Presenting Princess Shaw

#PrincessShawPBS
PBS Premiere: July 17, 2017Check the broadcast schedule »

Filmmaker Statement

When I first started to work on Presenting Princess Shaw I couldn't stop thinking about some of my friends from film school--those who were the most original, bright and talented. Most of them are not making films, and I was reminded how often there seems to be little correlation between talent and success.

There are so many people with great talent, original thinking and unique voices. Most of them weren't dealt the right cards at birth to have the access or ability to break into the often exclusive realms of music, art and culture. What are the chances that we will hear about them?

Presenting Princess Shaw might offer a modest, momentary fix for that. It is not about stardom, but rather about the deeply human experience of being seen--an antidote to the loneliness and anonymity many feel in a world that is constantly manufacturing new stars. But for me, above all, Kutiman, Princess and all the musicians who appear in the film suggest a kind of utopian place, where people from all over the world, especially those who are lacking representation and power, can share, create, express themselves and maybe fight back against the cruel, commercially oriented and unfair rules of the game that usually dominate in the worlds of music, art and culture today.

When an extraordinary artist recognizes another from across the world and their talents come together, it brings the idea of collaboration and creativity to a whole new level.

Ido Haar, Director