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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2008)
ta. \ justout FEBRUARY 1. 2008 ç| people D âaint-flmour Hooves and Flippers Cru du Beaujolais Portland singer/songwriter adds animal documentaries to list of accomplishments by Rebecca Ragain §hare this love and gizt tipsy! Blackbird Wineshop 3519 NE 44th Avenue ©Fremont 503 282-1887 □--------------- —--------------- f you lived in Oregon a decade ago—or even if you didn’t—you probably heard the news when Keiko the orca, the star of the movie Free Willy, was relocated to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. You may even know that Keiko was later I returned to his native waters in Iceland in 1998. | If you lost track of Keiko after that, you’re not O | alone. I I ( Learn the art of glqss blowing. Give the gift off glass blowing for the Holidays! Classes offered In: Beginning & intermediate glass blowing Beginning & intermediate sol- id glass sculpture 8 week classes in the afternoons and evenings. Welcoming LGBT to worship Sunday at 10:15 a.m. A Reconciling in Christ Congregation 1979 NW Vaughn St. Portland, OR 97209 503-2284)575 • elementsglass.com A good place to be. I8Z0 NE 2lst Ave. Portland, OR www.centrdlportldnd.com Enroll now for classes starting in January! PROVIDING SOCIAL WORK AND NURSING MEDICAL CASE MANAGEMENT TO PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS SINCE 1995 PARTNERSHIP PROJECT Serving 1200 individuals a year in the Portland 4-county area. Working to keep you insured, in medical care and in contact with the services you need! SERVICIOS DISPONIBLES EN ESPAÑOL For intake scheduling, information and referral, call our intake team at 503-517-3590 @1 HEALTH &SCIENCE www.ohsu.edu/partnership sponsor-supported concerts/presentations during which she and her band performed and ocean conservationists spoke about the famous orca. When 27-year-old Keiko died in 2003, the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation asked Demarest to put together a film honoring his life. But for a number of reasons, the project didn’t happen until now. “There were a lot of bigger players vying to put out big documentaries about Keiko’s life,” says Demarest, who at the time chose to walk away from UNIVERSITY 1 Woodstock Animal Hospital OREGON That’s why Theresa Demarest, a Portland lesbian musician and budding filmmaker, is so excited to tell Keiko’s story. Demarest is engrossed in the production of “Keiko’s Dream...Keiko’s Legacy,” a 15- to 20- minute educational DVD about his five years in the wild. “The movie we’re doing with Keiko is a story that hasn’t been told,” she says. “We get to tell the story and show people footage of him swimming free, looking for a mate, interacting with wild orcas.” She continues: “Most people don’t even know what happened to Keiko, and it’s powerful, really powerful, what happened.” Demarest has followed Keiko’s story since he was moved to Newport in 1996. At the time, she was confined to bed because of complications relat ed to a bout with breast cancer. It was her second run-in with the disease. “I was very ill, and all I could do was watch television,” she recalls. “I became mesmerized with the story.” Inspired by Keiko’s strength, Demarest wrote a song called “Keiko’s Dream.” That in turn led to Keiko’s Dream Tour, a series of grant-funded and the film contract and the political quagmire surrounding it. Four years later, no one had made a film. Groups including the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, OrcaLab and independent video grapher Eric Engleton decided to send their footage to Demarest so she could go ahead with the project. Although there is still a chance that her film could stir up the controversy between the various groups involved in Keiko’s life, she is not letting that slow her down. “I feel like I’m just like the average person: I don’t care about those guys...I care about this,” she says, gesturing to a computer screen displaying footage of Keiko swimming free. So now Demarest spends hours each week poring over footage of Keiko, piecing together his end-of-life story and setting the scenes to her own music. The work is time-consuming and meticu lous, but she loves it. Demarest plays a five-second bit of footage on the computer and explains how it has taken her hours to get the timing of the accompanying music just right: “Just that little thing, that’s like creating a piece of artwork.” “I get to take film and my music to tell an epic story,” she says, sounding awestruck. “Wow! Oh my God, that’s wonderful!” This isn’t the first time Demarest, who is main ly recognized as a professional musician, has ven tured into filmmaking. She spent the past couple of years producing and editing her first film, a 26- minute documentary called “Herd of Two: First Time Horse, First Time Owner.” The idea for “Herd of Two” originated about three years ago, when Demarest fell in love. Her partner of two decades probably wasn’t too jealous, though, because the recipient of Demarest’s affec tion was a 6-month-old filly. In response to a newspaper ad promoting riding lessons, Demarest had trekked out to a bam in Canby. It was there that she first saw the little horse that she bought and named Tehya Takoda, or Precious Friend. “I had never been around horses before, ever,” DOWNTOWN women’s CENTER W oman - owned clinic R un by W omen for W omen with K indness , S ensitivity and R espect Visit us on the web: www.downtownwomenscenter.com Fab/March ara dental mnntha 20% OFF dantal cleaning* Through 3/31 Call (503) 224-3435 or (800) 742-9292 511 SW 10th Ave., Suite 905 Portland, OR J I S I Because of her film projects, Theresa Demarest is spending less time performing with her band, Good Company.
