The Mission Diptych

Mission Movie Theatres (3 min)
1998. 16mm film. black & white. Silent.
Filmed in San Francisco, California on Super-8mm film. A sometimes nostalgic glimpse at the movie theatres of San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood.

14th and Valencia (3 min)
1998. 16mm film. black & white. Silent.
Filmed in San Francisco, California on Super-8mm film. An atmospheric bit of open space in the city.


The Ride (10 min)
2000. 16mm film. Color. Narrative.
Filmed in Manteca and Oakdale California. A meditative adventure story in which the gender of a small town cab driver is the mumbled conversation piece. Received a 2001 Golden Gate Award from the San Francisco International Film Festival. Cast: Judith Williams, Cooper Bombardier, Mark Haggarty Crew: Bill Basquin (writer, director, editor), Robert Poswall (camera), Christian Bruno (2nd camera, gaffer), Abigail Severance (assistant camera), Monroe Cummings (sound recordist), Elise Hurwitz (sound design), Natalija Vekic and Laurel Frank (production design), Jennifer Jordan Day (production manager), Justine Franko (script supervisor), Laurel Sharp (still photographer), Bridgette Coldren (make-up and hair), Deron Tse (key grip), Max Miller (best boy), Rock Ross (titles), Lewis Motisher (negative cutting)



The Range Triptych

The Last Day of November (4 min)
2001. 16mm film. black & white.
Filmed in Wisconsin. On a cold November day, we follow a family of deer hunters from the field back to the barn. Cast: Frank Murn, Don Murn, Patrick Murn, Chris Johnson Crew: Bill Basquin (direction, camera, edit), Elise Hurwitz (sound mix and design), Bruce Miller (optical printing), Rock Ross (titles), Lewis Motisher (negative cutter)

Martin (5 min)
2004. 16mm film. black & white.
Filmed in New Zealand. A farmer shears a sheep and shares his thoughts on rural life and work. Cast: Martin Denton, sheep Crew: Bill Basquin (direction, camera, and edit), Elise Hurwitz (sound design), Bruce Miller (optical printing), Rock Ross (titles), Lewis Motisher (negative cutting)

Range (7 min)
2005. 16mm film. black & white.
A conversation about ranching and family between the filmmaker and his father. This film received a Personal Works Grant in 2004 from the Film Arts Foundation and was presented at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Cast: Peter Basquin, Jessie Basquin, Anne Basquin, Jeanine Basquin, Sam Moore, Angela Moore, Chris Moore Crew: Bill Basquin (direction, camera, and edit), Anne Basquin (camera), Jessie Basquin (camera), Elise Hurwitz (sound design), Bruce Miler (optical printing), Rock Ross (titles), Lewis Motisher (negative cutting)


Frank (3 min)
2007. Super-8mm film/mini-DV. black & white.
Filmed in Wisconsin. A conversation with Frank Murn about the button box accordion.

Bio:

Bill Basquin is a gifted cinematographer whose films are influenced in equal parts by fine art, ecology, and manual labor. He completed a triptych of films about rural life and farming; the third of which, RANGE, was presented at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. He made valuable contributions to local movies such as By Hook or by Crook and the eagerly awaited, handsome-looking Maggots and Men.Basquin's new project, SOILED, recently awarded a San Francisco Individual Artist's Commission, is both a continuation of themes explored in his previous works and an outgrowth of his own experiences of living and growing food in the City.

Basquin's still photographs are primarily landscapes, his motion pictures are mostly portraits of people or places. For his subject matter, he's really drawn to old technologies, old clothing, old cultural practices. He likes the aesthetics of that, but at the same time he like's the fact that it's this technology that's barely still on the map. Basquin still think's that the more time passes, the more he'll have to be his own mechanic, making his own equipment.