"Shadow of the House," a documentary about photographer Abelardo Morell '77, will have its world premiere at the 2007 Independent Film Festival of Boston on Saturday. The film, by Allie Humenek, follows the Bowdoin alum over the course of seven years and paints a portrait of his artistic vision and the family that surrounds him.
Morell said of the film, "It's mostly on my art and the process of my work?how I make my pictures. But, it's also about what goes on around that, which is a lot of family. And a principle part of the film was my return to Cuba."
Morell arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1962. The documentary highlights his first trip home to Cuba in 40 years, which he made in 2002.
"It was like a dream. I remembered the place in some ways, but I had a conflict of feelings," he said. "Seeing family was very good. That part was very reassuring."
"I also became a citizen in 2002 so that merges into it as well," he added.
The film chronicles Morell's creative process and shows him exploring his artistic vision. While Morell works with all media of photography, he is best known for a process called camera obscura, which is Latin for "dark room."
"I cover all the windows of a room with dark plastic. I make a hole about half an inch in diameter, which produces an upside down image of the outside into the room," Morell said.
The development process takes between six and eight hours, and results in a clear picture on the wall of the room opposite the hole.
Regarding the result, Morell said, "It's a combination of the inside of the room plus the image."
Morell majored in religion at Bowdoin, but said that it was during college that he discovered photography. He noted that former faculty member John McKee significantly influenced his decision to become a photographer.
"He was teaching photography when I took the course in 1969, and he basically changed my life," Morell said. "I just became really excited about the medium and his teaching made me excited about being a photographer."
After taking time off from Bowdoin, he returned and graduated in 1977. He then attended the Yale School of Art and received a Master of Fine Arts in 1981. Since then, his work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, as well as several other museums in the United States and abroad. He has received several honors, including an honorary Doctorate of Arts from Bowdoin in 1997.
"A Shadow of the House" premieres this Saturday at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $9. Call 617-975-0600 and visit Morell's Web site, www.abelardomorell.net, for more information.