Legend has it that an extraordinary event occurred in the late 19th century in a native village of the southern Mexican highlands. A community of deeply oppressed people rose up in revolt and claimed a Christ child from their own ranks. Filmed in Chiapas Mexico, ‘The Stag’s Mirror’ is an allegorical response to this intricate story described in Rosario Castellano’s novel, The Book of Lamentations. Operating at the borderlines of documentary and experimental film this piece offers an alternative to the kind of documentary that either valorizes its subjects or extinguishes their power through patronizing assumptions. Structurally, The Stag’s Mirror utilizes various realistic and non-realistic devices and a shifting temporal emphasis between foreground and background movement. The film combines footage of Chiapan life with animation, spoken text, and un-synched sound. Both the visual and aural components of this film interrogate conventional narrative structure and how this is represented in documentary film. In uncoupling the relationship between sound and image, the film attempts to capture an essence of place and history rather than communicating it directly.
‘The Stag’s Mirror’ is comprised of five separate films that I first edited and then re-composited as a single whole. The voice-over is written as a fusion of words and phrases taken from two sources: Rosario Castellano’s , The Book of Lamentations, 1962, and Guillermo Garcia Villasenor’s essay, “Chiapas a Contrapelo” (Chiapas Against the Grain), 2006. This interlacing of material generates associations and implications beyond simple interpretation. Robin Starbuck
© Bishee Media Productions, XII - V - MMXVII
For information regarding screening this film please contact: robinstarbuckfilms@gmail.com
Also available with Spanish subtitles
Directing/Editing: Robin Starbuck
Script: Adaptation from Rosario Castellano’s, The Book of Lamentations
Original Music: John Yannelli
Field Producer: Scott Duce
Voice and Flute: Emily Cardwell
Spanish Voice: Alba Coronel
Camera: Scott Duce, Robin Starbuck
Primary Participants: Juana Romirez Gomez, Carolina Gomez Hernandez, Javier Romirez Lopez, Selina Romirez Gomez
Sound Mix: John Yannelli, Robin Starbuck
Assistant Camera: Jeremiah Davis, Hannah Rifkin, Tori Himes
Animation: Robin Starbuck
Text Translations: irene Alberty-Cardona
Release: 2017
Festivals:
Stockholm Animation Film Festival, Sweden
X World Short Film Festival, Rome, Italy, Nominated: Best Experimental Film Direction, Best Documentary Direction, Best Experimental Trailer, Best Documentary Trailer, Best Documentary Poster, Rome, Italy
Antimatter, Victoria, BC,
C.A.V.E Film Fextival, Minneapolis, MN
Borderscene, Las Cruses, NM
XVI Cine Pobre, Cuba, Best Self Funded Experimental Film
Meraki Film Festival, Madrid, Spain, Finalist
High Bar Film Festival, Washington State
Sheridan WYO Film Festival, WY
Film & Video Association Conference, El Paso, NM
Experimental Forum, Los Angeles, CA, Honorable Mention, Award Honorable Mention
Madrid Art Film Festival, Madrid, Spain
Collected Voices, ethnographic film festival, Chicago, IL
Shawna Shae Film Festival Festival, Southbridge, CN, Award Best Experimental Film
Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, Middlebury, VT
Frostbite Film Festival, Springs, CO, Award Best Experimental Film
Na Bolom Museum and Research Center, San Cristobal de las Casas, MX
Cinema El Puente, San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico
Columbia University, NY, NY
Action on Film, Las Vegas, NV
Preliminary screening, Ethnografilm, Paris, France
Vermont Symphony Orchestra VSO award http://www.robinstarbuck.com/Robin_Starbuck/Projects/Pages/VSO_Music_Collaboration.html
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra [VSO], presents this annual award to a filmmaker whose selection and incorporation of original music into their film displays the highest potential for future success. Robin Starbuck has been awarded the VSO Award in response to her 2017 film, “The Stag’s Mirror”.
With the 2017 award the Vermont Symphony Orchestra pairs filmmaker Robin Starbuck with rising composer, Matt LaRocca, to pair her new film, How We See Water, with original music. A live performance of the original score will take place during the debut screening of Starbuck’s new film at the 2018 Fall Vermont New Filmmakers Festival in Middlebury, Vermont. “Through this remarkable partnership, two wildly creative artists will work on a collaborative project to elevate the role of music as a singular and critical component in a film.” This partnership highlights the orchestra’s commitment to empower and nurture new commissions continuing the mission of innovation and exploration.
The awarding panel consisted of Vermont Symphony Orchestra Music Director, Jaime Laredo; New Music Advisor, David Ludwig; VSO Executive Director, Benjamin Cadwallader; members of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra; and a Vermont-based composer.
