A one-hour Documentary Film about Madeiran
Feast Culture and the concurrent production of a series of films to be
used as Installation Exhibits for the Museum of Madieran Heritage in
NewBedford, MA
To be Produced in Collaboration with:
The Museum of Madeiran Heritage
and
Clube Madeirense SS Sacramento, Inc.,
New Bedford , MA
And with the fiscal sponsorship of Documentary Educational Resources
To be distributed by
:
Contents of Proposal
Page 3…………………………… I. Executive Summary
Page 4…………………………… II. Introduction
Page 6…………………………… III. Living Architecture
Page 7…………………………… IV. Itinerary
Page 8…………………………… V. Key Personnel
Page 11………………………….. VI. Budget
Page 12………………………….. Letter from RTP International
Page13…………………………… Detailed Resumés
I. Executive Summary
Each August, people from all parts of the globe descend upon the city of New Bedford for one of the largest parties on Earth. Led by the ethnic Portuguese community, crowds of hundreds of thousands arrive to fill the former concrete desolation of Madeira Field in the city's North End with the sound and fury of culture known as the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament. The intoxicating smell of roasting meat, booming Portuguese music, and the euphoria of giant crowds combine to create a shocking transformation of space and mood. While the world has marched rapidly forward, the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament is a living testament to the vitality of ancient traditions in the midst of one of America's first great industrialcenters.
The roots of this massive celebration lie across the Atlantic with the Christian celebrations of the Island of Madeira; a Portuguese protectorate located some 200 miles west of Morocco. Though an ocean separates the Madeiran community of New Bedford from their family and friends on the island, 'The Feast' has evolved into a forum that maintains traditional ties and fosters a vital continuity of Madeiran ritual, art, music and culture. Allston Street Films proposes a one-hour documentary film that will:
- Observe the organization and undertaking of the massive New Bedford feast.
- Examine the roots and significance of the original Feasts on Madeira Island.
- Reveal the tensions and changes that face feasts on both sides of the Atlantic.
Once complete, a Portuguese language version of this film will be distributed on RTP International, a Portuguese-language satellite channel that reaches over 20 million people on five continents. Additionally, the film will receive a permanent home in The Museum of Madeiran Heritage of New Bedford, MA.
Allston Street Films self-financed initial filming and editing, but has recently received the support of Documentary Educational Resources (DER). DERis a 501(c)3 non-profit that will help garner funds for the film's completion. Interested donors of all levels should contact DER at 617.926.0491 or through Allston Street Films web-site:
http://www.allstonstreetfilms.com/main_projects.htm
ASF's overall goal will be to highlight the unique beauty of Madeira and showcase the rich cultural traditions of the city of New Bedford.
II. Introduction/Background
In the pan-Latin Christian tradition, Feasts often mark the opening
or closing of pious religious holidays. Transported to the New
World by immigrants,
the Americanized versions of Feasts often serve the dual purpose of
celebrating both religious rites and ethnic heritage. These celebrations
occur annually
in nearly every American metropolis and are characterized by public
parades and processions, music, and the vending of classically
ethnic foods.
It is vaguely recorded that Madeiran immigrants founded The Feast of
the Blessed Sacraments in 1915 as a quaint religious celebration. From
these inauspicious
and indeterminate origins the Feast grew in popularity until, in 1955,
it became necessary to create a social club dedicated to yearly organization
of the feast.
Today, the New Bedford Feast has evolved into a massive event that attracts
300,000 people over four days and has come to be hailed as the largest
celebration of Portuguese culture in the world.
By comparison, the Madeiran Feasts from which the New Bedford feast
originates are much less conspicuous. But unlike the once a year spectacle
of the
new world Portuguese, one Madeiran village or another celebrates a Feast
nearly
every weekend from August through February when the Christian calendar
enters the season of lent. Common to all feasts is the erection of temporary
adornments
and decorations such as flagpoles and arches covered with greens and
flowers. In New Bedford, there is also the fervent presentation of
Madeiran and
Portuguese flags in order to emphasize the feast as a celebration of
Portuguese culture
and as a result of the more patriotic and nationalistic attitudes common
to new Americans.
