festival

Art Music Video, Germany

X World Film Festival, NV

FlickFair Film Festival

Inclusion: Research TV Archives for education in the Humanities and Film Arts

Upcoming Screening, Paris, France, April 2022

https://vimeo.com/357429940

https://www.facebook.com/events/anthology-film-archives/newfilmmakers-ny-wednesday-march-11th-/765878293886839/

Awards: 

Socially Relevant Film Festival, NY, NY, Vanya Exerjiam Award for Empowering Women and Girls
Film In Focus, Best Mid Short Documentary
New York Film Anthology, NYC, Inclusion New Filmmakers
Venice Shorts, CA, Award Winner
Short Cut CineFest, Romania, Award Winner 
International Sound Future Awards