Quinn Thomashow

The objects found inside the house seemed of little historical importance - two diaries. But taken together, they form a fantastical little story… and so a filmmaker finds herself caught between fiction and memory, believing in impossibilities.

Sister Jones is facing a life-changing decision: return home and disappoint her family or continue her Mormon mission in Mexico, risking her own happiness amid intense familial and cultural pressures.

Are The Stars Alive is a 3 minute, 35mm visual poem about the importance of curiosity and personal growth. It follows a woman who begins to trust her own instincts as she tries to understand the complexities of the universe, proving the answer to many of our questions lies within us. It also pays tribute to pioneering women, like astronomer Maria Mitchell (who the film is loosely based off of), and the women who painstakingly hand colored George Melies’ masterpieces from the early days of cinema. These women painted stories in the stars, and laid the foundation for all of us, allowing our curiosity to bloom. By hand cutting and coloring our film, frame by frame, we hope that we can honor the nameless women who inspired us to become storytellers and rebels.

"A reflection on both our perceptions of ourselves as we age, and my recent move to Vermont, framed by the works of poet Charles Olson."

We were both moving to new places. Quinn to Los Angeles, myself to New York. We were on a rare holiday, and with seemingly nothing else to do, we walked up and down the bike path on the North Shore of Oahu. A hand painted sign caught our attention with an inspiring mantra. - Everest

This Documentary film explores the idea of the Cosmos, the theory that the universe is a well-ordered whole. I have always believed in the interconnectedness of the world. This is the concept that this visual diary goes on to discover and express. This film invites the viewer to let go, and look at the world as if each peice is a kaleidoscope. It asks the viewer to look deeply and with intent and to realize that we all are a part of the system that keeps the universe working as a whole. This film tries to narrate the life of the cosmos, as seen through the elements that make up my body.

Nature's Optical Toy is an experimental film and homage to the "phenakistoscope." The film was hand-made with 16mm clear leader and flowers, along with black and white photographs, which were collected on my walks each morning. The contrast of black and white and vibrant color, along with movement allows the viewer to let go as the screen becomes kaleidoscopic and other dimensional. Nature offers us its own optical illusions and filmic qualities if we give it space and time. This film is my attempt at doing it justice.

The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts explores accessibility, memory, and experimental filmmaking as a tool for accessing the inner self. In the Fall of 2019, while traveling across the United States, I taught camera-less film workshops in which I asked participants to express their “inner self” on a strip of 16mm film. These “visual autobiographies” are a synthesis of expression and memory in an abstract form. To capture my own inner, I documented the journey on super 8 film, and drew animations of the landscapes that drifted by me during my travels. My footage is stitched together with the collected consciousness of the many people that I met in these workshops; my memories in conversation with theirs. Each person’s contribution calls to mind one of my own memories, which relates back to the collective memory of the universe.

"...then he saw a tree with white fruit. This sweet fruit made those who ate it happy..." Casting out along rivers of time, evoking the souls surrounding the obelisk itself, the camera traces several stories in two distinct phases...