Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg

Jamie Meltzer’s documentary NOT EVEN FOR A MOMENT DO THINGS STAND STILL filmmaking team enjoys award-winning SXSW experience

The talk focused more on the art installation itself, but also was a reaffirmation of how Firstenberg’s work fused with Meltzer’s work as a filmmaker to create a piece that didn’t simply document what was literally on the ground, but fulfilled the ambition most documentarians have – of providing a keener insight into the impact of the art (in this case), and to capture moments, sights, sounds, and emotions that one could easily miss in the moment as they are overwhelmed by the scope and enormity of what was created there on the grounds of the National Mall.

Jamie Meltzer captures the beauty and heartache of artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg’s COVID-inspired art installation in NOT EVEN FOR A MOMENT DO THINGS STAND STILL

Each day, walking through those flags, one saw the many hues of humanity. Visitors came from across the nation, even Alaska and Hawaii…and other countries.  Some came in the first-class cabin, others on a Greyhound bus. As I archive the 20,000 dedicated flags, I find flags dedicated in an array of languages and an array of sentiments. Their commonality lies in loss.