Religion is perhaps more emphasized on the island, where crucifixes and
images of Christ and Mother Mary are prevalent. In addition to decor,
religious sentiment
motivates the processions central to every feast. In Madeira, the procession
is a pious, solemn event that sanctifies the space of the feast. Often
a carpet of flower petals is laid for a Priest-led entourage of parishioners
who have
recently celebrated the sacrament of communion or marriage. Worshippers
line the road and bow on one knee as the procession slowly makes its
way through
the village. Though the religious procession is still adhered to by the
faithful in New Bedford, there has also been the additional development
of a classic
American-style parade featuring marching bands, floats, and civic leaders
and groups. Madeiran Americans seem therefore as interested in presenting
themselves
as a prosperous, patriotic citizenry as they are in celebrating their
religious rites.
By way of Portugal, Madeira necessarily owes a good part of its linguistic
and cultural ancestry to the Roman Empire. It seems fitting, then, that
the treatment of feast space is more akin to the manner in which Art
Historians understand Roman concepts of architecture. The Feast space
is informed
by
ritual, and it is the ritual that implies the architecture. Likewise,
Art Historian
Frank Brown notes that “for the Romans, [ritual] had the power to engender
architectural form by the mere fact that it took place in space…spatial
form, belonging to a given ritual and established by repetition, acquired independent
architectural existence. Such a shape of space was architecture, even though
immaterial.” The Madeiran Feasts share this “acquired architectural
existence,” wholly dependent on the bond of space and ritual.
The true magnificence of the Feast Aesthetic is reliant not on great
temples
or shrines,
but on the living architecture of the masses. A study of how feast
goers fill and assign meaning to the feasting space will yield new
and fascinating
perspectives
on this peculiar human activity. The comparisons of urban feast grounds
and rural feast grounds will also undoubtedly lead the film to provocative
insights
on human development within rural and urban environs. But these observations
will also beg questions of just why individuals congregate in such
terms. Thus, any study of spatial use and adornment must also provide
a more
anthropological investigation of the ritual that has the power to attract
the masses.
III.
Living
Architecture
From prehistoric feasting to the modern Madeiran celebrations, a
feast always entails an enormous output of resources and labor.
The reasons
for this
seemingly pointless and irrational bravado of the human spirit
are puzzling. Anthropologist
Brian Hayden views Feasting as a major component of the procurement
and maintenance of “social technology.” (Dietler, 26).” Hayden goes on
to define social technology as the “the creation and maintenance of
social relationships that are predicated on securing access to resources,
labor, or security…other facets of social technology include many aspects
of kinship (real or fictive), ritual, gift-giving, and language.” (Dietler,
26).
In addition to Hayden’s view of the pragmatic benefits of feasting, renowned
anthropologist Victor Turners thoughts on the Liminal ritual can be applied
to Feasts. Using Turner’s rational, the Feast participants:
“ pass through a cultural realm that has few or none of the attributes
of the past or coming state…Much of what has been bound by social structure
is liberated, notably the sense of comradeship and communion, or communitas;
while much of what has been dispersed over many domains of culture and social
structure is now bound…in the complex semantic systems of pivotal, multivocal
symbols and myths, numinous systems which achieve great conjunctive power (Turner
149).”
Hayden
and Turner here provide contrasting but not mutually exclusive
frame-works with which to understand the Madeiran Feast. On the
one hand, Hayden’s approach would emphasize the establishment and
normalization of social roles that the organization of the feast encourages.
On the other hand, Turner’s thoughts would have us focus on the
Feast as a break with the mundane workaday life and a celebration of
transition and transformation. Contemplation of Turner and Hayden’s
perspectives generates a binary argument regarding the reasons for
feasting: are feasts a tool with which the community reasserts its
relationships and values? Or, rather, are feasts a temporary relief
from those very bonds? Or do the Madeiran Feasts both reassert and
challenge the bonds of community at the same time?
IV. Itinerary
The month July will be used to conduct interviews and gather
footage throughout the New Bedford area culminating in the
filming of the
Feast of the Blessed Sacrament from July 29-August 1. Immediately
following
the New Bedford Feast and for the following six weeks, Allston
Street Films will send a team to Madeira Island to join Producer
Duarte
Mendonca. Dr. Mendonca will have formalized an itinerary that includes
interviews and free-shoots of various religious feasts. ASF will immediately
focus on the feast at Estreito de Calheta, typically held the
second weekend
of August, as that Feast is known as the official origin of
the New Bedford Feast. ASF will maintain a stringent shooting
schedule
in order
to film the Feast of Our lady of Grace, the Festa do Monte,
and the Wine Festival. Additionally, Dr. Mendonca has made
arrangements
for
ASF to interview and film folkloric music and dancing groups.
