Shira Avni

Created with the assistance of the National Film Board of Canada and BravoFACT, this is Shira’s second film involving actors with down syndrome. Her first film, Tying Your Own Shoes is an intimate glimpse into the exceptional mindsets and emotional lives of four adult artists with Down Syndrome. An artful, four-way essay about ability, this animated documentary explores how it feels to be a little bit unusual. That film along with her most recent films John and Michael, and From Far Away have garnered over 30 grants and awards, including the prestigious DOK Leipzig Golden Dove and the NHK Japan Prize, and have screened in over 100 festivals worldwide, as well as on CBC, PBS and TV5 television networks.

To celebrate the premiere of Petra’s Poem I created a showing of stills taken during the filming of the documentary. The photos are all candid portraits capturing intimate moments where the actors were experiencing joy, quiet, reflection and friendship.

I found the actors a joy to work with and their personalities both special and fascinating. The energy and life in the studio was quite inspired. The photos reflect the way in which people with down syndrome process their environment, and the people around them, allowing for a unique view of the world we live in.

Inspiration

It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary.
DAVID BAILEY, Photographer, b. 1938, London.

In this exhibit I purposely choose a 70mm, 2.20:1, ratio for cropping the photos to limit myself to only that which was the essence of the person in an exaggerated environment. I also choose to treat the photos in subdued light to contrast the high key lighting used to make the film.