Creating the Creation: Art and Photos From the Iroquois Creation Story Movie

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The crowdfunding campaign for the planned film of the Iroquois creation story has raised more than half of the $16,000 needed to complete the film, but has just five days remaining. The film itself was about 60% finished when the campaign (indiegogo.com/projects/iroquois-creation-story) was launched. The finished 16-minute movie will greet visitors to the Ganondogan Historic Site in Victor, New York.

The film combines footage of dancers with traditional animation, and these images represent sketches by artists and on-set photos of the green-screen dance sessions. For more on the film, and to watch sample videos, see our earlier feature by Alex Jacobs: "Sky Woman, Turtle Island, and the Great Celestial Tree Get a Movie (It's About Time!)"

Here's a synopsis from the IndieGoGo campaign page:

"The story begins far above earth, in Sky World. The Great Celestial Tree, which provides light and food for the beings that inhabit Sky World, begins to fade. The keeper of the tree has a dream, and in that dream the people uproot the great tree, and their world is renewed.  So begins our story, the Great Tree is uprooted, and a large hole is created where the roots of the tree were.  It is through this hole, that a young pregnant woman falls, and lands on the back of a turtle, and a new world is started, Turtle Island. Eventually, Sky Woman's grandsons, Flint and Sky Holder, create everything on our earth, and the twin boys battle for control of Turtle Island."