“A fresh sight & sound take on the road trip and all points, people & things in between.”
– Keif Henley, Guild Cinema (Albuquerque, NM)
“Who Are U.S. In 40 Minutes” is the final iteration of Thollem/ACVilla’s 2016 odyssey throughout the U.S. Originally a 7-part series, its essence has been distilled into this 40-minute experience. Utilizing her technique of ‘moving stills’ ACVilla captures serendipitous moments that transform the mundane into the exotic and reveal the familiar in the strange. The duo have paired ACVilla’s visual vignettes with field recordings and tracks from Thollem’s 2020 Astral Traveling Sessions to create a profound and unique aural and visual experience of the U.S. in the early 21st century. While contemplating the question of how to document an entire continent of incredibly diverse people without letting their unconscious biases get in the way, the duo decided to focus particularly on the points where people meet their environment and each other. Who Are U.S. is a panoply of the unique and the common; the humorous and the tragic; everyday idiosyncrasies and abstractions; undercurrents; hidden agendas; and extreme creativity.
PRAISE FOR WHO ARE U.S.
“A fresh sight & sound take on the road trip and all points, people & things in between.”
– Keif Henley, Guild Cinema (Albuquerque, NM)
“I had the surprising experience of feeling that I was home in all scenes, including what seemed most unfamiliar.” – Laurie Buenafe Krsmanovic, musician
“The entire framework of this performance, a continually edited film and improvised musical score, reminds a viewer of exactly what it’s like to travel the country, seeing snippets of life and landscape that are fleeting, never to be repeated the same way again, but which leave lasting impressions on the viewer.” – Stephanis Morris, landscape architect
“Thank you for your magnificent work, collaborative energy, and truly human vision!!!!”
– Bruce Ackley, ROVA Quartet
“‘Who are US 2016’ asks us to look beyond the media games and see the side of this country that makes me, for one, still believe there is hope. An absolutely unique experience – for film, for art, for music.”
– Joel Layton, Art House Cinema 502, the smallest movie house in the country (Ogden UT)
“Much like the evolution of each iteration of the performance, the experience leaves the audience revolving and evolving in thought.” – Markus Hunt, Director at The Logan School for Creative Learning (Denver, CO)
STILLS FROM WHO ARE U.S
