by Trisha Ziff, Mexico 2017, 93'
| SCREENPLAY:Trisha Ziff | MUSIC: Jacobo Liebermann | |
| CAMERA:Felipe Perez Burchard | PRODUCER:Isabel Del Rio | |
| EDITING:Jorge Marquez | LANGUAGE:english |
Presented at Lo schermo dell'arte Film Festival 2018
The Witkin twins describe each other beforeTrishaZiff's camera. Born and raised in Brooklyn, they reminisce on a symbiotic childhood with their sister, mother and grandmother after their father left home. The twins, considered identical and continually confused with each other, felt like separate entities, and took different paths to claim their individuality and independence. Jerome began to paint in early youth, in a figurative style that refers to the greatmasters and abstract expressionism. Joel began a career in photography, maturing the unique personal style that made him world-famous. Through different means, the Witkins’ work is united by an obscure, sometimes morbid interest in death, physical deformity, war and disease. Their works were exhibited together for the first time at the Cuatro Caminos museum in Mexico City, in 2016.
The Witkin twins describe each other beforeTrishaZiff's camera. Born and raised in Brooklyn, they reminisce on a symbiotic childhood with their sister, mother and grandmother after their father left home. The twins, considered identical and continually confused with each other, felt like separate entities, and took different paths to claim their individuality and independence. Jerome began to paint in early youth, in a figurative style that refers to the greatmasters and abstract expressionism. Joel began a career in photography, maturing the unique personal style that made him world-famous. Through different means, the Witkins’ work is united by an obscure, sometimes morbid interest in death, physical deformity, war and disease. Their works were exhibited together for the first time at the Cuatro Caminos museum in Mexico City, in 2016.
The Witkin&Witkins how gave the film its title. In intimate and reflective tones, the director collects the voices of the protagonists, their sister, their respective companions and some friends and collaborators. The artist brothers’ lives are unveiled in their humanity, artistic research, personal losses and traumas, which appear to run on different tracks,but are strikingly similar.
Trisha Ziff
Trisha Ziff
She is the founder of the production company 212 BERLIN FILMS,which operates in both United States and Mexico. Since the early 90’s she has been involved in bi-cultural Mexican\US projects, ranging from publishing, photographic exhibitions to the production of documentary films. She has worked as a writer, curator and documentary filmmaking in the past 25 years. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and a Gulbenkian Scholar. She teaches Film and Media Studies and guest lectures at various universities in the United States, Mexico and Europe.
2015 The Man Who Saw Too Much 2014 Pirate Copy, Pirate Stories. A Road Trip Through the Worls of Film Piracy 2008 Chevolution