Film Categories: Nature

  • Velocity

    I generally gravitate towards places that reveal the many layers of time when deciding on a particular location to set up my camera and tripod. This is when I like to imagine worlds that have passed, worlds that are present, and worlds that are yet to be. In 2009 Johan Rockström led the team which developed the “Planetary Boundaries Framework,” a set of 9 boundaries that they define as a “safe operating space for humanity.” These scientists assert that once certain thresholds or tipping points are passed there is a risk of “irreversible and abrupt environmental change.” In 1976 a…

  • Utopia

    The purpose of this or that, or its role in enabling a sense of security or status is ephemeral, depending on factors that may or may not be readily apparent. As systems shift from one emphasis to an other, or as one system supplants an other, the meaning of something can be altered to such a degree that a new description may be required to understand its context. Various intersections in downtown Vancouver including the Trump Tower looming over the other buildings – Fishing Boat approaches Ucluelet after some time out at sea – Afternoon clouds, Crowsnest Mountain – Lonely…

  • everyday star

    Everyday states of being and decay are observed through the infinite scope of the cosmos and the restorative light which emanates from it, driving cinematic and photographic impulses.

  • Insect Express

    This is a music video for the song “Insect Express” by Brooklyn-based musician, El Tryptophan. The video explores an intersection of species; insect flight patterns and modes of industrial travel merge as collective rituals in a fever dream.

  • Witch’s Work

    This animation weaves together a series of surrealist scenarios inspired by the monstrous women of Ancient Greek mythology. The animation begins with the ritual of the Graeae, a trinity of sisters from Greek mythology, who pass their divining shared eye between them. The first vision is a pan of a river, which reveals the figure of Lilith, who represents female sexuality in Jewish mythology. Lilith gives birth to an owl, a crystal, and a glowing orb. This orb transforms into a dancing, humanoid blob, which undergoes a physical transformation into a snake. The snake makes its way to a nest…

  • Flying to Nowhere

    A flock of seagulls persist in the senseless attempt to move forward against heavy winds coming off the ocean.

  • Senescent Vivarium

    Bordering on the fantastic, “Senescent Vivarium” represents four distinct seasons created by plants and insects selected to imitate authentic biospheres. These macro worlds are architectural masters of their own domain yet defy traditional still life representations. Transient narratives of familiar ecological cycles are pushed further into supernatural territory by the effects of hand processed 16mm black-and-white film, and a deeply atmospheric sound score.

  • On the Line

    “On the Line” is inspired by Isa Shimoda, a butch gender nonconforming immigrant who served meals to Japanese American tuna cannery workers in her restaurant on the docks of San Diego in the 1930s. She was known for her masculine attire as well as her skills at naginata, a sword-based martial art practiced by Japanese women. Her restaurant was a refuge for the women who endured gruesome hours cleaning fish and lived in meager housing shelters known as “fish camp.” Shimoda has two sets of wartime records from the incarceration camps—one identifying her as female, the other as male. “On the Line” uses…

  • Wayward Emulsions

    Fleeting cinematic impressions of a wayward woman are captured in the oblique wanderings of emulsion lifted from stray reels of 35mm film. Winner, Experimental Short Grand Jury Prize, Slamdance Festival 2019

  • Bonsai

    A once joyful teenager, Frida, a girl with a head full of leaves is faced with challenges after losing her mother, Lu. Frida has a head full of leaves to depict the metaphor of the relationship humans have with nature to how parents treat their children. Nature has to be taken care of in order for it to beautifully develop. Unfortunately, today, individuals today are sometimes not aware of the slow but terrible destruction they are capable of. Children on the other hand need nurturing from their parents to have a good upbringing both mentally and physically. But due to…