SYNOPSIS
Zoologist Maya Perry of the Detroit Zoo waxes poetically about returning the Puerto Rican Crested Toad back to the wild.
REVIEW
Marbled Golden Eyes is the latest installment in Kevin Jerome Everson's extensive exploration of African American descents. This portrait of Maya Perry, a zoologist at the Detroit Zoo, adds to Everson's impressive body of work, which now spans over 100 films. Everson captures Perry at close range as she speaks passionately about returning toads back into the wild. The stark proximity and high contrast of the images create a near-abstract maze of bodily forms, while remaining firmly rooted in documentary approach. The film offers more glimpses of Perry's glasses, gloved hands, and light reflections than her face, resulting in a dazzlingly beautiful visual composition. This approach exemplifies Everson's signature style of finding new ways to think through detail and repetition. Marbled Golden Eyes is poised to join the growing list of Everson's masterpieces. His prolific output, likened to that of a machine gunner, continues to push the boundaries of documentary filmmaking.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
My filmmaking focuses of people of African descent, primarly Black folks living in the Midwest/South, who are really good at what they do, exhibiting their talent and craft. I like to position the subject in such a way that they are ultimately smarter than the viewer because they are engaged in something that is an internal language. I’m not creating a conflict through editing, I’m creating a situation so the viewer has to engage in it. I am presenting a condition of a situation, not a story.
CONTACT
Picture Palace Pictures
picturepalacesale@yahoo.com
