Director/Producer: Andrew Reissiger

Description:

An artistic quest takes unexpected turns as percussionist and rhythm dancer Keith Terry searches for meaning while producing the world's first festival dedicated to the one instrument we all share–the human body. Motivated by a near brush with death and supported by prize money from a Guggenheim Fellowship, Terry launched the International Body Music Festival in 2008 in his hometown of Oakland, California. Central to the story is his friendship with Fernando Barba, founder of São Paulo's Barbatuques–a chance connection that blossomed into a creative partnership and deep personal bond that would be tested by time, distance and illness. Over the following decade, the festival traveled from the Bay Area to São Paulo, Istanbul, Paris, Bali and Ghana, bringing together artists who use rhythm, movement and voice as a shared physical language. 

Biography:

Andrew Reissiger is a multimedia artist and creative consultant working across diverse projects in documentary film, music and education focusing on the transformative power of cross-cultural collaboration. Past films include Friday Jumbo – Africa70 Percussionist, El Charango and Dirty Work. He has worked as director of education for Small Island Big Song, a pan-oceanic collective of indigenous musicians, dancers and climate activists from sixteen island nations. From 2014-2017, he was director of music programs for the Nile Project and recording/mix engineer for three CDs including “Jinja.” From 2005-2008, he was producer and host of World Tour Radio where he received a Georgia Association of Broadcasters Award for Best Feature/Documentary. An accomplished musician, he has served as music director of Lagos Roots, performed alongside Pete Seeger at Monterey Jazz Festival, with Omega Bugembe Okello at Sauti Za Busara and collaborated with Puerto Rican Nueva Tova stars Roy Brown and Tito Auger. He is best known for his original work with Dromedary and Jonathan Byrd.

Contact Information:

e: areissiger@gmail.com 
w: throughthebodyfilm.com