by Kerrie Pacholli

I had no idea what to expect from the premier screening of Ecco Homo at ACMI as part of the 2015 Melbourne International Film Festival.

Strongly feeling the six degrees of separation that bind us all, I was hooked from the very beginning of this touching, revealing, voyeuristic and transforming film.

Unlike many other viewers in that packed cinema, to my knowledge I had not personally encountered Peter Vanessa Troy Davies during his life, nor was I aware of being familiar with his work or influence. Yet, within minutes his direct influence on my life became clear, beaming into me from the screen.

Ecco Homo is a beautifully crafted collaborative work of cinematic art, lovingly pieced together and co-edited by filmmakers’ Lynn-Maree Milburn, Andrew de Groot and Richard Lowenstein from Ghost Pictures.

The film is a collage of interconnected stories and haunting myths reflecting the life and times of Peter Vanessa Troy Davies (1960 – 2007).

Through intimate interviews from family, friends and artists including Bono from U2,  Nick Cave, Tim Mckew and Anne Harding to name a few. And through a collection of still photographs spanning over 30 years, along with biographical and auto biographical film footage shot by a variety of cameras and people  over a period of ten years; Peter Vanessa Troy Davies came to life, piercing through time and space and permeating the theatre with a high voltage electric charge.

For a man who fell victim to a melting pot of addictions, in life as in death, Peter Vanessa Troy Davies, artist and provocateur has bequeathed to us a  powerful message of love, art and transformation. An expansive creative mojo that continues to circle the globe.