About
In a surrealistic exploration of violence, the visual detritus of his culture give form to a man's fragmented childhood memories and lead inexorably to his self-destruction.
Shockwaves is a window into a man’s mind as he tries to comprehend the transformation of his life from fairy tale to tragedy. He recalls meeting and falling in love with his soul mate, their wedding and their promising future. But fatherhood resurrects the ghosts of abuse, and he is transfigured into the slave of psychic trauma he cannot escape; he plays the part his heritage commands, recapitulating his own father’s role. But trauma and suffering have always through the ages called forth a response. Like an Aeschylean Fury risen from depths unknown, the memory of his savagery - taking on the form of his wife - wreaks its vengeance and finally annihilates his sinister inheritance.
Shockwaves is composed of the man’s memories and the images among which he’s always lived, memories and images that constrain what he can see, express, and experience; these memories and images also seem to doom the man to reenacting in new forms the trauma he suffered as a child.
Shockwaves is a kaleidoscopic remix of signs, gestures and actions that underlie meaning a culture saturated by moving pictures; pioneering filmmaker and artist Kasumi created and deployed over 25,000 short film clips derived from both her original footage and from long forgotten public domain movies, Thus, to watch Shockwaves is at the same time to experience a man’s life and to immerse yourself in a kaleidoscopic collage of rotoscoped film clips, original dance choreography, innovative animation and evocative sound design. An intense personal story, a biting critique of American culture, and the expression of a dark and madcap sensibility, Shockwaves explores the persistence and variations of the trauma inflicted by abuse.
Credits
director and editor
KASUMI
producers
KASUMIFILMS (USA)
VIDEOPAPER (FRANCE)
executive producers
KASUMI
KITAO SAKURAI
major funding
THE JOHN SIMON GUGGENHEIM
MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
and
CUYAHOGA ARTS AND CULTURE
inspired by a script by
CAROLYN JACK
cast
JEREMY KENDALL
MICHELLE BLANTON STRONG
dancers
DA-RELL TOWNES
JACOB MARX
CHRISTOPHER BELL
MICHELLE BLANTON STRONG
BETHANY ROSE HARRISON (UK)
VALERIE MADONIA
extra cast
CAITLIN GRAHAM (UK)
HANNAH WAFFEN
DONNELL DJ HOPKINS
cinematoography
(FRANCE)
DIDIER FELDMANN
(USA)
PHIL KIBBE
WILL NEIHEISER
SAM STEFANAK
TYLER ZAK
DAVE SEGRUE
IAN ZEIGLER
MICHAEL FOLLIETT
ADEN WEXBERG
(UK) AMANDA BLUGLASS
DANNY COOKE
33HIRTZ
colorgrading
DIDIER FELDMANN
music and sound
JONATHAN PIESLAK
TYLER MAINS
THOMAS MAOS
SANDI STRMLJAN THESILENTARTORCHESTRA
TIMOTHY BEYER
JAMES PRAZNIK
JOEL PANIAN
TJ BORDEN
CHRIS ZAJAC
GREG D’ALESSIO
LAS SIRENAS WOMEN’S CHORUS,
THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK,
RIIKKA PIETILAINEN, CONDUCTOR
KIEV PHILHARMONIC,
ROBERT IAN WINSTIN, CONDUCTOR
ERIC BARTLETT, MARCY ROSEN
LINDY CLARKE, MINA SMITH
THE ANUBIS SAXOPHONE QUARTET,
ALLISON BALCETIS, DAVID WEGEHAUPT,
RYAN MUNCY, SEAN PATAYANIKORN
additional sound design
TIM BEYER
stop motion animator
SEAN EDDY
3D animator
AMANDA ALMON
kasumi's personal assistants
CHRISTINA WAIREGI
VANESA JERIC
TAMI LISS
JOHN SPOFFORD
production assistants and coordinators
BEN SAKS
JOSEPH MINEK
KAETLYN MCCAFFERTY
ROSE HILEMAN
IVY GARRIGAN
JORDAN DAVIS
MURRAY DAVIS
JIM JANEK
KERRY WERBLAK
technology
JAY HOROWITZ
zygote location lighting
DANA DEPREW
film transfer
DAVID SHAW
Technical Info
82 minutes
color HD 1920 x 1080
Stereo
01/12/2014
00:52
