ROSS   MCELWEE

Artists Statement: Although I live and teach filmmaking in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I consider myself a Southerner. My films, in their own fumbling way, proclaim it. "Sherman's March" (1986) is subtitled "A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Love in the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation." What could be more direct? "Backyard" (1980) is about the politely enforced form of Carolina apartheid that held sway as I was growing up in Charlotte. "Time Indefinite" and "Six O'Clock News" both return to the Carolinas. "Bright Leaves" (2004) considers the complexities of legacy in the context of Carolina tobacco. Though my films are specific to the South, I have tried to imbue them with more universal observations on notions of family and home. "Sherman's March" won the Grand Prize at Sundance while "Bright Leaves" was invited to make its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, indicating that my films can resonate with audiences outside the South.

Main Artist Category: Video

Qualifying State: North Carolina

Website: www.rossmcelwee.com

 

ROSS   MCELWEE

Click image to enlarge:

BACKYARD - TWO ROSS MCELWEES

BRIGHT LEAVES - STUDENT AT STATESVILLE HAIR DRESSING ACADEMY

BRIGHT LEAVES - VLADA

CHARLEEN - CHARLEEN ON HER DECK

SHERMAN'S MARCH - CLAUDIA

SHERMAN'S MARCH - PAT

SIX O'CLOCK NEWS - MYSTERIOUS PICTURE OF GOD

TIME INDEFINITE - CHARLEEN

TIME INDEFINITE - MCELWEE FAMILY REUNION