Ms. Alessandra Zeka This is Me

Education

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1. 1. NYFA Interactive - New York Foundation for the Arts

   artswire.spiderschool.org/leve - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/7/2007   Last Visited: 8/7/2007

   Alessandra Zeka, recipient of the 2004 NYFA Artists' Fellowship in Video, is an award-winning filmmaker whose body of work reflects a diverse range of cultural explorations. "Ever since I can remember," she says, "I have been driven by a curiosity for other people's traditions, cultural identities and political histories and the way they reverberate in our own lives." Her films have explored subjects ranging from the body piercing phenomena in tribal rites of Africa as they relate to rites in New York City, to the running of bulls the in Spain.
   
   "The nature of my work reflects a desire to create intimate and poetic portraits of my subjects by letting them tell their own stories in their own words, thus hoping to bring insight and understanding to the viewer. I hope that through this residency, participants will not only discover the art of filmmaking while uncovering the history of their community garden, but that they will also see the power of the arts to build community."
   
   Born in Spain, Alessandra studied cinematography in Madrid and then moved to New York City, where she has lived and worked since 1989. Alessandra has traveled extensively for her work as a documentary filmmaker. Her first feature film, To Endure (Te Durosh), portrays the struggles of three generations of women from Albania. After several smaller projects in Australia and Spain, she lived in India for 18 months while directing Harsh Beauty (to be released in October 2004), a film about the eunuchs of India. She recently returned from travels in China, where she began the research for her next major film project.
   
   Zeka has been awarded residencies for the Banf Centre for the Arts in Canada and Conjunction Arts in China. She has received grants from Soro/Sundance Documentary Film Fund ('98 & '99), Artslink Foundation, ('99), the Jerome Foundation (2000), and The New York State Council on the Arts in New York City.
   
   Alessandra's project was selected from over 50 artist applications to the Artist Residency project at the William A. Harris Garden.

2. 2. NYFA Interactive - New York Foundation for the Arts

   www.nyfa.org/level4.asp?id=281 - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/17/2007   Last Visited: 1/17/2007

   To create the documentary, 2004 NYFA Video Fellow Alessandra Zeka (about the artist) lead a group of twenty community residents in an in-depth video production workshop. Participants learned the basics of filmmaking as they worked collaboratively to create the video in the garden. The twenty minute film which resulted tells the story of the William A. Harris Garden in Harlem, how it began, the work that goes into maintaining it, and its relationship to the surrounding community.
   
   Residency participants were involved in every step of producing the short film. With instruction from Alessandra Zeka, assisted by filmmaker Holen Kahn (about the artist), participants were responsible for shooting and editing film footage, monitoring sound quality, and conducted on-screen interviews.

3. 3. NYFA Interactive - New York Foundation for the Arts

   artswire.spiderschool.org/leve - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/8/2004   Last Visited: 8/7/2007

   A Community Grows: A Neighborhood Documentary Film Project with Alessandra Zeka
   
   (New York, NY - July 8, 2004)-New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) presents an artist residency that will take place over three consecutive weekends (July 24-25, July 31-Aug.1, Aug. 7-8) featuring 2004 NYFA Video Fellow, Alessandra Zeka (About the Artist) at the William A. Harris Garden on 153rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem.
   
   Ms. Zeka will lead a group of twenty community residents in an in-depth video production that will teach participants the basics of filmmaking as they work to create a film that tells the history of the William A. Harris Garden in Harlem, the work that goes into maintaining the garden, and its relationship to the surrounding community.
   
   "The nature of my work reflects a desire to create intimate and poetic portraits of my subjects by letting them tell their own stories in their own words, thus hoping to bring insight and understanding to the viewer," said Zeka. "I hope that through this residency, participants will discover the art of filmmaking while uncovering the history of their community garden and that they will also see the power of the arts to build community."
   
   Residency participants will be involved in every step that goes into producing the 10-15 minute short film. With instruction from Zeka, participants will be responsible for shooting and editing film footage. They will also conduct interviews, and use samples of community members' music and photographs for the video.
   
   "Through Alessandra Zeka's residency, a documentary about this amazing garden will be created," said Theodore S. Berger, Executive Director of NYFA.
   ...
   Alessandra Zeka and participants in the residency will be on hand to answer questions and discuss their project. Community board members and leaders have been invited to attend.
   
   About the Artist
   
   Alessandra Zeka is an award-winning filmmaker whose body of work reflects a diverse range of cultural explorations. "Ever since I can remember," she says, "I have been driven by a curiosity for other people's traditions, cultural identities and political histories and the way they reverberate in our own lives." Her films have explored subjects ranging from the body piercing phenomena in tribal rites of Africa as they relate to rites in New York City, to the running of bulls the in Spain.
   
   Zeka has traveled extensively for her work as a documentary filmmaker. Her first feature film, To Endure (Te Durosh), portrays the struggles of three generations of women from Albania. After several smaller projects in Australia and Spain, she lived in India for 18 months while directing Harsh Beauty (to be released in October 2004), a film about the eunuchs of India. She recently returned from travels in China, where she began the research for her next major film project.
   
   Born in Spain, she studied cinematography in Madrid and then moved to New York City, where she has lived and worked since 1989.
   
   Zeka has been awarded residencies for the Banf Centre for the Arts in Canada and Conjunction Arts in China. She has received grants from Soro/Sundance Documentary Film Fund ('98 & '99), Artslink Foundation, ('99), the Jerome Foundation (2000), and The New York State Council on the Arts in New York City.
   
   Zeka received a Bachelor of Cinematography, T.A.I. in Madrid, Spain in 1991. She is the recipient of a 2004 NYFA Artists' Fellowship in Video.