Varsity 3 Sunday, April 15, 2018 - 6:40 PM
Nobody Dies in Longyearbyen
Five Seasons / Nobody Dies
Documentary Short
9 minutes
2017
Director(s): David Freid
Norway
Synopsis
“They say that when you’re hit by the polar bug, you never leave.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you, because nobody dies in Longyearbyen—or so goes the rumor. Traveling to the northernmost city in the world, the intrepid filmmaker of High Chaparral (AIFF2017) and Ferryman at the Wall (AIFF2018) went to find out why and stumbled onto a science fiction tale about something deadly, long buried in the permafrost.
Director’s Statement
We originally went to Norway to make a very different film about a guy trying to give Finland a mountain for its birthday. While we were there, we heard this strange rumor about the very remote town of Longyearbyen. This film is our exploration of those rumors and the discovery of a larger issue that I hope attracts people to a story about climate change who wouldn’t normally watch a story about climate change.
We originally went to Norway to make a very different film about a guy trying to give Finland a mountain for its birthday. While we were there, we heard this strange rumor about the very remote town of Longyearbyen. This film is our exploration of those rumors and the discovery of a larger issue that I hope attracts people to a story about climate change who wouldn’t normally watch a story about climate change.
Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf
Five Seasons / Nobody Dies
Documentary Feature
75 minutes
2017
Director(s): Thomas Piper
USA
Synopsis
Oregon Premiere
Renowned landscape designer Piet Oudolf is known for unique works such as New York City’s High Line and Chicago’s Millennium Park that have revolutionized our conception of public gardens. This gorgeous documentary takes us inside Oudolf’s creative process as he revisits gardens he’s designed around the world, sharing with us how they’ve metamorphosed from abstract plans to living, breathing works of art. The film poetically reveals how Oudolf upends conventional notions of ecology, public space, and beauty itself. Featuring stunning, immersive photography, this is the perfect film for spring in Ashland as our landscapes and gardens bloom. Subtitles
Renowned landscape designer Piet Oudolf is known for unique works such as New York City’s High Line and Chicago’s Millennium Park that have revolutionized our conception of public gardens. This gorgeous documentary takes us inside Oudolf’s creative process as he revisits gardens he’s designed around the world, sharing with us how they’ve metamorphosed from abstract plans to living, breathing works of art. The film poetically reveals how Oudolf upends conventional notions of ecology, public space, and beauty itself. Featuring stunning, immersive photography, this is the perfect film for spring in Ashland as our landscapes and gardens bloom. Subtitles
Sponsored by True South Solar
Director’s Statement
When discussing this project or introducing a screening, I feel compelled to confess that I am not a gardener. In making the film, I was humbled to appreciate the profound depth of knowledge that successful gardening demands and I am always sensitive to appearing dismissive, or worse, presumptuous. But at the same time, that remove, together with the years of chasing after creativity, hopefully leads to a more universal revelation. One that extends beyond new ideas for a home garden and has a transformative and lasting effect on how we all—gardeners and laypeople alike—see and experience the world around us.
When discussing this project or introducing a screening, I feel compelled to confess that I am not a gardener. In making the film, I was humbled to appreciate the profound depth of knowledge that successful gardening demands and I am always sensitive to appearing dismissive, or worse, presumptuous. But at the same time, that remove, together with the years of chasing after creativity, hopefully leads to a more universal revelation. One that extends beyond new ideas for a home garden and has a transformative and lasting effect on how we all—gardeners and laypeople alike—see and experience the world around us.