40 Filmmakers Worldwide Create Super 8 Nature Ode

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A new collective film, Super Nature, unites 40 filmmakers from 25 countries across five continents in an“ode to our planet” shot entirely on Super 8 cameras. The project was conceived by Ed Sayers, director and founder of the annual straight 8 Super 8 competition.

Sayers utilized the camera's democratic legacy to subvert traditional documentary approaches. Instead of traveling to distant locations, he compiled stories of individuals and creatures directly from their homes. Participants include acclaimed photographers Gideon Mendel and Ami Vitale, who also founded Vital Impacts, alongside communities like the Enawene Nawe tribe in Brazil. Sayers invited filmmakers from straight 8, and Greenpeace connected his team with individuals in its network.

The project's open-ended prompt made creating a cohesive and intentional final film challenging, requiring careful placement of disparate segments and seamless transitions. Sayers emphasized the importance of the stories functioning as more than the sum of their parts.“In the end, you're watching one immersive story made and voiced by a chorus of people whom you meet and see in the film, captured on Super 8 just like all the animals and environments in the whole film,” he noted. In addition to underwater, aerial, and land shots, Sayers included glimpses of the filmmakers themselves and narration to contextualize each frame, fostering a sense of vulnerability and connection. The film features eleven languages and numerous accents.

Sayers is drawn to film because it requires more planning, intention, and a sense of timing.“With Super 8 film, the roll only lasts a couple of minutes before it runs out, and there's a cost to it. So suddenly you're studying your subject and waiting for what you think it is a great moment, with the right light, before pulling the trigger,” he explained.“Looking at your subject, be it a grasshopper or a glacier with the eye, or through an old camera with vintage glass, is very different to whipping out your iPhone and taking 20 shots.” As one filmmaker states in the trailer, using Super 8“resets something in your brain. You feel part of things again.”

Super Nature is distributed by BFI Distribution and is screening in the U.K. and Ireland this month, with several showtimes in London.

Source: This Is Colossal

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