Review: While I Yet Live
In the documentary, While I Yet Live, filmmaker Maris Curran is tasked with capturing the niche quiltmaking culture in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. She does so eloquently through the film’s series of static and dream-like shots which reflect the peacefulness of her subjects who reminisce on an era long passed.
Essie Pettway, Mary Lee Bendolph, Rita Mae Pettway, Lucy Mingo, China Pettway, Mary Ann Pettway are the five acclaimed Gee Bend native quiltmakers central to Curran’s documentary. While I Yet Live is slow, in a good way though, taking its time to unpack the pasts of each of these women. Their stories are incredibly unique, but they are each united through their shared passion of quilt making. On paper, a 15-minute documentary detailing the process of making a quilt doesn’t sound too enticing, yet Curran makes the task, which is often viewed as a menial and outdated chore, an engaging and touching experience for audiences.
Much of the—intrigue of the documentary actually stems from how Curran’s team captured the Pettways and Co.’s deep love for the craft. As we learn from these women, quilt making is more than a hobby but a way to continue and strengthen the relationships with their passed-on elders who once taught them how to sew. It’s a tradition that links them to their ancestors, it’s an act of thankfulness, a connection to God, and a time-machine which transports them to their lively childhood.
Curran uses their love and spiritual relationship with quilt making as an entry point to larger social issues concerning race and class in America— and particularly in Gee’s Bend. All of the social commentaries are naturally woven into the film and never deters from the women’s stories which make the film so heart-warming.
The greatest downside, if you can call it that, to Curran’s documentary is perhaps the sad realization that the rich culture of Gee Bend, these women, and their memories might one day fade away but will always be beautifully preserved in While I Yet Live.