The Cast
Paul Hoggard and Remy Geerts
Among the most dynamic artists I met were the "love" couple, Paul who is British, and Remy who is Dutch. Paul and Remy met on a sand pile when Remy was almost crushed by a sand collapse. They provided profound discussions on the impermanence of their work and how it relates to life. The film opens with an interview with Paul and Remy and their discussion on the medium's characteristics:
(Paul)"People always ask are you not bothered when the sculpture falls down or when it blows away. And for me that is the attractive part of the medium because everything is impermanent. We all have to deal with impermanence in life so we get to practice. You know, when the sculpture is finished or it falls down, sometimes it's nice, it’s not a traumatic thing."
(Remy)"Sometimes the sculpture just evolves and sometimes bits drop off and you think, oh my god, and then it turns out to be better."
Suzanne Altamare
An American from Florida, exemplifies the theme of community because of her personal connection to the sand-carving world. She feels that her fellow sand carvers are her extended family. Being involved in the community has been therapeutic for Suzanne, as the community of sand carvers has helped her recover from the loss of her husband to cancer. She describes how she became a sand carver:
"I was working in Florida for a timeshare resort 22 years ago, and back then there were very few sand sculptors that were professional sand sculptors but the resort hired a man to come and do some sand sculptures to attract people to the resort area, so that we could then invite them inside. And one day I was trying to make a sand castle behind the resort and he came up and talked to me. Then we started working together, but that became my husband. It was 22 years ago, it did sand sculptures for 30 years. He taught me how to do it and I just learned from him, I was his apprentice over a 20 year period, I started by digging and repairing, you learn a lot when you repair sand sculptures."
Guy Beauregard
A Québecois who lives in a rural town in Québec, he works closely with his daughter, Melineige, and son, Anael. The sculptures he creates with his family are conceptually challenging and technically sophisticated. Moreover, his interviews are very intimate and personal, revealing his dynamic personality. Guy's first interview began with a very emotional story on the frustrations of the impermanence of working with sand. I asked him what his most memorable moment was in sand carving, and he replied:
"Oh, one time in Florida, because my piece fell a lot. And (in French) I never let go, I always work on my piece and finally, in the end, a father with his child said to me: 'Thank you very much for showing my son how to not let go'. (In English) You know."
Peter Vogelaar
He is a snow carver from Western Canada and started carving sand two years ago. Although he is a novice sand carver he is very competitive and often wins prize money at the competitions. Peter deeply enjoys sharing his techniques and interacting with the public. His showman personality allows him to speak with confidence on camera and his interviews were interesting because he shared introspective thoughts on the status of sand carving as and art form:
"A serious artist can create a bronze or marble sculpture and he might be lucky if he gets a thousand or two thousand people to see it. And here, we get an audience of fifty thousand or something. Anything can be a medium. I've had some serious artists poo poo my snow sculpturing, what's the difference? They think that a piece of marble makes it real, if you do good work it doesn't matter what medium you use."
The Crew
Katherine Pettit:
Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Editor
Katherine started making experimental documentaries while in art school and she became pre-occupied with the documentary film form and the ethics of representation after her trip to Africa in 1995. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, then she pursued three degrees at the University of British Columbia: Diploma in Film Production, Master of Arts in Film Studies and Master of Fine Arts in Film Production. She is presently in post–production on the documentary “Sand For Now,” shot in Europe and Canada. Katherine has been creatively involved with short films, feature narratives and documentaries in various key roles, from editor, cinematographer, writer, director and producer. She is currently working on several documentaries at various stages of development
Mark Juric
Director of Photography
Mark has been passionate about movies ever since he can remember. He picked up the camera at an early age and while in university, Mark formally studied motion picture production with a specialization in cinematography. He continues to shoot independent films with an emphasis on distinctive visual style.
Alec Harrison
Music Composer
Alec had his first musical experience when he was just seven years old. It was in a movie theatre, when he was watching the Steven Spielberg tearjerker ET - The Extraterrestrial. "I noticed the music. It had that great John Williams thing with so many themes. It was just so cool to me," reminisces Alec. The Muse had taken hold, and he was composing pieces by the age of 10. Alec attended the Alberta High School of Fine Arts. It was there that he discovered, after being exposed to theatrical score, a person could make a living writing music. Fast forward about ten years and Alec has been composing for Six Degrees acquiring credits like TSN's - 100 Years of Canadian Sports and Family Channel's - Mentors. Alec's dream is to follow in the footsteps of great composers like John Williams, Danny Elfman and James Horner.