The Eagle And the Tortoise (2020)

National Sawdust, New York City, Jan 2020
IDFA (International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam) 2022
Under The Radar Festival, BRIC New York City, 2024

The Eagle and the Tortoise invites the audience into a live sound and video installation where they collectively read a hand-made book. The book tells the story of a young student from Turkey who became an icon of leftist resistance, an armed militant, a political prisoner, and finally, a proxy soldier in an American war. This visual essay traces the history of the aerial view—in art, mythology, journalism, and warfare -  to make the case for other ways of looking.

Writing & book co-design by sister sylvester
Book co-design and illustrations by efrîn nowar
Lighting design by Bruce Steinberg
Immersive sound design by Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste
Live Music (Saz and Ney) by Ozan Aksoy
Cinematography by Civan Özkanoğlu
Projection design by Robin A. Ediger-Seto
Dramaturgy by Andrew Kircher
Book design consultation and printing by Gabe Greenberg

NYC Press

Photos by Jill Steinberg, Video by Nate Saucier