BELL 8 by Deirdre Towers

Saturday, July 22 through Sunday, September 3, 2017

encore screening Thursday, October 5, 2017

dare to do nothing

How many people today do nothing but stare at the sea?  Dare to do nothing and let nature work its miracles!

BELL 8 is a meditative installation named after the navigational buoy in Long Island Sound, near the mouth of the Connecticut River. The film inspires the sense of expansion and bliss one has afloat and offers a chance to re-charge. By vicariously riding waves, from choppy to voluptuous, you move to nature's beat; by gazing at the light painting the waves of the sea, you become more attuned to your own rhythms.

Deirdre Towers, producer/editor, grew up with a father who preferred to be on water, rather than land. Her childhood was spent on a succession of small sailboats, in every form of weather, gazing at the waves slapping against the hull. After 18 years co-producing the Dance on Camera Festival with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Deirdre realized her favorite dancer was still the sea.

She collaborated with long-time friends, cinematographers Nan Melville (South African) and Ted Ciesielski (Polish), and the late Catalan singer Rakel. Interior designer Mara Aceves (Mexican) developed with Deirdre a screening cocoon. British sculptor Celia Gregory offered footage of her underwater sculptures, which serve as artificial coral reefs. Neurologist Greg Dunn granted permission for his images of neurons. Christian Sardet offered images from his Plankton Chronicles project. More about the film and its inspiration can be found at belleight.com.