Upon the team's return to Boston, ASF will undertake the organization
and editing of footage. An hour long documentary will be generated
along
with several short films designed as installation pieces for
the
Museum
of Madeiran Heritage. The shorter pieces will be available
for installation
by April of 2005, and Living
Architecture will be available
by July of 2006.
Living
Architecture will begin with a look at the empty spaces
of the New Bedford Feast grounds and watch as they are filled
and assigned
implicit meaning by feast participants. This will give way
to meandering shots of feast activity and interviews in which
Feast
goers explain
both their reasons for attending the event and their perceived
roles within the space of the feast. The film will then move
to Madeira to
closely examine the original feasting rituals. Commentary from
various religious, historical, and anthropological authorities
will be inter-cut
throughout the film. The film will establish a striking juxtaposition
of the pristine but foreboding Madeiran landscape and the stoic,
weathered neighborhoods of New Bedford's North End.
Once complete the film will premier at the Museum of Madeiran
Heritage in New Bedford over the subsequent August Feast.
Living
Architecture will most likely
be presented at cultural centers throughout the South Coast, such
as the city’s
famous Whaling Museum, and participate in the film festival circuit.
Marketing for larger circulation and distribution will begin
once the film is in the
last months of post-production.
V. Qualifications/ Key Personal
Joe Sousa
Producer/Director
Joe recently completed work on the new PBS series, tentatively entitled the New Heroes, for Stuart Television Productions out of Concord, MA. This series will air in June 2005. Currently, Joe is at work on the production of Viva Baseball!, a 90-minute documentary detailing the Latin influence on Major league baseball set to air on Spike TV in the summer of 2005. Joe has written and directed several short films and has edited two ethnographic films produced by renowned ethnographic filmmakers Professor Akos Ostor and Professor Lina Fruzzetti. Joe completed a BA with High Honors in Film Studies at Wesleyan University where his thesis film, Day After Morning, took the Stephen Ross prize for best film. It has been displayed on Ifilm.com, and was presented at the Philadelphia Freedom Film Festival in February of 2004. Joe is personally driven by a strong sense his Madeiran ancestry. His knowledge of the Portuguese language and family contacts on the island of Madeira will be crucial to gaining full access to Feast events.
Duarte Miguel Barcelos
Mendonça
Associate Producer
Duarte Mendonca completed his Master’s Degree in English and
American Culture and Literature at the University of Madeira, Portugal,
in 2003. His Master’s thesis details the Madeiran
Cultural Presence in New Bedford in the early 20th
century. Duarte's
academic work researching
transatlantic cultural ties between New Bedford and
Madeira make him an ideal individual to undertake
the organization
and planning
of the
Madeiran leg of production. Duarte has known ASF's
Joe Sousa for several years--Duarte actually stayed
with the
Sousa
family while
doing research
for his master's thesis in New Bedford. Duarte has
recently been offered the position of the director
of director of
the Foreign Cultures
Library,
at Quinta Magnolia, in Funchal. His professional
work now deals directly with immigrant issues.
Ben Simington
Director of Photography
Ben recently completed his Master's Degree for Film Studies
at Wesleyan University. While working on his Master's,
Ben served
as an Assistant
Professor on several film production and photography courses
at Wesleyan. He instructed and advised students working
in the short
film genre
with Assistant Professor Jacob Bricca, and assisted Professor
Jay Seeley's Photography courses. Ben is a gifted cinematographer
with
experience
working with a wide range of film stocks, from 35 mm film
to digital video.
Joseph
Sousa
Cultural Advisor
Joseph Sousa is the curator of the Museum of Madeiran Heritage of New Bedford, MA, and a lifelong member of Club
Madeirense SS Sacramento.
Mr. Sousa is a local artist and art teacher with exceptional
knowledge of and involvement in the community of New
Bedford. He will provide
ASF with unparalleled access to key members of the
New Bedford community, including elderly immigrants of the island
of Madeira.
