Short documentary films by filmmaker John Saponara
Directed and filmed portions of Frankie, 46mm and Pieced Together. John had various other instrumental roles in bringing the other projects featured, to light. Please enjoy!
Photography by Brooklyn based photographer John Saponara, all images are © by the artist, 2023
I travelled to Cuba in 2017, wondering how much had changed since the US had lifted the travel embargo to the island nation. In my short time there I discussed the US-Cuba relations with locals.
I tried to capture a small sense for the place, without preconceived ideas for whom the people or the place was. I tried to be open to what the country was showing me, without judgment.
A portrait of my grandparents hometown of Cirigliano, situated in the Southern Dolomiti, in the poorest region of Italy, Basilicata. While the region is financially poor, its cultural and humanity, the richness of its people and the traditions they carry forth through generations, make up for it.
Portraits of the female Motorcycle community in New York City.
As a photographer who also loves to ride motorcycles, I cross paths with many interesting and beautiful souls, each with their individual stories to tell. Here I try to capture a sense of them, beyond the bike.
From time to time I’ve been called upon to photograph the coming of age services in the Jewish faith called Mitzvahs. The clientele often photographed came from the upscale NYC and Westchester Jewish community.
The American road trip is a rite of passage, an attempt to bring families together, an opportunity to gain perspective, and a chance to induce artistic inspiration. Robert Frank, Jack Kerouac, and Bob Dylan embody the archetype of the unknown untraveled American road that ultimately leads to external and internal discovery. Simultaneously, the inherent nature of passing though real places with real people and real things reveals the dichotomy between authenticity and novelty. The American road trip is intensely impactful and/or experienced as a type of Voyeurism via disposable cameras that accumulate landscapes and moments as souvenirs.
The photographs in this series were taken in 2005, over 5 weeks, 21 states, and 11,000 miles. Digital cameras and smart phones were not ubiquitous; no Instagram, no twitter, no selfies, no Facebook, just paper maps, handwritten journals, and photos that had to be dropped off and developed over 24 hours. 2005 does not seem very long ago but it also feels intensely distant. It was a time of more unconstrained simplicity and freedom that perhaps is no longer possible. Nonetheless, small towns, sketchy truck stops, and obscure state parks over thousands of miles and loud music will always nostalgically narrate the certain unchangeable continuity of America, no matter how we document it.
