CREATIVE DOCUMENTARY
COMPLETED: 2006
DURATION: 26 mins
PRODUCER: ALICE NELSON / NOE MENDELLE
In 1972, my father left Dublin in a souped-up Ford Anglia van called Supervan and drove to Soviet Russia and back. I made a film about it called A Map with Gaps.
Utilising a combination of archive audio recordings and still photographs, drama reconstruction and animation, a surreal and comic tale unfolds of 12,000 miles, 14 countries and 26 very peculiar days. Essentially this is a catalogue of minor disasters, a story that demonstrates that fact can indeed be stranger than fiction and sometimes the grey area between the two is the most interesting place to explore, particularly if you forgot to bring a map.
To date, A Map with Gaps has screened at over 40 international film festivals, and won ten awards including Grand Jury Award: Best Short Documentary at Slamdance Film Festival, 2007
‘A truthful and endearing account of a daughter’s vicarious journey through her father’s travel logs, while touring around Soviet Russia in the 1970’s. The film is true to the heart, bizarrely instructive and compelling and intelligent filmmaking.’
Cork International Film Festival – Jury Statement on presentation of two awards for A Map with Gaps
Director/Producer: Alice Nelson
Animation & Editing: Alan Brown
Sound Design & Music: Zoe Irvine
DoP: Ian Dodds
Copyright © Alice Nelson 2017