Featured Artist – No. 12
Aileen McCormack
Carla Cope is the story of a woman wandering New York City and trying to make sense of the 9/11 tragedy. The pace of the narrative is frenetic and the effect is visceral. We asked the creator, Aileen McCormack, to answer a few questions.
What are the origins of the character Carla Cope? Is there anything you would be willing to share about where she and her story came from?
I just started filming my sister Sheila walking around the East Village where I live. Someone called looking for Carla Cope... I just very slowing started to build the character. It was mostly about what happened to her rather than who she is, because by the time we meet her all the stuff has happened. She's the walking wounded.
Also, I met a very nice fireman and he told me about his life and what it was like. He was a special person... We lost him in 9/11.
I also wanted to tell a story about loving two people at the same time, so I wanted to weave this all together.
We are intrigued by your use of what appears to be found and/or appropriated footage. Can you say a little about why this is useful to you as a storyteller; how (or why) you build narratives with this material?
Yes, its all about building narratives. I like to collect as many images that kinda work and play with them... change them ... color etc ... edit it down and watch it until a story comes about. why? I love the way some of these old films look, they have certain images we don't see anymore, and to play with those images is fun and helps me build the film.
James Joyce?
I was reading his bio when I was making Carla Cope and it was wonderful like he is.
Can you give some background on the family-run Alak Films?
Alak films is me, my sister Sheila, and by brother Tim. We each have our own projects, and we work on each other’s too. Our backgrounds are theater, multimedia plays, and filmmaking.
Nine things in your workspace?
My computer/edit system, african grey parrot, cat tent, dog bed, books on my next project, tape recorder, map of Taos, paint, old film.
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