The Florestine Collection

The Florestine Collection

  • Overview
  • Crew

Status

Released

Release Date

Apr 1, 2011

Runtime

0h 31m

Genres

Documentary

Original Title

The Florestine Collection

Director

Helen Hill

Description

Experimental Animator Helen Hill found more than 100 handmade dresses in a trash pile on one Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans. She set out to make a film about the dressmaker, an African-American seamstress who had recently passed away. The dresses and much of the film footage were later flood-damaged by Hurricane Katrina while Helen was still working on the film. Helen was murdered in a home invasion in New Orleans in 2007. Her husband Paul Gailiunas has completed the film, which includes Helen's original silhouette, cut-out, and puppet animation, as well as flood-damaged and restored home movies.