Washed Away

Showing In

Shorts 3: ART and LIFE
Roxie Theatre Sat, Jun 10, 2017 12:30 PM
Art brings so much to our lives and has never been under such a huge threat so lets listen while we can to the artists.
Shorts 3: ART and LIFE
Roxie Theatre Mon, Jun 12, 2017 7:15 PM
Art brings so much to our lives and has never been under such a huge threat so lets listen while we can to the artists.
Film Info
Director:Dana Nachman
Running Time:6 min.

Description

There are many days that Brandon Anderton cannot get out of bed. But on the days he can, he creates sand mosaic masterpieces only to see them enveloped by the tides hours later. He captures the scope and beauty of his art from a drone he flies overhead. In the hours while he is creating his art, his chronic pain fades into the background and sometimes vanishes all together, only to return with a vengeance after so many hours on his feet.

Brandon’s meditative art is in complete juxtaposition to what he considers his former life as a competitive skateboarder and motorcyclist and all the trappings associated with that lifestyle.

Throughout his years in these dangerous sports Brandon broke almost every bone in his body, some more than once. But the blow that caused his ultimate disability was falling from a 6-foot ladder at work, his head landing on the corner of a metal desk.

His doctors and physical therapists believe it is unrealistic to think that Brandon will ever live a life without pain. His job now is to learn how to live with it.

That’s where art therapy comes in. When Brandon arrived at the pain and wellness center near his Northern California home, to say he was skeptical is an understatement. The obstacles he faced in his life seemed insurmountable. He was bitter, depressed and contemplating ending it all. The losses he experienced since his accident were staggering. He lost his ability to work in a career he loved as an electrician. He lost his home and his long-term girlfriend. And within that first year both his parents died.

Washed Away chronicles the transformation of a person who goes from one of the darkest places a human can go to a place of hope and inspiration. The driving force behind his change is art.

When he’s feeling up to it, he heads to the beach and creates his ephemeral art. Through these pieces Brandon attempts to visualize his pain. Brandon’s struggle is constant and witnessed even while at the beach, sometimes getting down to his pallet on the beach takes him up to an hour because of the terrain.

But once Brandon gets down to creating his art his meditation takes over. And he says this art which fuels his mindful way of life now fulfills him in a way he hadn’t been before, making him sometimes even thankful for the pain that is the emotional root of his works