In the framework of a partnership between Edinburgh University and IUCN Urban Alliance, students of Edinburgh College of Art have created a series of experimental short films exploring the theme of ecological urbanism. The trailer and synopsis of one of the films are outlined below. The full-length films will be screened at the Urban Planet Pavilion during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France, in September 2021.
Logline
There.
In the city.
Where many creatures live in, forming an emerging ecosystem, is not the original habitat they belong to. All the living creatures and plants are found in and between various artificial landscapes: moths in mugs, grass between tiles, and humans themselves. Yet, we are so used to it.
Synopsis
What is in a city? Buildings, bridges, and train stations – the traffic hub for human. Botanical gardens, zoos, and various “natural” landscapes which have been reproduced and placed in cities. We can find countless species, even ones from distant foreign countries, eventually settling here.
The destinies of various creatures are cleverly overlapped. The creatures are powerless, unable to speak up for themselves, and are only able to live in a way which is chosen for them. When looking at these creatures, human began to reflect on their own situation. So, the boundaries of a city, are they pathways which can be chosen freely or restrictions which living creatures are forced to withstand?
This short film showed the boundaries within a city set by humans as a result of modernisation and communitarianism whilst the domestication of creatures has also become part of the picture.
Statement
Have you ever felt alienated from one space, from the surroundings, and all the creatures beside you? Well, you are not alone. There are many organisms living in displacement around us, from plants to animals, and even human beings themselves.
“Displaced” challenges the border of various species’ living spaces in the urban ecology system. Due to human intervention, these creatures are living in an artificial habitat instead of the original one which they belong. When picturing where a moth would appear, inside a delicate mug would not be the first place that comes into mind.
Belong, or not belong?
That is the question we keep asking ourselves.
Filmmaker biographies
Tzu-Yun Liang | Director
Liang is a Taiwanese artist and has been focusing on local-placemaking and the rhythm and flow of spaces. Her artworks, as dynamic experience of time, space and philosophy thinking, create multiple senses’ exploration through films, installations, and text works.
Yanzhen Wu | Director
A designer and artist from China. With an environmental design background, Wu is currently pursuing a degree in Art, Space and Nature in University of Edinburgh. She has completed several artworks to express the connection of nature and human.
Minghai He | Composer
A composer and director from China. Currently studying Composition for Screen in University of Edinburgh. Participated in multiple media projects as a composer and directed short films and a feature film as a composer, director and editor.