The third release by G,NA took two years to write, and was recorded and filmed over a period of six months. For this release, Sarah of G,NA collaborated with local filmmakers, artists, and choreographers in Nashville to produce a feature-length film, painting series, and dance performance that would accompany the album.

The Fossils visual album is an introspective anthology art film that explores the familiar journey from innocence to wisdom through loss, confusion, isolation, awareness, connection, and self-discovery. Ultimately, we realize that the thing we are searching for has been within us all along.

For the premiere of Fossils, attendees were given a pair of wireless headphones through which they listened to the album while watching the film. After the premiere, the Fossils film screened two more times: once as an art crawl installation, and once as a multimedia live performance. Sarah also performed the Fossils songs at several shows in Nashville with a 5-piece band between 2015-2016.

FOSSILS PREMIERED in Nashville
at THE CRYING WOLF ON JULY 11, 2015

THE MAKING OF FOSSILS

In late summer of 2014, Sarah posted a call on the local East Nashville list serv asking for filmmaker recommendations, as she was still relatively new to town. Someone replied to the post with an email introduction to Dycee Wildman, a director and screenwriter who was heavily involved in the local film community. Sarah and Dycee met in September 2014 where Sarah pitched her idea for a long-form film to accompany her new album, which she was about to go into the studio to record. The rest, as they say, is history. The pair teamed up and began developing the plan for the visual album. Ultimately, the film included three local film directors (Dycee Wildman, Motke Dapp, Jonathan Rogers), a local film producer (Jennifer Bonior), local painter L.A. Bachman, local choreographer Rachel Tolbert, local dance troupe Numinous Flux, and partnerships with The Rymer Gallery, The Crying Wolf, Gardens of Babylon, as well as collaboration with dozens of filmmakers and artists in Nashville.

Each of the three directors wrote and directed a short film to accompany one-third of the album. Though the three-part feature film does not follow one straight narrative, there are recurring themes, visuals, and concepts tying together all three stories in relation to each other and to the songs on the album. Fossils features a cast of six actors from Nashville: Liz Boliver, John Ferguson, Sadie Hart, Dean Kostlich, Jordan Stephens, and Rebecca Lines.

Leading up to the album release party, the Fossils team hosted a fundraiser gala and art show at The Rymer Gallery and a one-night-only "first listen" of the album online, featuring a performance with custom choreography by the Numinous Flux dance troupe.

Click here for a gallery of photos from the event (Photos by Danielle Shields)

THE SHOW

Fossils film premiere @ The Crying Wolf - July 11, 2015 — Photos by Danielle Shields

“Fossils 360: An Audio/Visual Experience” at Abrasive Media — June 4, 2016 — Photos by Tyler Blankenship (Click here for more photos from the show)

“Fossils Film Live” — Part of the Modular Art Pods group show at Queen Ave — November 11-12, 2016