IN PRODUCTION
Searching For Dragons
Searching for Dragons is a feature documentary film exploring our connection to a sacred natural world. Travelling from the Arctic Circle to Panama over five years, filmmaker Daniel Gainsford explores our sacred connection to nature and examines how our civilization, now moving beyond the Industrial Age, needs to overcome barriers of complexity in order to adapt towards a new paradigm.
IN DEVELOPMENT
Signal Catchers
A dramatic feature film project that has been in the script development stage for a couple years. I'd tell you more about the project but unless you are interested in financing it, I would rather it remain a mystery.
Mt. Kailash: Death & Rebirth
In October 2011 Dan Gainsford was invited on month long pilgrimage to Tibet's Holy Mount Kailash, by famous Zen Buddhist teacher, Joan Halifax. During month-long pilgrimage shot footage for a half hour film about this sacred and holy mountain.
Future Simple
Future Simple is a feature documentary film and visual pilgrimage chronicling the North American dream from the Arctic to Panama. It examines the ebb and flow of civilization, environmental degradation, and our human connection to the natural world, reconnecting us to the fundamental truths of our existence, and leading us back toward our collective wisdom. Pausing for a moment in that wisdom, we discover that maybe the most difficult questions, call for the simplest of answers.
Cowboys & Indians
A documentary film project exploring contemporary life on the Piikani and Blood Reservations of Southern Alberta. A place where the traditions of the Blackfoot still run deep and strong. A place that questions the age-old stereotypes of cowboys and indians.
PAST FILMS
Wake
3min - 8mm/16mm/DV - 2005
Over the past few years my travels have inspired and shaped the project Searching for Dragons. From these travels has emerged this short piece exploring life, death and how every movement we make leaves behind a ripple effect in time and space.
Wake is made up of 8mm, 16mm, and DV footage shot in Costa Rica (2001), en route to Nevada (2002 & 2004), and in Canada (2001-2004).
Remix
2min - Video - 2003
In 2003 I was asked by curators Ryan Stec and Anne Clarke to participate in a an annual event where twelve participates are given three days to re-edit the same one hour of commercial television footage. The end result of my work was a piece about life as a spiritual journey and the importance of holding an awareness of death.
Piece of Mind
65min - DV - 2003
Director: Dino Koutras
Producer: Dan Gainsford
A father beats his son. It is a moment of unexpected, unadorned, visceral violence. What follows is a character study of both the father and the son as the narrative splits to tell each of their stories, with a surprising conclusion. Some file and video mavericks in Chicago decided to put forth a challenge to filmmakers: can a feature film be completed - shot and edited - in only 72 hours? Filmmakers from around the world took up the challenge. PIECE OF MIND was one of only 12 projects selected (and the sole Canadian representative) to participate in what became known as The 72 Hour Feature Project. all films were screened in Chicago as part of the international festival. But what kind of film can be created in only 72 hours? The Chicago Reader called PIECE OF MIND "engrossing: and "highly recommended". Dino Koutras will attend the screening to introduce and discuss his film.
Load
5min - 16mm - 2003
Built a hand made optical printer using frosted glass and a single frame film projector. Used These tools to achieve image loops and augmented time effects through 100% traditional analog film technology.
The finished piece is about the things we hold onto and patters of human burden.
Living in Sanity
15min - 16mm - 1998
My first film exploring what it means to be sane when living in a potentially insane reality. I consider this work to be a student film as it was used as a vehicle to explore a wide range of technical processes.