Suzanne DeCuir’s Life Jackets – Valencia Artist Subject of New Documentary Film

Los Angeles-based filmmakers were “Moved Deeply” by Suzanne DeCuir’s latest project, a tribute to orphaned girls around the world.
Valencia artist Suzanne DeCuir is the subject of a new short documentary film produced by the Los Angeles documentary film team of Pamela Beere Briggs and William McDonald.
In the documentary DeCuir discusses her new project, Life Jackets, a work that was inspired by an article of clothing worn by her adopted daughter, Anna.
“I was going through some of Anna’s baby clothes when I came across the jacket she was wearing when we adopted her,” DeCuir said.  “I hadn’t seen or thought about the jacket in years, and seeing it this time really struck an emotional chord in me.”
This moment inspired DeCuir to produce Life Jackets, which is a tribute to girls around the world who may or may not have gotten to realize their potential.  DeCuir explains that she made 100 jackets, all a little worn, a bit shabby, but made with affection (and a story) as the original jacket clearly had been made. “They are meant to be individual, and bring to mind the varied destinies of all those small children who may have left their home countries or not, and how it is impossible to know the trajectories of all those lives,” DeCuir said.
“When Suzanne told me about her project, I was intrigued and moved, and then when I saw Life Jackets I immediately knew I wanted to make a film about this project and story,” Beere Briggs said.
Beere Briggs, with her husband McDonald, has written and produced a number of award-winning documentaries, including  “Funny Ladies: A Portrait of Women Cartoonists” and “Women of Mystery: Three Writers Who Forever Changed Detective Fiction,” a dive deep into the creative processes of artists and storytellers.  McDonald is a professor in the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA.
The documentary can be found at https://vimeo.com/355217330 

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