Hot Docs 2008

Vanessa Beecroft, contemporary art world star, is as passionate about her life as she is about her art. Her New York dealer Jeffrey Deitch aptly notes that, with Vanessa, there is no boundary between life and art. Filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly follows Beecroft during a 16-month journey to the Sudan. Beecroft has been drawn to Africa as inspiration for her art. But now her bond to Africa has deepened through her burning desire to adopt two orphaned babies. In a provocative and highly controversial photograph, we see Beecroft nurse the black babies on her exposed white bosoms, composing a provocative tableau that references both religious iconography and colonialism. As the complexities of the international adoption become apparent, the process creates ethical and emotional waves that travel from Sudan to New York. Brettkelly's engaging film confronts the complex and not easily answerable question: is there a suitable reaction to African suffering?
-Sarah Whitehouse

Co-presented with CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival