Welcome to Wonderland

Behind the Scenes with editor Sioux Currie

Cutting with Currie

"I love the fact that the simple act of dancing can create such a magical uplifting emotion, and I believe we have captured this in Welcome to Wonderland."

Sioux Currie, Editor of Welcome to Wonderland admits that when she began discussions with James Short, the film's Director, she found the sheer size of the project a little overwhelming. It had been shot over a three-year period, and consisted of over 100 interviews and 150 hours of footage - daunting by anyone's standards! However, it was James' enthusiasm and energy as well as the subject matter that drew her to the project.

A further challenge was finding the story. "James had stipulated that there would be no formal voice over, and since there was no script we needed to find the narrative through the characters' voices. We ended up cutting two films because the first film didn't have a strong enough backbone," Sioux explains. "After we had cut the film, we took a break and then started all over again. This time we focused on threads and connections in the characters' stories in the hope that it would create a stronger narrative structure."

With a big smile she says, "I am really glad we were brave enough all those months ago to start again because unthreading a film is incredibly painful, but it was really worth the effort."

Sioux says that editing Welcome to Wonderland has been a wonderful experience because it got her back in touch with the simple joy of dancing. "The film reminds me that dancing is a simple pleasure that everyone can enjoy and it doesn't cost anything. It has the power to rejuvenate us, heal an unhappy heart or at least shake off a few cobwebs," she laughs.

"James and I have often been astounded at how much music is in the film." He said to me one day, 'you realise that Welcome to Wonderland is a musical disguised as a documentary'. "I couldn't agree more. I hope that audiences are touched by the power of the music and images, and feel the urge to have a good stomp, even if it's just in their own lounge room."

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