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ETV’s Southern Lens Series Presents Tribute to Slain SC Filmmaker Helen Hill

Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 10 p.m.

For Immediate Release
May 17, 2007

Columbia, SC...On Thursday, May 31 at 10 p.m., ETV presents a special Southern Lens program, "Helen Hill: Celebrating A Life In Film."  The hour-long documentary is a loving look at the Columbia native and filmmaker who was tragically murdered in her New Orleans home this past January by an intruder.  Weaving together interviews with close friends and family members and many of her animated films, the program creates a touching snapshot of Hill and many of the pivotal moments in her life, while also offering a unique retrospective of her work.

One of those life-changing moments came when Hill was in the fifth grade and director Stan Woodward visited her class to show his film "It's Grits." 

"It just turned her on that year.  We got her a camera and she carried that camera everywhere and she took so many photographs," said Becky Lewis, Hill's mother. 

Many of Hill's animated films are very personal in nature and often inspired by her own poetry.  The interviews in this program help to illuminate the meaning behind some of these films and their imaginative visuals, allowing the viewer a deeper appreciation for her work. 

"'Your New Pig Is Down the Road' is unusual because it’s very rough. It doesn’t have any sound. It’s also totally visual and it uses a lot of quick shots, some pixilation and it’s a collage piece that brings in family and friends," said Susan Leonard, director of the South Carolina Arts Commission's Media Arts Center.  "It was made for Paul, her husband, as a kind of a love poem that led him to this new member of the family, which is a little piglet named Rosie."

Additional films included in the production are:

• Mouseholes
• Rain Dance
• Tunnel of Love
• Scratch and Crow
• Madame Winger Makes a Film

The program also touches on Hill's unfinished film, "The Florestine Collection" and her husband's efforts to complete it for her. 

"Paul has this film now, and he of course would have the best idea of her intent... Before she was murdered, she was talking to him a whole lot and she was telling him how she was going to do it, and he’s going to finish the film for her," said Lewis.

"Helen Hill: Celebrating a Life in Film" will air in conjunction with the Indie Grits Film Festival, a five day event showcasing films by Southern filmmakers that takes place May 30-June 3 in Columbia.  The Helen Hill Memorial Award will be presented to the best female filmmaker in the festival during the awards ceremony held on June 3 at Trustus Theatre.  The Indie Grits Film Festival is co-sponsored by ETV, the Nickelodeon Theatre and the Columbia Music Festival Association.

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.