Hasta La Motion!

I work as the filmmaker for Found Sound Nation, a Brooklyn based collective of musicians and artists who use music as a tool to help build strong, just, healthy communities. This is a short film about one of our projects, in partnership with the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs: OneBeat Istanbul. In the spring of 2016 we worked with a group of Kurdish, Syrian and Turkish musicians in the city of Istanbul. Based out of a decommissioned energy plant in the centre of the city and over the course of 2 weeks, we organised public street studios, music workshops with youth groups, we worked with institutions helping blind children and those fleeing conflict, and recorded new music in a variety of spaces around the city; all culminating in a final showcase. This film is a short document of the work that we did, the music we shared; the sounds of the city and of those involved in the program. OneBeat grew out of a notion that musical collaboration is a uniquely powerful way to connect people across political and cultural barriers, which can in turn cultivate an international network of sound makers who can make a powerful impact on their local and global communities. For more information about OneBeat Istanbul, please visit http://1beat.org/ or watch this film – https://vimeo.com/144149863 For more information about FSN, please visit http://foundsoundnation.org/ or watch this film – https://vimeo.com/144141570 A huge thank you to our program partners: Istanbul Bilgi University Istanbul Bilgi U Dept of Music Small Projects Istanbul Young Guru Academy Sulukule Genclik Orchestrasi US Consulate of Istanbul US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs To find out more about how the organisation Small Projects Istanbul helps families from Syria living in Istanbul, please visit http://www.smallprojectsistanbul.org/