Patterns of twigs and leaves in this experimental film poem blend seamlessly with the craquelé of old, half decayed films. While the voice-over initiates us in a botanical version of the story of Noah’s Ark, enchanting images lead us through a world filled with transience.
Attempts to protect and describe disappearing plant species are associated with film conservation and the fight against the loss of memories in this first full-length production by the experimental film and documentary maker Marcelo Felix. A mythical traveller links past and future. He thinks he knows the world, but has to conclude that everything keeps slipping away from him.
Via picture and plant archives, the laboratories of scientists, old film fragments and the editing tables of restorers, this poetic reflection ends in an inhospitable polar landscape where time seems to have come to a halt. Here, in a futuristic safe, are frozen seeds, numbered and labelled, conserved for eternity. –Rotterdam
A roundup of reviews, impressions and more from this year’s edition.
