As delegates gather for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Sheffield DocFest will bring its DocFest Exchange to the city. The DocFest Exchange is a year-long curated programme that explores questions of climate justice and the health of the planet, with a focus on more-than-human understandings of our world.
The DocFest Exchange: Beyond Our Own Eyes programme, delivered in collaboration with the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) Glasgow, will include talks, workshops, screenings and the premiere of three new commissions made collaboratively by artists and scientific researchers:
- April Lin 林森 with Professor of Biology at the University of Utah and the ‘queen of rainforest canopy research’ Dr. Nalini Nadkarni
- Gregory Herbert with mycorrhizal symbiosis expert and Associate Professor of Plant-Soil Processes at the University of Sheffield Dr. Katie J. Field
- Hermione Spriggs with professional molecatcher Nigel Stock.
For more details on these new commissions and a series of essays exploring the collaborative process click here.
Join us from the 4 – 7 November 2021 at CCA, Glasgow. All events are free and open to all.
Schedule of events:
Thu 4 Nov, 21:00
Microcosmos (1996) Claude Nuridsany & Marie Pérennou (France, 80’) 35mm screening
Filmed over 3 years, and preceded by 15 years of research, Microcosmos takes us on an epic journey into the unseen universe of the insect kingdom.
Book tickets here.
Fri 5 Nov, 15:00
Feral Tracking Workshop
In this workshop, artist Hermione Spriggs and writer-forager Tamara Colchester will share some practical tricks for following tracks and encountering life of all kinds. We will gain intimacy with Glasgow’s urban wildlife by tuning our eyes, ears and noses into sights, sounds and scents that normally go unnoticed in the city.
Book tickets here.
Fri 5 Nov, 19:30
Premiere of Beyond Our Own Eyes film commissions + discussion with April Lin 林森, Gregory Herbert and Hermione Spriggs
Attuning to the vibratory world of moles; imagining climate adaptive trees in an era of environmental destruction; and digging for the mycelium networks that facilitated life on earth. Commissioned by Sheffield DocFest, the Beyond Our Own Eyes film commissions are 3 new works by April Lin 林森, Gregory Herbert and Hermione Spriggs that invite us to come closer to our more-than-human neighbours. Made collaboratively with ecologist Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, Associate Professor of Plant-Soil Processes Katie J. Field and professional molecatcher Nigel Stock.
Book tickets here.
Sat 6 Nov, 11:00 – 15:00
Beyond Our Own Eyes film commissions on loop
Catch the Beyond Our Own Eyes film commissions by April Lin 林森, x Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, Gregory Herbert with Professor Katie J. Field and Hermione Spriggs x Nigel Stock as they play on loop in the CCA cinema. The films will screen with caption-subtitles every 3rd loop.
More info here.
Sat 6 Nov, 17:00
The Many Faces of a Tree: A Conversation with April Lin 林森 and Dr. Nalini Nadkarni
Following the premiere of the collaborative film TR333 by April Lin 林森 and ecologist Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, join us for an informal conversation with April and Nalini as they share more about their collaborative process, their different approaches, and their mutual love of trees. Moderated by Martha Adonai Williams.
Book tickets here.
Sat 6 Nov, 19:30
From The Wild Sea (2021) Robin Petré (78’, Denmark)
Along the raw and windy coastline of England, a network of volunteers are constantly ready to rescue marine wildlife from oil, plastic and storms. As climate change fuels violent weather across the seas, their task becomes increasingly difficult. This poetic film takes us deep in to the emerging Anthropocene era, in which humans try frantically to save nature from ruin.
Book tickets here.
Sun 7 Nov, 11:00 – 15:00
Beyond Our Own Eyes film commissions on loop
Catch the Beyond Our Own Eyes film commissions by April Lin 林森, x Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, Gregory Herbert with Professor Katie J. Field and Hermione Spriggs x Nigel Stock as they play on loop in the CCA cinema. The films will screen with caption-subtitles every 3rd loop.
Sun 7 Nov, 16:00
Learning How to Live Together: A Symbiotic View of Life
Inspired by Gregory Herbert and Professor Katie J. Field’s new collaborative film Making-with, join us for a discussion about fungal networks, collaborative relationships, nutrient exchange, and how a symbiotic understanding of life could inspire a more caring, collaborative, and collective view of the world.
Panellists: Gregory Herbert, Professor Katie J. Field, Suzanne Pierre, and Angela YT Chan.
Book tickets here.
Sun 7 Nov, 18:00
Symbiotic Earth (2017) John Feldman (147’, USA)
Symbiotic Earth explores the ideas of Lynn Margulis, a brilliant and radical scientist, whose unconventional theories challenged the scientific status quo and are today fundamentally changing how we look at ourselves, evolution, and the environment.
Margulis’ symbiotic narrative, and the Gaia Theory that all life is interdependent, present an alternative to the destructive worldview that has led to climate change.
Book tickets here.
DocFest Exchange: Beyond Our Own Eyes is curated by Jamie Allan and supported by the Wellcome Trust.
Image credits:
1. From the Wild Sea (2021) Robin Petré
2. TR333 (2021) April Lin 林森
