Women On Waves
Posted by Fetch Sun, 17 Jun 2007 14:43:00 GMT
Greetings from Amsterdam! I’d say it in Dutch but the only words I’ve managed to retain are “café verkeerd” (i.e. strong latte!), which I’ve gotten into the habit of ordering every few hours to maintain energy. I’m here staring work on a documentary project about Women on Waves, a reproductive rights organization founded by Rebecca Gomperts. The organization sails a mobile clinic around the world to countries where abortion is illegal, after invitation by local NGOs working to correct this. They then pick up women in need, sail 12 miles out into international waters where Dutch law applies to their ship, and legally administer safe medical abortions. Meeting the women and men involved in this organization has been nothing short of an honor; they are stunningly strong, intelligent, and brave people with pure motives and inviting spirits. Even at this early stage in the documentary process I worry about doing justice to their story. Moreover I have a newfound respect for the art of the documentary; balancing the interviews, the necessary b-roll, the story itself, the logistics, the equipment, and everything else one cannot forget, has left little time left for design – the one area with which I’m familiar! So I’m happy to report that the process has been a difficult challenge thus far!
Here I am with my collaborator, Anita Schillhorn van Veen, interviewing Joep von Lieshout, a well known Dutch artist who designed the portable clinic Rebecca uses on her ships, at his artist commune in Rotterdam.