Since 1975, Mr. Sousa has worked tirelessly to bring his
dream of a museum dedicated to Madeiran immigrants to
fruition. He realized
this
dream in 1999, but still works ceaselessly to archive
photos and records of Madeiran Immigrants. In addition to his
work
with Allston
Street Films on Living Architecture, Mr. Sousa is currently
helping to
support a Portuguese oral history initiative. Mr. Sousa
has also directly endowed
ASF with his enthusiasm and energy: ASF producer/director
Joe Sousa (Joseph C. Sousa, formally) is the grandson
of Mr. Sousa.
Joshua
Youman
Associate
Producer, Sound Engineer
Joshua Youman has edited, produced, and directed
numerous short films and documentaries. These include;
An Instant,
which was
screened
at the Five College Film Festival at Amherst College,
Evacuation Day, a short fiction piece still in
production, and several
promotional pieces for the Filmmakers Collaborative.
Mr. Youman graduated
Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts
Amherst with a degree
in History. A native of Dartmouth, Massachusetts,
Mr. Youman currently resides in Allston, MA where
he works
as a researcher
for Oscar-Award
winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris and
as an editor on a promotional video for the Filmmakers
Collaborative.
Charles C. Stuart
Technical Advisor
Charles C. Stuart, president and director/producer
of Stuart Television Productions, has over 25 years
of
experience making documentaries
for television. He is an Emmy and Dupont award winning
filmmaker whom has
completed work for all the major networks. His recent
AMC documentary, Hollywood and the Muslim World, has
garnered acclaim for an
honest, biting look at the effect of Hollywood
films and
American culture
on societies in the Middle East. Mr. Stuart is currently
producing several
pieces for the new PBS series tentatively titled
New Heroes. Mr.
Stuart will provide ASF with invaluable professional
advice and support throughout the production of Living
Architecture
and the shorter
installation pieces.
Akos Ostor
Technical Advisor
Professor Akos Ostor is a renowned ethnographer and
acclaimed ethnographic filmmaker. His work includes
the Pleasing
God Trilogy, a detailed
examination of Hindu devotional rites in Northern
India, and Forest of Bliss, a look at Hindu funeral
rituals. Along
with
his duties
as a Professor of Anthropology at Wesleyan University,
Professor Ostor is currently producing a film based
on an ethnographic
study of Naya Village in West Bengal. Professor Ostor
will review ASF's research methodology and provide advice in the
production and post-production phases of work.
Budget Proposal for Living Architecture
Pre-Production and Location Scout May 1- June 22
Airfare to Madeira, $750 round trip x 2 $1500
Lodgings $20/night x 7 nights x 2 persons $280
Food $15/day x 7 days x 2 persons $210
Researcher: $200/ week x 4 weeks $800
Purchase of books/archives $300
Video tape stock for pre-Interviews $100
Madeiran Producer: $400/ week x 4 weeks $1600
Executive Producer $500/week x 4 weeks $2000
Pre-Production total $6,790
Production, New Bedford, July 23-August 1
Panasonic AG-DVX 100 Camcorder $1070
Variable Lenses $300
Tape Stock $6002
Audio Mixers $300
Audio mikes and boom poles $500
Cinematographer $500/week x 1 week $500
Sound engineer, $300/week x 1 week $300
Producer/Director $600/week x 1 week $600
Total Production, New Bedford $4,170
Production, Madeira August 4-September 4
Panasonic AG DVX 100 Camcorder $3870
Additional tape stock $1000
Variable lens rental $1000
Airfare to Madeira, $750 round trip x 3 $2250
Lodgings $20/night x 28 nights x 3 persons $1260
Food $15/day x 28 days x 3 persons $1890
PrimaryCinematographer $600/week x 2 weeks $1200
Sound Engineer $300/week x 4 weeks $1200
Producer/director $500/week x 4 weeks $2000
Associate Producer, Madeira $300/week x 4 weeks $1200
Total Production, Madeira $16,870
Post-Production October 15-April 2006
Deck Rental DSR 900 $400/week x 8 weeks $3200
Editor $400/week x 24 weeks $9600
Hard drives $1000
Producer $200 week/24 weeks $4800
Online edit $3500
Post-Production Total $22,100
Totals:
Pre-Production $6,790
Production, New Bedford $4,170
Production, Madeira $16,870
Post-Production $22,000
Total: $49,830
General Note: In the case of overestimation,
funds will be rolled into next production phase. All
leftover funds
will be directed
toward
dissemination of final product.
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