Love

As February comes to a close, and the hint of spring is in the air, I get a certain feeling inside that is familiar.  As spring awakens, there is a sense of what has taken place in the past and what will take place again.. and a certain feeling of an irresistible pull towards my true path.  I feel a greater connection during yoga.  To God.  To my inner truth.  To who I've been, who I am, who I am meant to be.

I have spent a lot of time, money, resources, and energy, as have friends, towards making "Crossing the River".  It has been a labor of love.  I hope the film will continue to screen and be a blessing for those who were involved in it, and those it was inspired by.

I am moving towards creative expression once again.  I am working on something with my husband Bruce, a short he has been working on for awhile now that we are rethinking/reimagining.  It will be gritty, raw, a doc-style narrative.  It is exciting thinking about it and working on it.

I am working on something else that is based on my life in my early 20's, but also bringing in elements of poetry, memory, dreams... More on the experimental side than anything I've worked on since college (which was all experimental, Maya Deren-inspired type stuff).

There is still my feature about the doctor I knew as a child, near and dear to my heart.  Co-written with Bruce.

I am beginning to edit a music video I shot for a friend in the fall.  Experimental.  Lo-fi.  Exciting.

I feel the desire to do different creative things.  Sand squishing through my toes, running, arms out, salt water on my skin, a huge goofy smile on my face, free.  Broad strokes of paint with all different materials on a HUGE canvas, no worries about being in the lines or making a mess.  Peeking in on interesting characters with a still camera, an i-phone, a movie camera and not worrying about the outcome or the audience, just exploring, intuiting, dreaming, expressing.

I would love to act in someone else's piece, something that stretches me.

Want to get outside now that spring is coming and see the trees and flowers and hiking trails.

Miranda continues to be a joy and an inspiration.

I'm going to keep it short and sweet.  Wishing everyone a beautiful end of winter/beginning of spring.

images

Some photos that are reminiscent of the feel i am going for in "Crossing the River". The bottom one is by my dear friend Julie Simmons Leite. The top two are commercial use photos I found using Yahoo's image search Creative Commons filter. Honestly, I am posting these here because I have to add photos to IndieGoGo and they have to be linked online, and I know no other way to do so!!!

More images are on the "Crossing the River" Tumblr page here.

Not much to report. Miranda is still enjoying school. It is windy and cold here in NYC, but still doesn't feel as cold as it should be in January. Ironing out details of the shoot. Looks like it may be in rural NY or NJ instead of South Carolina. More soon.

kickstarter

I feel I have to at least put a link to my Kickstarter campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emiliemcdonald/crossing-the-river for my short film about a modern-day hate crime, and also about understanding and tolerance.

It is been an exceptionally challenging balance of filmmaker and mama these past few weeks.

Hangin' in and I think Miranda is still learning new things each day and getting mucho love.

7 more days, over $7K to raise! I have always been an optimist.. it's a long shot but I am hopeful!!!

sunday

A lovely crisp autumn day. My husband and daughter went to see children's short films and have lunch; I stayed home and worked on my prospectus for my short film "Crossing the River". It was a much-needed work time; but... I missed them and felt wistful for missing out on family time when my husband works so many hours during the week. However, we did have many other lovely moments this week, albeit many of them with just Miranda and I: a visit to Stone Barns Farm near Tarrytown; a trip to Dumbo for Jane's Carousel and Brooklyn Ice Cream Parlor; "Elmo in Grouchland" at BAM with a surprise visit from Kevin Clash and the real Elmo (favorite moment: Miranda got on the mike and said "Hi Elmo"; Elmo responded with "I love you."); a friend's 4th birthday party at the local park; and much more.. I also managed to work on film stuff every day.. excited to have a few more peeps attached to the short film.. about to launch kickstarter campaign in about a week (!!!).. Time to go.. daughter finally home and she's alternately kissing both of my arms and showing me what Elmo's face looked like yesterday. Good evening!