Bloom. Nature and Humanity @ NYU DC Abramson Family Auditorium

1307 L Street Northwest,Washington DC 20005

19 September, 2022

Description

The Milano Design Film Festival arrives in Washington, DC with a selection of films dedicated to design, architecture and the relationship between humankind and the environment. “Bloom. Nature and humanity” showcases the works of European directors who explore a variety of themes such as biodiversity, forestry practices, technology, science fiction and research. Selected by Netherlands-based Italian duo Formafantasma, the initiative includes productions from Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland and is introduced by a recorded conversation between Formafantasma and the Italian curator of the festival, Cristiana Perrella. These initiatives are presented by the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with the Embassy of Belgium, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Embassy of Portugal, the Embassy of Switzerland and New York University. The following titles are presented: BECOMING ANIMAL The film’s directors Peter Mettler and Emma Davie, along with renowned environmental philosopher and radical thinker David Abram, set out to discover Grand Teton National Park, known for its extraordinary variety of wildlife and geological formations dating back to different historical periods. This North American park is also known because it is host to a succession of off-road caravans with people eager to have an authentic contact with nature.The park–seen as the place where man meets animal and discovers his limits, driven by wonder and a desire to discover the mystery that connects us–thus becomes the meeting point, and sometimes the clash, between nature and culture, humans and nature, technology and ecology, but not least between man and beast. Becoming Animal aims to be as much sensory as intellectual, an invitation to explore our relationship with the “more than human world” and recognize it for what it is: an exquisitely intricate system in which everything is alive and expressive. Peter Mettler, Emma Davie - Switzerland/UK 2018, 78 minutes CAMBIO “Cambio” is an investigation conducted by Studio Formafantasma on the extraction, production, and distribution of wood products. After creating the atmosphere millions of years ago, when they emerged from the water, plants experienced various stresses due to climate change and needed protection to survive. “Cambio” references the cambium–the layer of a few cells that in trees is located between the bark and the inner body–facilitated this process by helping endangered plants become trees, producing a true biological armour: wood. The video begins with the appearance of primordial plants on Earth, their evolution into trees, and the subsequent flourishing of human life across the planet. It continues with the global expansion of the timber industry in conjunction with European exploitation and colonialism to the development of contemporary ecological movements and sustainable forestry practices.“Cambio”reconstructs the complex interaction between humans and trees by highlighting how the evolution of the former is closely connected to the arboreal world. Formafantasma - The Netherlands 2020, 23:21 minutes LOCATION NYU Washington, DC: Abramson Family Auditorium 1307 L St NW, Washington, DC 20005 PLEASE NOTE: A registration is not a guarantee of a seat as these are assigned on a first-come first-served basis.