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Documenting Irene |
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Filmaker, artist, and writer, Michelle Memran has been filming a documentary about Irene Fornes and these lovely photographs show them during a visit late last year to Cuba. The visit included filming Irene Fornes and her brother, Cuco, exchanging letters reliving Letters From Cuba. This exciting project is now well on its way to completion. For further news and much more information see www.documentingirene.com |
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Above photographs |
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The Rest I Make Up: Documenting Irene Irene and I are drinking beer at Karavas Greek Restaurant on the corner of Cornelia Street in the West Village. We have just ordered Spanikopita. Irene is performing a silent movie monologue to the camera, mugging, enchanting the lens in lip sync. She then slips into an audible imitation of Greta Garbo, followed by Eva Peron, then combines the two. We talk of divas. I believe it to be March 2004, though I have not labeled the tape. We talk of divas despite the date. Michelle Memran: Are you a diva? Maria Irene Fornes: No, I am a poor, honest, simple, truthful little girl who's always looking for the truth, the meaning of life, but it seems I adore divas and waste all my time dealing with divas instead of looking for the meaning of life. Michelle Memran: What's the meaning of life? Maria Irene Fornes: No: Well I haven't found it. That's what I'm telling you. I'm looking for it. How would I know what it is? If I knew what it is do you think I'd waste my time looking for it? (she laughs). I would know what it is. I would know where it is. If I knew what it was it would love me, it would adore me and it would be next to me all the time. But because I don't know what it is it may be next to me all the time - it doesn't recognize me. I don't recognize it. So that's why there is no meaning in my life. Michelle Memran: Come on. There's no meaning in your life? Maria Irene Fornes: No: No meaning at all. It is all despair. It is all anguish. It is all desire. It is all the hope for the pleasure of encountering it. It is what I encounter - they think I am in it for fun, they think I am in it for sex, they think I am in it for romance . . . No, no, no, no, no - I am all for the meaning of life. Now I say goodnight to you because I have given too much of my self already to this camera work - the camera work the camera (I'm sorry darling) does not understand. You are a camera, right? You do not understand. How could you understand how complex it is . . . it is too complex for you. All you understand is the moment, this instant and nothing more. Life is much more profound than that. Now if you can remember that you would have at least developed another perspective, another layer. Now I say goodnight to you because I have been thinking too hard to explain this to you, my little camera. I wanted to explain it to you and did explain it to you beautifully and if you do not understand you can see the reel again and look at it over and over and over until you understand and when you understand you can call me on the telephone and say Irene I finally understand it and I will rejoice beyond belief that you my little camera has understood me. I will even call you at sometimes at night and say can you tell me what it was you understood because I don't understand it. I understand it almost every day but some days I don't understand it and those are the days I will call you - Ok little camera? I will call you those days and say tell me little camera what is the fulfillment of life, where is it, is it . . . Is it in my sexual organs or is it in my brain? Do you have the answer now, my little camera? No. You do? No. Little camera, you understand a lot but not everything. You have made me think about things I have never thought ever. And I congratulate you, little camera, because you are the best teacher. You have made me look for answers to questions I have never asked myself, nor have I ever heard asked. So I thank you, my little camera, for having opened one more window into my vision - Not that I had no vision before but my visions were a little blurred and dusty. You have cleared many of those windows -- not cleared -- but cleaned the windows so I can see through and I adore you little camera. You adore me too! Yes. Thank You. |
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Above ©2005 MIchelle Memran. |
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