I stumbled upon this film a few months back and it truly unites the craft of film making, photography, and storytelling. Winner of the 2011 Disposable Film Festival, Thrush elevates the notion of storytelling via still frames. While not edited together as a stop motion, this film captures the essence of moving images through the compilation of hundreds of photographs. Through his lens, Gabriel Bisset-Smith relates the brief romance of George and Ruby, succeeding thanks to Bisset-Smith’s expert infusion of narration and beautiful still imagery. The Thrush production team reminds us of the power of what we have the potential to create using disposable media such as point-and-shoot cameras and smart phones. While a hundred thousand dollar camera has the potential to produce magnificent images, it takes an experienced film maker to craft a piece of work as clear and concise as Thrush. With Hollywood productions saddled by extreme production costs and nervous studio executives, much of the creativity of the good old days has flowed from Tinseltown. Hopefully, films such as Thrush, and disposable media, will help to invigorate the independent film market and flush atrocities like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull from our minds.
