El Lobo y La Paloma, The Film
A Story About Loss, Connection & Ancestry
About
Created by flamenco dancer and choreographer Lindsey Bourassa, El Lobo y La Paloma (The Wolf and The Dove) is a multimedia, contemporary flamenco performance that explores themes of loss, connection, and ancestry. Through all original flamenco dance, Arabic music and song, poetry, and projected imagery, the filmed live performance tells a story about the loss of a loved one and the mystical connections between physical and spiritual worlds.
Inspired by the loss of Bourassa’s father in 2015, El Lobo y La Paloma strives to honor the universal experience of loss; that of losing a loved one, a homeland, a freedom, a right, an identity, an ability. It honors the reconstruction of our relationship with our lost being or object, grief as vital to the process of healing, and the eternal interconnectedness between this physical world and where spirits reside.
Intention
El Lobo y La Paloma was produced to empower viewers to honor that which they’ve lost and grieve, to contemplate how they might take steps toward healing, and in some cases, to ponder the legacy they wish to leave this world. Since its 2019 premiere, El Lobo y La Paloma has been screened at the Portland Museum of Art, the Frontier Theater, Vimeo on Demand, the Maine State Prison, The Maine Women’s Center (Department of Corrections), and will be featured in 2022 in the Elisabeth Kubler Ross Foundation’s online series A Thoughtful Death. The film is also currently distributed through Edovo, a nation-wide digital platform to meet the education, communication, and rehabilitation needs of justice-involved people and their loved ones
The responses from these audiences have affirmed that this work has the power to encourage profoundly healing dialogues with others and within ourselves, inspiring the program’s producers to develop accompanying materials for Bereavement Counselors and End of Life Caregivers to share and review with those they serve. The decision to make El Lobo y La Paloma available in this way was expedited by the shock and devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in these times of unprecedented disruption and loss, it is the wish of the artistic team that this work can be used as a means to create space for grief and form connections for those who grieve.
Guides
Inspired by in-person, post-screening conversations and written responses from Edovo’s served populations, the program’s creators have developed a set of accompanying guides designed to facilitate a more meaningful experience for the audience, which are provided for organized screenings and licenses. The Viewing Guide explains the intent and narrative arc of the choreographed performance while providing insight into the origins of the various forms of artistic expression represented throughout the work. Reviewed before screening the film, this document encourages the viewer to engage with the content in a more informed and meaningful way. Once a screening of the film has been completed, the Post-Film Discussion Guide provides a facilitated contemplation on the performance that can be completed by an individual or within a group conversation setting. This document includes written reflections by End of Life Educator Carol Schoneberg (Hospice of Southern Maine) as well as El Lobo y La Paloma’s creative team. Included are a series of reflective prompts to help viewers access and explore their own experience with grief and loss.
Licensing Options for Organizations
UNLIMITED ACCESS - Lifetime / One Month / One Week
The Unlimited Access options allows for the distribution of El Lobo y La Paloma and accompanying guides to all members of the licensing organization, including providers, staff, volunteers, patients, clients, and family of patients or clients for the duration of the license. Optional online video conference Q&A with the program's producers and Grief Educator Carol Schoneberg available.
LIVE STREAM SCREENING - Scheduled Online Screening
The one time screening is available to a predetermined number of virtual ticket holders. Access to the program's viewing guides and Q&A with the program's producers included. Optional inclusion of Grief Educator Carol Schoneberg available.
Reviews
“El Lobo y La Paloma is part filmed performance, part art film, a lyrical, meditative, visionary exploration of the experience of loss..." Megan Grumbling, Portland Phoenix
“Bourassa and Camlin have created an immersive experience about processing grief that has clearly struck a chord.” Dennis Perkins, Portland Press Herald
What People Are Saying
"The film and accompanying guide provide incarcerated learners with a new perspective on how to approach their grief and what to do with the anger, sorrow, or confusion they are struggling with. El Lobo y La Paloma steps forward to teach how art can heal.”
- John Timpone, Principal Product Strategist, Edovo
“El Lobo y La Paloma is full of power, vitality and grace, powered by Bourassa’s stunning dancing. There’s a certain point in the world of artistic expression when a performance transcends the mundane (or even the exceptionally good) and moves into the captivating realm of the magical. Great artists are able to weave spells with their art, giving their audiences a transcendental experience, and it is this ability that sets them apart from the ordinary and establishes them as stars... By this definition, flamenco dancer Lindsey Bourassa is solidly within the category of rising stars, for what she does is both enthralling and magical.”
- Peter Alexander, The Coastal Journal
“There was something very spiritual about this performance. It was palpable!!... It was powerful, strong, tender, sensitive, painful, and most of all genuine in the feelings it conveyed... Lindsey Bourassa’s choreography and execution were beautiful. Her ability to emote had many in near (if not actual) tears. Megan Keogh was beautiful and complementary to her style. Talal Alzefiri’s singing was a perfect fit to the flamenco. Tom Kovacevic’s oud playing and his narration were smooth with a clear gentle voice. The paintings were dramatic.”
- María Mazorra, Audience Member & Flamenco Dancer, formerly with Roberto Lorca and the Puerto Rican Dance Theater
"Maine DOC is so fortunate to be able to share El Lobo y La Paloma with residents through the Edovo tablets. This film has allowed DOC's residents to work through the past and move towards the future."
- Katy Grant, Manager of Adult Education and Vocation, Maine Department of Corrections
"I was able to completely open my heart and mind to let myself grieve.”
“The dance and music reflected some of my innermost feelings..."
"This film has helped open me up to a whole new level of grieving in a healthy, positive way.”
- Maine Department of Corrections (DOC) Residents
“I was so fortunate to see the live premiere of this performance. It was a few months after my husband had died. It was tremendously moving. I can't begin to recommend it enough to anyone grieving the loss of a loved one - and who isn't.”
- Lorraine Vekens, Audience Member
“It’s inspiring that a group of people can come together to create something with that level of excellence... I really was taken to the place in my mind that connects with the Spirit.”
- Chris Teret, Audience Member & Musician
“Awe-inspiring performance… your work is desperately needed.”
- Christopher Sutherland, Audience Member & Musician
CONTACT
LINCENSING & BOOKING
Lindsey Bourassa: loboylapalomafilm@gmail.com | (207) 409 - 4070 | LindseyBourassa.com
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & ACCESS
David Camlin: loboylapalomafilm@gmail.com | (207) 641-5414 | 7Cylinders.com
PAGE CREDITS
Video by David Camlin
Painting, The Pathfinder by Khosro Berahmandi
Photographs by Arthur Fink Photography
Artistic Credits
FILM
Produced and Directed by: David Camlin & Scott Sutherland
ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE
Creator, Choreographer, Lead Dancer: Lindsey Bourassa
Accompanying Dancer and Palmas: Megan Keogh
Oud, Musical Composition, Narration: Thomas Kovacevic
Vocals and Song Composition: Talal Alzefiri
Paintings: Khosro Berahmandi
Poetry: David and Lindsey Bourassa