Leaves, mycelium, and roots playfully examine how humans experience the world, and the (supposedly) silent watchers consider what language those swift blurs of humans might possibly understand.

Interview with Director/Producer/Editor/Animator Janelle VanderKelen

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I was incredibly interested in the idea that when different sorts of sensorial experiences or intelligence are considered, plants might actually be more intelligent and sensitive than humans. I was curious that plants and fungi must view us as we speed past them on a daily basis. I wanted to create a piece that invited the audience to switch the script and decenter humanity in the conversation.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Films like this create spaces where we humans can imagine alternative realities that aren't human-centric. The goal is to build empathy for beings that aren't like us. The stop motion and time-lapse cinematography also allow audience members to see the movement and agency of plants and fungi which are intrinsic aspects of these beings, but are normally hidden due to differences in speed or size. We, humans, are too fast to appreciate the fact that plants and fungi are active, athletic, and intentional in their movements. Films like Language Unknown use the camera as a sensory prosthetic and allow movements that might take weeks to occur to happen in just a few seconds.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

I've always been interested in the idea that "inanimate" objects could influence humans and the decisions they make. The world is so much bigger, brighter, and weirder than we give it credit for, so I love making films that examine ways unexpected narratives might develop around beings humans normally dismiss and insensate.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

This film developed organically. I started with the concept of plants examining prosthetics of human sensory organs like fake eyes or tongues so they could develop a language humans could understand. This concept helped me ideate some really humorous and weird images, and I focused on gathering a series of shots like the eyeball in the peony that I was really excited to make real in the world. As I slowly gathered these images, I started developing a series of 3-4 "actors" like the peony or the ivy plant that I returned to repeatedly throughout the course of the film. I knew it was important to create a series of different narratives around these inhuman actors to decenter any sort of monolithic narrative approach focused on a single protagonist, and this concern about plurality helped develop the structure.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Audience members tend to find the film disturbing, but humorous. I love hearing people laugh during the screening! The time-lapse and stop-motion are pretty pleasurable to watch.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Many audience members draw great connections during Q and As to new scientific findings about plant sentience that have been evolving in popular dialogue recently. That's fantastic and very welcome!

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I'm interested in connecting with people who are excited about conversations surrounding interspecies communication, alternative approaches to environmental care, and exciting research or creative collaborations!

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

It would be really great to find distribution for Language Unknown. I'm continuing to tour the film at festivals right now, so connecting with festival directors or programmers would be great. I have a one-hour solo screening that I would love to tour at micro-cinemas, and I'm always ready to speak with journalists! I'm currently working on several new shorts and my first feature (which I mention below), so connecting with producers would be fantastic.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I'm interested in developing platforms where humans can reimagine more equitable worlds for both human and inhuman actors in the environment. Ethical environmentalism and interspecies relation are tied directly to equitable intraspecies relations (ie how humans treat other humans), and I believe that focusing on small moments of interspecies care can have a big impact.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

What does your house plant think about you?

Would you like to add anything else?

Thanks!

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I'm currently in the pre-production stage for my first feature called The Golden Thread. This experimental documentary highlights the roles of fungi as a community-builder for both human and inhuman entities and uses animation to make visible fungi's agency in the world.

Interview: May 2023

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Language Unknown

Leaves, mycelium, and roots playfully examine how humans experience the world, and the (supposedly) silent watchers consider what language those swift blurs of humans might possibly understand.

Length: 6:10

Director: Janelle VanderKelen

Producer: Janelle VanderKelen

Writer: Janelle VanderKelen

About the writer, director and producer:

JANELLE VANDERKELEN is an artist, curator, and educator currently based in Milwaukee, WI. Her films and intermedia installations imagine alternative acts of the relation between imperfect bodies (human, vegetal, geological, or otherwise) and make visible the agency of plants through experimental time-based media processes. She received both her MFA in Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres and her MA in Intermedia Art from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Her films have screened at Athens International Film + Video Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, True/False Film Festival, Revelation Perth International Film Festival, IC DOCS, San Diego Underground Film Festival, and Antimatter [Media Art] Film Festival.

Instagram: @janelle.vanderkelen

Website: janellevanderkelen.com

Other: Vimeo