Selections from Fred's Rainbow Bar and Other Stages on the International Border (In Progress)

Fred’s Rainbow Bar and Other Stages on the International Border (working title) is a topographical film essay using a variety of animation styles along with live action and archival imagery to interrogate histories, memories, and imaginings of the border landscapes of El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juárez, MX, the region where I grew up. The film is mostly set in the early 9o’s or the era before NAFTA and before the erection of the Border Security Fence with flashbacks to the Battle of Juárez and flashes forwards to contemporary events, like the razing of the ASARCO smelter. The International Border (or the river with two names) remains the main frame through which events unfold as we observe teens navigate these disparate landscapes.

  • Nicole Antebi
    Director
  • Gabriel Gonzalez
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Experimental
  • Genres:
    Film essay, non-fiction animation
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 1, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Mexico, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital and handmade
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Nicole Antebi

I work in non-fiction animation, motion graphics, installation while simultaneously connecting and creating opportunities for other artists through larger curatorial and editorial projects such as Water, CA (a six year collaboration with Enid Ryce) and Winter Shack (a three year collaboration with Alex Branch). I’ve taught film/media courses at CUNY Staten Island, Parsons The New School, and Cal State Monterey Bay. I frequently collaborate with UNY, l’ao , and most recently with electronic music pioneer, Vince Clarke. I also coproduced the five part web series Just Browsing, written by Joanne Mcneil. And I was the 2015 recipient of a Jerome Foundation film/media grant for a forthcoming film about the border landscapes of El Paso and Juárez.

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Director Statement

My interest in the movement, history and mythology of Water in the West probably originated with my upbringing in El Paso, Texas. Before I knew the history of the 1963 Chamizal Convention which would ultimately channelize and permanently fix a portion of the Río Grande/Río Bravo as the official border between United States and Mexico and before I knew that rivers change course and therefore make terrible boundaries, I was aware, from a young age, that the fluctuating water levels of the Rio Grande, largely determined the movement and prosperity of people on both sides of the river. The river bisected these two places, but the shared watershed also brought people together. In 1999 I moved away to attend grad school in California but would periodically return to El Paso. On one trip I was struck to find that the river was no longer visible, obstructed in part by the US/Mexico border security fence. This got me thinking about the importance of visibility, engagement and access to one’s watershed.