The mikveh is a cleansing ceremony for Jewish brides, performed as a purifying ritual bath before marriage. In Gomez’ film, Mikveh, this ceremony is reinterpreted by two married men. In this reinterpretation of the mikveh, the filmmaker and his husband’s immersions are disrupted by a government who refuses to recognize their marriage. The couple is required, again and again, to prove that their relationship legally exists.
The reinterpreted ritual was documented with an iPhone and later animated (rotoscoped) and layered over the documents produced in order to attain a couple’s visa. In addition to these documents, the animated background includes thousands of images, 7 years worth of snapshots dating from the time the couple first met to their wedding day – the proof of a life lived together.
While the events that triggered the project were frustrating and angering, creating the video transformed the experience into a wonderful document of love, victory and hope.
Adrian Garcia Gomez’ film Mikveh will screen as part of the SQIFF Shorts: Sketches at the CCA Glasgow on 28th September 2017. It will show alongside a spectrum of cute, inventive animated queer shorts from around the world. Tickets are priced on a sliding scale, from Free – £8 in £2 increments. A guide to the sliding scale can be found here.
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