White: John Borden Evans
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM, Richmond International Film Festival 2015 | John Borden Evans works year-round in his atelier in North Garden, Va. where we discussed for the first time the idea of a documentary film about his work. The initial concept was to expose his work from the perspective of four seasons and we started production last autumn. However, the following winter I knew that the film was going to be all about cold, snow, isolation and life on the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. “White” is about an artist, and a way of life; is about a farm in a place in Virginia; it is about food and God, is about love, water, trees, and the relentless relationship between time and oneself. Moreover, “White” is a film about an artist named John Borden Evans.
“White: A Season in the Life of John Borden Evans, is a close look at an intriguing couple who chartered their own course and made you envious.” - Julian Bond | Washington, DC
"The whole thing is so skillfully woven together -- John's quiet voice, and silence, and then the music. It creates a wonderful, wondering mood. The stars. and the cows. and trees.” - Alice Parker | Composer
"The cinematography is stunning. The notion that the cinematographer can compose an artwork that includes the painting, the artist, and the artist's life is a compelling one. It sets you an artistic goal different from the artist and challenges you to balance your eye (and ear) against his so that the audience can assess your achievement. The artist we hear has a very simple voice, at the beginning it's impossible to know where this simplicity comes from, but in the end, I think, we see simplicity as a choice, especially if we know that his wife makes clothes for Tom Wolfe. So in that arc, from the beginning to the end, the voice changes because we start to hear it differently. By reaching beyond the artwork to the life Montes-Bradley also enables the viewer to consider what of the artist's life gets into the art and what doesn't—so you are questioning formalist approaches to art. Without neglecting form. There's more to be said about simplicity, about the paring down, paring down to spiritual essence, and the director´s use of the shape-note singing keeps that theme alive as the film progresses. The color? Against white the art and the scenes from South America and the hats. This one is best, I think, of the Montes-Bradley´s that I've seen, not a wasted frame." Jeffrey Plank | UVA
"The treatment of each scene mirrors the austere choice of monastic life in accord with the silence of art and its spirituality. The cautiously crafted composition, and the sensible use of light blend film and theme as one. I felt the hard-work, firm abundant and serious work which makes the film a work of art in itself, a work of art within a work of art " Eugenio Cuttica | New York City
"My first impression is BRAVO and my second is superb. Your camera work is exquisite and I felt you captured something important about John as well as Beth-Neville. I’m looking forward to seeing the film about the next person you chose to profile.” David A. Maurer | The Daily Progress