Left Behind
“There are those of us who get to build kayaks at 73, and those of us who die quietly our dreams unfulfilled. 9 Lives 6 Months is about lives lived, not lived, considered not worth living, nearly lost, actually lost, hanging in the balance. How crazy can it make us to have our dreams seemingly out of reach? 9 Lives is about the relationship those of us who are forced to seek our artistic path abroad, have with out country of origin, and the personal histories we leave behind.”
This video, 9 Lives 6 Months, is a fragment of an interpretive biography. It’s a “rough assembly” of archive footage meant to suggest a larger proposed, but unrealized, project – a 50-minute, experimental film about “disability, art, poverty, dreams, craziness and wonder.” The real-life subjects are Meg, her lover, a childhood friend, and her grandmother.
Each of these women left Aotearoa to pursue their passions. The 6 months of the title refers to a brief stretch of time in 1998 when their lives “collided”. The synopsis suggests Meg would be exploring gender inequities in opportunity, wealth, and for self-fulfillment; that we should consider not just what is left behind, but who, despite their actions and hopes.
Other materials
9 Lives 6 Months support materials; poems on language, politics, bureaucracy, and disability; a study on media and disability written for Women In Film & Television Vancouver.