Edmonton-raised Doctor Injured, Filmmaker Wife Murdered in New Orleans

Photo: The Edmonton Journal.

On January 4, Edmonton-raised, Dr. Paul Gailiunas was injured and his wife was murdered in a may have been a botched robbery attempt in New Orleans, U.S.A. Thankfully, their young son was physically uninjured. Gailiunas' wife Helen was a filmmaker and animator. Though they apparently lived in a higher-crime neighborhood, the news is still disheartening. Dr. Gailiunas worked as a physician at a city clinic that helped the city's less fortunate.

As an Albertan, fellow filmmaker, animation fan, and foremost, a human being, it is profoundly disturbing to hear about this seemingly random act of violence. Considering all that New Orleans has been through and the time since Hurricane Katrina, city officials and law enforcement agencies should have been able to curb a good deal more with the right support. According to the news sources, the amount of deaths (14) in the last week is even higher than American casualties in Iraq.

You can read the Edmonton Journal article at this link.

South Carolina's The State also features an article about the event.

Helen is being remembered as an active volunteer in the creative and neighborhood communities, a genuinely kind and gifted person with a willingness to help others, and a vibrant filmmaker and animator.

Heather Harkins (via Cartoon Brew) talks about Hill's background:

Hill, 36, earned her Master of Fine Arts in experimental animation from CalArts in 1995. Her animated shorts screened at numerous festivals, and in 2004 she received a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation's Program for Media Artists for THE FLORESTINE COLLECTION, a film "reflecting on handcrafted work and race in New Orleans through the story of a collection of hand-sewn dresses and the woman who made them." In addition to her filmmaking, Hill taught filmmaking and animation to youth and adults, and served as visiting artist at the California State Summer School for the Arts and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

Be sure to head over there to read the other tributes to Helen.

My thoughts and deepest sympathy go to Dr. Gailiunas, their son Francis, and all the family and friends affected by the senseless tragedy.

The memorial website for Helen can be found at helenhill.org.