People, Place, Planet Shorts
Sat 18 Oct, 11:00 - 12:40
Palace Kino
Exploring ideas of urban living, city nature, and how humans and our environment are intertwined, ‘People, Place, Planet shorts’ offers a unique perspective on environmental cinema.
Through cine-poetry, dance, experimental art, documentary, and the journey of a plane tree being meticulously moved just 72 meters in the city of Milan, these films ask us to reconsider what our environment means to us and what we mean to our environment.
The session will be followed by a short Australian filmmaker panel.
Join us before the screening from 10:30 for a free plant-based hot drink.
PROGRAM
Earth in 100 Seconds
2024 | United Kingdom | Documentary
A fast-paced snapshot of the planet, with every second revealing how land is used across the Earth. A blink-and-you’ll-miss it eye opener.
Busy (Bergtatt)
2021 | Norway | Experimental | Victorian Premiere
The intricacies of human life are set in contrast with the slow, sticky reality of beach snails, through intense close-ups and enveloping human-made soundscapes.
A visceral yet beautiful insight; a balancing act of connection and solitude, curiosity and constraint, and transience and endurance. A true conversation starter.
Carrying Wood
2023 | Ireland | Dance | Australian Premiere
Follow the path of Ireland’s stunning Western Way, as a local woman collects wood and connects with the land around her. A mesmerising experimental dance film by choreographer and performer Linda Schirmer, reflecting our connection with and dependence upon resources drawn from rural geographies.
The Flying Plane
2024 | Italy | Documentary | Australian Premiere
To make way for the new European Library of Information and Culture, a 100 year old plane tree must be moved a mere 72 meters. This documentary captures its meticulous journey.
A demonstration of the delicate balance between human ambition, the persistence of nature, urban ecology, and the ethical responsibilities of city living.
Maori Moana
2024 | Aotearoa/New Zealand | Documentary | Australian Premiere
Documenting the crisis silently unfolding on Aotea’s serene shores, Māori filmmaker Nathaniel Howe immerses viewers, via underwater cinematography, in the realities of an invasive algae species that disrupting the delicate marine ecosystem and endangering the island’s ancestral fishing practices. Engaging, disturbing and powerful.
Robin Hood Gardens: A brief history
2021 | United Kingdom | Documentary | Australian Premiere
An experiential walking-point-of-view through the design and decline of East London’s iconic Robin Hood Gardens housing estate.
Award winning photographer and filmmaker Joe Gilbert shares a multi-layered, intimate journey, meditating on how people build and inhabit urban environments. A potent reminder that architecture, like nature, shapes how we move through the world.
The People's Tree
2023 | Australia, India | Documentary
Follow Teja and Rohit, two brothers who work as traditional tree trimmers in Nagpur, India, as their livelihood is impacted by tightening environmental legislation. Reflecting on caste, community, and the tension between ecological protection and human sustenance, Melbourne-based director Febe De Geest shines a light on who bears the cost of environmental change and how labour, culture, and resilience intersect with a fragile natural world.