"EYES OF A STRANGER"
Written, directed, and produced by
Lane Clark in collaboration with Laurie White
"Eyes of a Stranger" video, 53 minutes (1997)
In English and Twi with English subtitles
Shot in Hi-8 video on location in Ghana, West Africa.
Formats:
Original: Beta SP (NTSC), Exhibition: 3/4 inch (NTSC), Preview: VHS (NTSC)
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Description of video:
"Eyes of a Stranger" is a personal documentary about the unexpected life-lessons encountered by an American filmmaker in Ghana. Through first-person narration, Clark explores the ironies and contradictions inherent in participant observation of another culture. Having come to Ghana as an artist with a passion for learning about West African traditional culture, the filmmaker takes up residence in the small mountain town of Abetifi to document local uses of Akan proverbs. In visits to neighbors, farmers and palaces, local people constantly use the occasion of their interviews about proverbs to give personal advice to the stranger behind the camera. He grapples with the new roles he is given and laments the invisibility of his own gay identity which remains unacknowledged here. As he continues to film possession rituals and celebrations, all these experiences seem to hold up a mirror to the filmmaker's quest to find himself in a world that is not his own.
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Public screenings:
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| 8/00 |
Chief's Palace, Pepease Ghana |
| 8/00 |
Las' Cinema, Abetifi, Ghana
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| 6/99 |
Multicultural Center, UCSB, Santa Barbara CA. |
| 6/98 |
Community Education Center, Philadelphia, PA. |
| 5/98 |
Broadcast on DUTV CABLE 54, Philadelphia |
| 4/98 |
Temple University, Visual Anthropology Program, Philadelphia, PA. |
| 5/98 |
Genesis Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| 1/97 |
Galerie 408, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 12/97 |
Neues Kino, Basel, Switzerland |
| 9/97 |
Terra Nova Festival, Montreal, Canada |
| 3/97 |
Temple University Visual Anthropology Program
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(and below as a work in progress)
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| 2/97 |
Program of Women's and Gender Studies, Bryn Mawr College, PA |
| 12/96 |
PIFVA Open Screen, International House, Philadelphia, PA |
| 11/96 |
Annual meeting of the African Studies Association, San Francisco, CA |
Video Cover: Eyes of a Stranger
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