STORY: Yolanda Shae was many things: a great-grandmother, career weed dealer, intellectual, psychic, hostess, tyrant - and, above all, a captivating storyteller. We meet Yo in a tiny shotgun shack in Pacific Grove, California where she has lived for 40 years.The narrative structure of our film is built from a series of stories she tells Anna (the filmmaker) about the formative events in her life. These epic tales are set against the backdrop of her failing health during the last year of her life. Part myth, part documentary, Heaven Through the Backdoor explores life, death and grief through the unconventional friendship between Anna & Yo -- two kindred spirits born 49 years apart.
Yo’s stories, which span eight decades and five continents, are presented virtually uncut. Our artistic interpretations of her stories range from subtle to indulgent and use varied techniques, including intricately built sets, animal actors, puppetry and an archive of family photos. Her storytelling is wonderfully layered. They were often hysterically funny, but always held a powerful emotional resonance. To us, her stories are teachings: they hold great life lessons, historical perspective and important wisdom. Throughout her life, Yo defied authority figures and those who sought to discipline her unconventional ways, contesting ideas about womanhood, monogamy, religion and, eventually, aging and death.
EXHIBITION: The final project will include a feature length documentary film and a gallery exhibition that features the one-third scale version of Yo’s house, made objects and media elements. Our roll out of the film will be coordinated with the exhibition of the work in galleries and public spaces.
REMEMBRANCE: The project is rooted in the idea that older people have great value to society. We are working to create a layered experience that offers diverse access points for multiple age groups and inspires intergenerational connections and conversation. Activating a social element to the space we exhibit in is vital to how the work is experienced. Our work in progress open house at Project Space included a remembrance wall where visitors honored loved ones who have passed (images can be seen bellow).
We believe art, creativity and inspired conversation are powerful tools to transform cultural norms surrounding end of life and the grieving process.
PROJECT STATUS: We are currently in the late stages of production and are editing concurrently. We filmed for over 2 years, intimately observing and participating in Yo’s life. Since her passing we have begun exploring creative interpretations of Yo’s stories. In the fall of 2019, we will be in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts, and will be building a series of sets and objects inspired by Yo’s stories. In 2020, we plan to complete final film production and begin editorial. We are also seeking exhibition partners for the installation work, targetting a project premiere in late 2021.
SUPPORTED BY: The National Endowment for the Arts, Sundance Documentary Film Program, SFFILM, Creative Work Fund, The Tribeca Film Institute, Pacific Pioneer Fund, Headlands Center for the Arts and the Center for Cultural Innovation.
If you would like to support Heaven Through the Backdoor please make a tax-deductible donation via GlobalGiving here: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/heaven-through-the-backdoor/
YOLANDA SHEA: Yolanda Shea was born in Chiasso, Switzerland in 1924 and died peacefully at her home in Pacific Grove, California in 2013. Yo is the protagonist of this epic tale and, more than that, she was a rigorous collaborator, a dear friend and a deep inspiration in our art and life.
FILMMAKING TEAM:
ANNA FITCH & BANKER WHITE (Director, Producer, Camera, Editor): Anna Fitch and Banker White are multidisciplinary artists and award-winning filmmakers based who founded Mirabel Pictures in 2010. Their work has been supported by the Sundance Documentary Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Creative Capital, MacArthur Foundation, the Tribeca Film Institute, Impact Partners, ITVS, DocSociety, the Catapult Film Fund, The Fledgling Fund, LEF, the California Council for Humanities and the Pacific Pioneer Fund, among others. Their films have been broadcast on HBO, Netflix, PBS, National Geographic Channel, BBC and Channel4 UK; have toured at festivals worldwide and have won multiple awards, including an Emmy. Most recently, Anna and Banker co-directed and produced "The Genius of Marian" (Tribeca 2013 / POV 2014); and, "Survivors" (IDFA 2018 / POV 2018). "Survivors" was co-produced with filmmakers at the WeOwnTV Freetown Media Center, a filmmaking collective Banker co-founded based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The two live and work in San Francisco, California with their two children, Dylan and Oscar.
SARA DOSA (Producer) is an award-winning documentary director and producer based in San Francisco, California. Dosa’s feature directorial debut, THE LAST SEASON took home a Golden Gate Award at its SFIFF 2014 world premiere, was nominated for an Indie Spirit Award, was acquired by PBS and by First Run Features after its festival run. Most recently, she directed the feature doc THE SEER & THE UNSEEN, which won the McBaine Bay Area Documentary Prize upon its SFFILM 2019 premiere; and directed an episode of Netflix’s ReMASTERED music docuseries. Dosa co-produced AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER (Sundance / Cannes 2017); produced the Peabody award-winning AUDRIE & DAISY (Sundance / Netflix 2016); and co-produced THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY (Sundance / Netflix 2019). In addition to producing their HEAVEN THROUGH THE BACKDOOR, Dosa produced Anna Fitch and Banker White’s SURVIVORS (IDFA / POV 2018).
SIMON CHEFFINS (set builder) is a British-American set-builder, fabricator and sculptor who has worked with many award-winning filmmakers and artists for the last three decades.He is a founding member of Crash Worship, Blood Lake, and the Extra Action Marching Band. He currently resides in San Francisco, California. His narrative short The Burning Wigs of Sedition (writer, co-director, set builder 2010) screened at the Seattle International Film Festival, the National Gallery of Art, the Woodstock Film Festival, Rooftop and won a Best of Festival prize at the Black Maria Film Festival, and the Audience Award at SF IndieFest.
ROBIN FROHARDT (puppet designer) Known for her rich aesthetic and highly detailed constructions, Robin Frohardt is an award-winning artist, puppet designer and director living in Brooklyn, NY. Frohardt has a knack for taking a simple premise to an elaborate realization. Her rich imagination, unique sense of humor and stunning technical craft come together to create work that defies the conventions of traditional storytelling. Her original play "The Pigeoning" hailed by the New York Times as “a tender, fantastical symphony of the imagination,” debuted in 2013 and continues to tour at home and abroad and has been translated into German, Greek, Arabic and Turkish. In 2016 she received a Creative Capital Award for her new work "The Plastic Bag Store" an installation and performance that takes place in a fake grocery store in a real storefront and addresses the long term impact of disposable plastic packaging. She is currently developing the work through a DisTil Fellowship at the University of North Carolina. She is a MacDowell Colony Fellow and the first artist in Residence at Olson Kundig a renown design and architecture firm in Seattle.
JESSIE WILSON (designer / fabricator) is a multi media artist, craftswoman and performer. Her work is immersive, colorful, and detail oriented. Using a combination of many mediums her stories are often told through music, sculpture, costuming and installation. She has partnered with many: educational institutions, corporate campuses, installations groups, art projects, and traveling shows.