Video by Maisie Crow
A Life Alone is a beautifully poignant video by New York-based photographer Maisie Crow. It tells the story of Tom Rose, who after 63 years of marriage finds himself living on his own, forced to reengage with his community and battle with his bittersweet memories. Tom is unflinchingly honest in his expressions of love and fear, and his willingness to share his perspectives on life, and Maisie treats this honesty with the respect it deserves. The film is a compassionate look at life-long love and companionship, and the vacuum that it can leave. It's honesty gives it a universality, reminding us of ourselves and our loved ones, while touching on the danger in contemporary western societies of old age becoming solitary.
Produced in 2009, while Crow was working toward her master's degree, the piece is one of the best recent examples of a multimedia film created by an independent journalist, made more impressive by the fact that stills, audio, video and production were produced by the photographer herself. Visually and sonically innovative, it is a stunning piece of personal multimedia storytelling and a significant example of how powerful this new medium can be. — Anna Stevens
Maisie Crow is a freelance photographer and multimedia producer based in New York City. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and studied as a graduate student at Ohio University's School of Visual Communication. In 2010 her multimedia project, A Life Alone, was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy, and she attended the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass in Amsterdam. Maisie is an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the multimedia instructor at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. In 2009, she was the recipient of the Ian Parry Scholarship and the Pierre and Alexandra Boulat Grant. Her work has been screened at LOOKbetween, the Lumix Festival for young photojournalism and the New York Photo Festival.
Anna Stevens is multimedia producer for Panos Pictures, a London-based photo agency specializing in global social issues. Panos Multimedia works in collaboration with photographers and campaigning organizations to produce multimedia and film for online, broadcast and installation, and have won numerous awards for their work. Anna also curates Panos Picks, a selection of inspiring uses of photography and film; experimental, art, documentary, and new technologies. She is co-founder of online photography gallery and blog Contact Editions.
Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2012.
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