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WRESTLING THE ANGEL

A Poetic Documentary

Step into the imagination of Ann Arnold, Bay Area artist, through this film Wrestling the Angel.  PLAY THE TRAILER... 

This 23-minute film is entertaining, inspiring and visually-engaging.

A fine art painter reveals life’s insights through visual metaphor, Aesop's fables and the story of Jacob Wrestling the Angel
...as she faces a life-threatening crisis.

...beauty, simplicity, a love of nature, a love of food! 
– Alice Waters, Chez Panisse 

Ann Arnold describes art experience in kindergarten
Still life painting of pears by Ann Arnold
Graphic screenshot of grasshopper playing a violin from Aesop fable Grasshopper and the Ants, from animation in the film Wrestling the Angel, Ann Arnold, an artist
Close up of Ann Arnold painting seashells in her studio
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Graphic screenshot of Jacob wrestling the angel, from the animation in the film
Ann Arnold-Koi Tiles_smaller.jpg
Still life painting of fruit and baskets, by Ann Arnold
Illustration of people at picnics in a large garden, by Ann Arnold, from cook book by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse
Repeaterbasket-fruit-lemons-partialR_edited.jpg
Ann Arnold as a young woman points across the San Francisco Bay to the sunset behind the Golden Gate Bridge
Painting of persimmons and walnuts on a refective plate by Ann Arnold

Film Story Creator / Scriptwriter, Interviewer, 
Film Editor & Music Design JONATHAN VILLET
Producer & Director of Photography, Trailer  Editor FIONA MCDOUGALL
Illustrations for Animations ANN ARNOLD
Animations 
DAVID GONZALES, ZAP MEDIA PRODUCTIONS
 
Film produced by OneWorld Communications,
San Francisco, 2024

Host a Community, Educational or Corporate Screening
We can help you tailor an event also with a Q&A session.
Please contact Fiona McDougall,  Producer

 

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WRESTLING THE ANGEL

Painting of fruit on a silver platter by Ann Arnold

Ann Arnold lives and works as a fine art painter and tilemaker in Berkeley, California.

She has illustrated books by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and her own works. 
In 2022 Ann was diagnosed with cancer and received radiation and chemotherapy. 
She lives with her son Aldo in her Victorian home which is also her art studio and library.

Ann Arnold describes her life after cancer treatment

I could watch this film a thousand times... it spoke to me directly as I face a Parkinson's diagnosis and decide how I'm going to greet it.  Ann Arnold’s illustrations of Aesop’s Fables are glorious, teaching us how to find joy in the moment and be true to our own nature.  Her oil paintings – you can feel the heat coming off a piece of fruit, capturing the fleeting yet persistent beauty of ordinary things. Wrestling the Angel is about viewing whatever happens as a blessing.

– Valerie Andrews, Editor Sanctuary: The Inner Life of Home, and Founder of Reinventing Home: Culture, Creativity, Character, a digital magazine

This film is about ...living meaningfully, discovering deliciousness and beauty in the (sometimes) struggles of everyday life.

– Lucas Foglia, Fine Art Photographer, exhibited SFMOMA, De Young Museum & Pier 24, Guggenheim Fellow 2024

This film captures Ann in her element, speaking eloquently, and plainly, about many of the values she and I both share – beauty, simplicity, a love of nature, a love of food!, consideration, the intricacies (and humanity) of the creative process and the transformational power of art ... this charming and inspiring film.

– Alice Waters, founder Chez Panisse restaurant and author

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