Excerpt from an educational-documentary-promotional film featuring a talented young Shona stone sculptor from Zimbabwe, Stalin Tafura.

Filmed and edited by John Veltri.

Trained in Zimbabwe by his grandfather, uncle, and his internationally-recognized Shona sculptor mother, Stalin is highly skilled in the ancient art of his ancestors. When in Zimbabwe, Stalin hikes the mountains around Harare with his grandfather, always choosing his stones carefully, patiently allowing the stone to speak to him.

In this short film, Stalin demonstrates his artistic process and shares insights about his culture. Stalin’s motto regarding his sculpting technique: “beauty by subtraction”.  IMPACT: the film was shown at and distributed by a popular Emeryville, California art gallery. Visit Stalin at www.talesinstone.com

A longer (20 minute) version of this film is available by request to the producers.