Portraits around the Rainbow

During my academic exam sessions, I had to stay all the time behind a monitor, behind a desk. From those periods, I strongly remember the sensation of being deeply, existentially wrong. The sensation that the sanity and the truth were far and about running freely elsewhere. I remember I was used to listen often to Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and it was a serious pain ignoring the call to jump in a caravan and meet the world out there.

Also my breaks (or rather endless procrastinations) were just through a monitor… and that's how once I stumbled in a project by the photographer Benoit Paillé.

What I saw in it never left my mind and it kept to grow.

The past summer was my first one after my studies, I had moved from Italy in The Netherlands and everything was about my new life here.

This summer has been my first one to finally run to that dream

When the Earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the Earth from many colors, classes, creeds, and who by their actions and deeds shall make the Earth green again. They will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow.

Old Native American Profecy

…and discover it was real.

The portraits I made, in the end, are really a few. I wished to do more, each face was very inspiring, but I don't have regrets, after all, because I know that each here and now I enjoyed the best of each moment, including the joy of helping around. So my time to draw has been almost only around the fire and then almost no light at all on my paper; drawing was very challenging! The results are not so good, but I still feel like sharing them, at least as memories for everyone.

Thank you so much once again, you all beautiful people.

I won't never forget that absurd first night when those well known lyrics, around the fire, kept suddenly a new meaning…

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

Rainbow Kids

The kid to the left asked me to draw as well. She is about nine, if I'm not mistaken. I repeated her many times that she's sincerely very talented and I wish she won't stop to draw. I like her drawing a lot and I would to share also hers.

me by her

(the one to the left is by another child)

another drawing by her

After this moment between the Rainbow Kids, I understood that the next time I will must bring with me a lot of papers and colours to make all together a drawing workshop.

Emilis, 16 years old, from Lithuania

Louisa, from UK

Lee, from Germany

Louis, from UK
(hey, Louis, if you find this page: I still want to read your poems!)

Dave, a voice and a guitar, from UK

Zayd The Storyteller
…really not similar enough!
from England

Mascha The Collective Dream
busker, from Germany

Ruadhán, the Irish busker

Dani, playing an acoustic bass guitar
from Denmark

Dani again 

Harmony,
her voice and her music worth her name

a Dutch sister living in UK

Asterix

Coming back to The Netherlands from the Rainbow Gathering, which was in Wales, I stopped to hug my beloved Rib. in London, where I've been very lucky and, thanks to a friend from the Gathering, I found new beautiful people happy to give me a shelter (and what a shelter!) in a quiet and quaint neighbourhood (thanks, beasts!).

my beloved Rib.

My last morning in London, my sweet Rib. took many photographs in this wonderful house where we slept; as usual, whatever she does results beautiful – and I'm always honoured of being an ingredient of some of her art. I found myself touched "in advance" imaging that one day those her photographs will become the memory of a new-fresh-old myself just after my first Rainbow Gathering, happy and exhausted, towards the end of my youth. You can see them here, here, here and here.

Isobel

Luca

An old lady in a tea room in Whitchurch, on the way to the Rainbow Gathering

A fast self portrait and a random sketch on my way there

Little self portrait of my-little-self with my backpack, which made say to any stranger
   «Hey, are you ok? Your backpack is too big!».
All the United Kingdom worried for me. Sorry everyone, ha!
(About the story of the trip going there, started hitchhiking,
I'll write a short tale of those adventures! Johnny demands it.)

"See you in five"

Eta

The Circle II

(…)

Is the sun so selfish, because it will set now?

Is the wind a jerk because it changed?

Would you call the earth an asshole

For turning 'round 'n' round you know,

It never ever stays in just one place. 

(…)

In The Twilight

Alexander

A Psychedelic Rise

About the end of December, a exaggerated hug made me fall, beating my head on the ground. In this way, some of the fish that live in my skull have found their small opening to fly away. My consciousness is spread in all the flying fish and now the fish are spread around, so part of my consciousness is now spread as well, flew somewhere.

That evening, my last rise started to help me during the bridge from the past year to the new one, with the wise company of a Psychedelic Knight.

I tried to draw some memories of that bundle of dawns.

The words are from Mayla, song by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes.

I also tried – again but never enough – to show this Psychedelic Knight, who has eyes that are doors for any flight, port for any flow.

"Mayla" – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

After a very long time, finally I made another video. It's something very simple, but for me it's really precious. It's precious come back to that dear dimension of the audiovisual language and it's unbelievable precious this specific situation: my loved band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros published a video contest for the new album Here. I chosen the song Mayla.

There are many tales behind this project, but I'd like let you watch it without too many introductory words. So, just enjoy it!

WATCH IT

I would write something again only to let sing my huge Thankfulness to some people.

Thanks to Isa and Jesebel Braggie, the gorgeous child and the sweet woman that performed for me. And thanks to the Isa's parents too.

Thanks to my thoughtmate Natalja Heybroek that inspired me with the concept of circle and harmony.

Thanks to Carolina Farina for her amazing handmade book.

Thanks to Marloes Stellaard, 'cause she's the indirect great creator of almost all those special things and corners that I recorded.

Thanks to Alberto Mocellin and Gianvito Cofano and their patience and goodness and severity with me.

Thanks to those Eyes that I look to rise.

Thanks to all friends of mine and to all the strangers, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, that have jumped with me singing the songs of this special band.

Uh oh, sorry, actually I've something else that I'd like say here.
Now I'm very curious to watch with calm the other entries, but I can already feel a common attitude, closed to the band's spirit and to mine. Just this it's enough to make me joyful and let me grow up better a certain hope – a hope just about the human future. I know that it can sound naive. And, well, it is! But it's so special feel that there are several beings with a similar idea of peace and harmony… (Because I think that this is the real core of the question.) To you all film makers of this contest and to the rest of the world: love, love, love.