Helen Hill Remembered

You don't have to have known Helen Hill to be fully affected and changed by her presence. There are always a few people in the community that are full of spirit, generosity, warmth and love; that always manage to make us feel alive and beautiful. They seem to ground us in the simple essences of life, always encouraging and nurturing us. Helen Hill is one of these people.

The screening program of Helen Hill Remembered was an incredibly emotional experience for me. Her films communicated a person full of spirit, warmth, love and excitement for life. The watercolor backgrounds, tiny ink and construction paper characters, sweet stop motion, organic tones and soft voices brought me into a place normally kept in childhood; a place of safety and intimacy.

I wasn't able to sit in the whole presentation and sharing that encompassed her memorial screening. The day before I went to a memorial of a dear friend in my community who died at the age of 29 to stomach cancer. The tactile quality of Helen Hill's films and the incredible affect she had on her community was too close to home.

We are lucky to have been touched by these incredible people, and it is absolutely heartbreaking to see them go. I hope that Hellen Hill's films become more accessible to people, so that her spirit might warm this world in communities that don't have the luxury of her presence.