The Divide (2020) is an unexpected improvisational vision quest into the passage of time, curiosity and collective self discovery…with rainbows and roadkill. Set to music from the album Music For Found Objects by Juno Award winning percussionist Jesse Stewart. Filmed in the spring of 2019, shortly before this project began I had wrapped up a documentary that I spent two years making with Juno Award winning musician Jesse Stewart about his community music-making initiative known as We Are All Musicians or "WAAM". It was during that time that a friendship formed but also the beginning of a deep appreciation for what it means to improvise. For me, I have come to experience it as a way of getting beyond conscious thought to get out of ones own way and allow whatever is there to come up and be observed and perhaps even some insights gleaned from. The Divide was screened at the Art House Café in Ottawa, Canada on Jan 24th, 2020.
Hasi Eldib’s 2019 video documentary Rich Tapestries: The Ongoing Story of WAAM documents the We Are All Musicians project, a community-music initiative based in Ottawa, Canada. Founded by Juno award-winning composer/percussionist Jesse Stewart, WAAM is devoted to fostering inclusive music making, particularly among communities that have experienced barriers to making music historically.
Wanting desperately to escape the last weeks of winter and chase the promise of summer, I took a month off of work last spring and drove west across the country with my buddy Casey. As I made my preparations for the trip, I reflected on how lucky I was to be able to go on a journey like this, to experience the freedom of the open road and take a break from the routine of my daily life. With every passing landmark and changing landscape, I realized that I had my parents to thank for giving me this life full of liberty, possibility and self-determination. I had to thank them for being the selfless architects of my life. So this, this is for them. And for all the beautiful parents mentioned in this documentary and also for all the ones that aren’t. Music by Chris Zabriskie Poetry by Elder Albert Dumont & Vanessa Rotondo
In June 2013 I spent 17 days at O.U.R. Ecovillage. This is what I experienced.
OUR Ecovillage – is located on an extraordinary 25 acres near Shawnigan Lake. OUR Ecovillage began operations in 1999 with a vision to create a model “Sustainable Living Demonstration Site and Education Centre” rooted in social, ecological, and economic well being. As a multi- stakeholder organizational structure there are a number of organizations, industry partners, government/regulatory authorities, researchers and local to global community members participating in OUR Learning Community. With K-12 School Groups, 13 Universities/Colleges, corporate sponsors, and a wide variety of interdisciplinary educators – all walks of life are considered for training of how to live and learn into OUR collective future.
Teaser Trailer
https://vimeo.com/hasi/17days
A day in the life of Kenny, a schizophrenic man who has built his own battery & solar powered rickshaw that serves as his source of income, transportation and home. Independently Produced by Hasi Eldib & Lisa Thomas
A documentary by Hasi Eldib & Lisa Thomas
Music by Kevin Macleod
Winner of the 2011 Digi60 Film Festival's 'Best Writing for a Documentary' award.
Ships [a documentary] was my foray into the documentary filmmaking genre. A first hand account into various personal experiences and observations regarding the lifestyle of living onboard cruise ships pre social media culture.
Originally released in 2011.
Viewing is limited password available upon request.