I am a Dark River

Filmmaker Tess Mitchell uses this "performance documentary" as a means to understand her grandfather—infamous printmaker and publisher Bob Lowry.

"Dubbed “the kumara god” by James K. Baxter, Bob Lowry was, somewhat famously, a lot of things. Printmaker, writer, activist, intellectual, publisher, socialist, raconteur – but to Tess Mitchell, he is the mysterious grandfather she grew up hearing so much about but never knew. He died before she was born, but she has felt an intense connection with him her entire life. Does the dark river that ran through him also run through her? Mitchell, herself as unconventional and creative as her grandfather, uses the medium of performance documentary to explore this question, and in doing so reveals the fascinating history of her family – her grandfather’s activism and notoriety, his mental health struggles, and the subversive, bohemian house parties her grandparents threw during a deeply repressive and restrictive time in New Zealand’s history." (Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival)

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