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Artist Statement
Through film, Stephen Dest has introduced those beyond his own city to the fascinating and uncomfortable truths
inherent in every community and the motivations of those who call any place home”
- Film/Theatre Critic,
Christopher Arnott
I am inspired by the art of storytelling and interested in the way all forms of artistic expression are used in the telling of a story. From music, art, theatre and film, art exists as the voice of its creator yet finds a
broad range of meaning in the minds and hearts of the audience it discovers. I remember seeing the film version of ‘The Swimmer” based on the short story by John Cheever, when I was very young and fighting a cold. At first, I couldn’t tell if it was my fever or the film that had my head spinning. Years later, I learned it was indeed the film that had me spinning! It was then that I realized that film was the art form in which I felt most comfortable creating and dissecting