The ancient Iroquois Creation story has been made into a 17-minute short film that is a combination of animation and dance. The award-winning story saw a crowdfunding campaign raise an additional $10,000 to help complete the project that was 60 percent finished when the IndieGoGo campaign was launched in 2014. The campaign ended prior to the start of 2015.
The film greets visitors to the Ganondogan Historic Site in Victor, New York and a DVD or Blu-Ray of the Iroquois Creation Story can be purchased by contacting the gift shop according to the films Facebook page in January.
The film combines footage of dancers with traditional animation, and these images represent sketches by artists and on-set photos of the green-screen dance sessions. For more on the film, and to watch sample videos, see our earlier feature by Alex Jacobs: Sky Woman, Turtle Island, and the Great Celestial Tree Get a Movie (It’s About Time!)
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Here’s a synopsis from the since closed IndieGoGo campaign page:
“The story begins far above earth, in Sky World. The Great Celestial Tree, which provides light and food for the beings that inhabit Sky World, begins to fade. The keeper of the tree has a dream, and in that dream the people uproot the great tree, and their world is renewed. So begins our story, the Great Tree is uprooted, and a large hole is created where the roots of the tree were. It is through this hole, that a young pregnant woman falls, and lands on the back of a turtle, and a new world is started, Turtle Island. Eventually, Sky Woman’s grandsons, Flint and Sky Holder, create everything on our earth, and the twin boys battle for control of Turtle Island.”
The Iroquois Creation Story short film has garnered the following awards since completion: Red Nation Film Festival, LA, CA (Best Animation and Best Short Film) and Indianer Inuit Film Festival in Stuttgart, Germany (Best Animation) according to RIT College of Imaging Arts & Sciences. The film has also been shown at film festivals around the world including New Zealand, Canada and Europe.
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This story was originally published December 23, 2014.