Optimism
The urge to relieve a winter valley of permanent shadow and find gold in alluvial gravel is part of a long history of desire and extraction in the far Canadian north. Cancan dancers, curlers, smelters, former city officials, and a curious cliff-side mirrored disc congregate to form a town portrait. Shot on location in Dawson City, Yukon Territory.
With
- John Steins
- Eldo Enns
- Steve Badgett
- Charles Stankievech
- Simon Manson-Wood
- Lance Blomgren
Crew
| Written and Directed by | Deborah Stratman |
| Cinematography | Deborah Stratman |
| Editing | Deborah Stratman |
| Music | Charlie Chaplin |
| Sound Design | Deborah Stratman |
| Sound | Deborah Stratman, Steve Badgett |
| Production Design | Deborah Stratman, Steve Badgett |
World Sales
Pythagoras Film
Produced by
Pythagoras Film
Deborah Stratman
Deborah Stratman, born in 1967 in Washington D.C., USA, is a Chicago-based artist and filmmaker. She has exhibited internationally at major biennials, art institutions, and film festivals. Stratman is the recipient of several awards, fellowships, and grants. She teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Filmography
1990 My Alchemy; 7 min. 1991 Upon a Time; 10 min. 1992 A Letter; 7 min. · Possibilities, Dilemmas; 10 min. · the train from la to la; 8 min. 1993 In Flight: Day No. 2,128; 2 min. · Palimpsest; 3 min. 1994 Waking; 7 min. 1995 Iolanthe; 5 min. · On the Various Nature of Things; 25 min. 1997 From Hetty to Nancy; 44 min. 1999 the BLVD; 64 min. 2001 Untied; 3 min. 2002 In Order Not to Be Here; 33 min. 2003 Energy Country; 15 min. 2004 Kings of the Sky; 68 min. 2005 How Among the Frozen Words; 1 min. 2006 It Will Die Out in the Mind; 4 min. 2007 The Magician’s House; 6 min. 2008 Butter and Tomatoes; 4 min. · The Memory; 2 min. 2009 O’er the Land; 52 min. 2010 Kuyenda N’Kubvina; 40 min. · FF; 3 min. · Shrimp Chicken Fish; 5 min. · Ray’s Birds; 7 min. 2011 …These Blazeing Starrs!; 14 min. · A Throb; 1 min. 2012 Village, silenced; 7 min. · The Name is not the Thing named; 11 min. 2013 Musical Insects; 7 min. · Immortal, Suspended; 6 min. 2014 Hacked Circuit; 15 min. · Second Sighted; 5 min. 2016 The Illinois Parables; 60 min., Forum Expanded 2016 · Xenoi; 15 min. 2017 Siege; 7 min. 2018 Optimism; 15 min., Forum Expanded 2018 2019 Vever (for Barbara); 12 min., Forum Expanded 2019 · Vever (for Barbara) 2021 For the Time Being; 7 min. · Laika; 5 min. 2023 Last Things
Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023