Traveling mostly on foot, by raft or canoe, English artist Tony Foster paints landscapes in the remotest of areas often risking his life to bring awareness to wilderness destruction and climate change.
Joe Pavlo, Producer/VFX Artist | Ikuko Kobayashi, Production Design/Graphics
Francisco X. Rivera, Editor | Moritz Hans Laub, Composer
As a documentarian I am always looking for stories that have multiple levels of meaning. Yank Tanks was a clever way of dissecting the cultural truth behind the Cuban Embargo. The Comedy Club was a not-so-subtle look at the corporatization of standup comedy and its effects on freedom of expression. Enduring Democracy explores economic opportunism and the dangers when
that intersects with racism. And Painting at the Edge is a story about an eco-warrior that shows us how to forge a new relationship to nature. On the surface these films might seem as simple as “how do you keep an old car running without spare parts” but one level below there is a bigger question.
I met Tony Foster when I was hired to produce a video about the opening of his museum in Palo Alto, CA. My dad, Alfred was a master watercolour painter and so when I saw Tony’s paintings, I immediately recognized the talent in the work. Watercolour is by far the most difficult and unforgiving medium to paint in – believe me I tried! At his museum opening I was standing in front of one of the largest paintings I’ve ever seen of the Grand Canyon. Someone next to me asked what I thought of the painting. I replied “it’s a masterpiece but the colors look very pop art.” “Well, I used to make pop art!” I turned to see it was Tony Foster himself. From that moment we had a trusting relationship because I had dared to critique the master directly. After several years of discussions about the shape of the film, Tony and I decided to make the documentary about his life together. As a filmmaker this has been the most challenging adventure I have ever embarked upon. Most film production teams don’t need to worry about where they are going to charge their batteries or how much water is needed for an 8-day canoe trip. Besides the challenge and rigors of filming in the wilderness how do you tell a story about such a singular man? Tony was set on making the film while he was working in the wild, so we packed the cameras, tents and sleeping bags and made a film. The planet stands on the edge of an environmental collapse. We must change our relationship to our only home or very soon it could be uninhabitable. Tony is the perfect messenger for those of us looking for a better way and hopefully for those that need the message most.