HEADHUNT REVISITED: WITH BRUSH, CANVAS AND CAMERA Wins Best Foreign Documentary Award

Inspired by a true-life adventure, HEADHUNT REVISITED: WITH BRUSH, CANVAS AND CAMERA a documentary film about 20th century pioneering artist Caroline Mytinger and the power of her art to build connections across oceans and decades, took the award for Best Foreign Documentary at the LA Femme International Film Festival, that ran from October 19 - 22nd in downtown Los Angeles.

According to Festival Director Leslie LaPage: "Headhunt Revisited showed an interesting and untold perspective on indigenous native cultures. We are proud to honor the film."

The inspiration for "Headhunt Revisited" took shape in the 1920's, when an intrepid American portrait artist, Caroline Mytinger and her friend Margaret Warner traveled to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands on a quest to capture portraits of the indigenous peoples. Their four-year expedition resulted in 25 stunning paintings that depicted and preserved the culture of Melanesia in a way recorded by no other.

Eighty years later, photographer Michele Westmorland led her own expedition to Melanesia, retracing Caroline's journey to share this rare visual evidence of a culture's history. Michele and her team encountered DESCENDANTS of four islanders featured in Caroline's paintings, showing them significant links to their forgotten past and fostering a resurgence of cultural pride.

Today, Papua New Guinean artist" Jeffry Feeger offers his own interpretation of Caroline's work, revealing both the cultural continuities and the dramatic changes that have occurred over the past 100 years.

Westmorland says her vision for the project has been beautifully realized. "Headhunt Revisited" connects these artists in a story that is personal and universal, illustrating with painting, photography and filmmaking, that all forms of art are instrumental in communicating stories of culture and tradition."

To post a comment, you must register and login.