Creatures of nature: plants, humans and other animals. Session for children

A selection of ten short films for all audiences about the relationship between the different creatures of nature. The session takes us on a journey to explore the multiple ecosystems that our planet offers us and the species that coexist with them. The program embraces an ecological vision that invites us to reflect on the consequences of human actions on the environment. A program of the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB).

Practical information:

Saturday 1st April at 12.00 midday at Baluarte. Session presented by Gloria Vilches, head of audiovisual projects at the CCCB. Tickets on sale from mid-March at www.puntodevistafestival.com. On Sunday 2nd April there will be a second session of the programme in the function room of the Centro Comunitario de Salesianas, La Txantrea, in collaboration with the Kontalariak association.

Films:

Animal Movie, Grant Munro, Canada, 1966, 9'

A child discovers that he can't compete with a monkey, a snake, a horse or a grasshopper when he tries to imitate their movements. But, on the other hand, he also discovers that humans are capable of developing technologies that enable them to move in other ways.

Sea Song, Richard Reeves, Canada, 1999, 4'

This delicately handcrafted piece, with drawings (and sounds!) painted directly onto the film, shows a fantastic, hectic vision of life in the sea at night.

Paradise Lost, Evelyn Lambart, Canada, 1970, 4'

This film shows how birds, butterflies and other forest creatures succumb to air pollution caused by humans. A call for the right of animals to live in a pollution-free habitat.

Walk-in-the-Forest, Diane Obomsawin, Canada, 2009, 3'

A healer is travelling through a forest in search of a medicinal flower. On the journey, he comes across a lake with healing properties but witnesses its deterioration.

Madrugada en Lobeke, Aurora Gasull, Spain, 2022, 3'

Specifically for this programme, Aurora Gasull has made a sensorial piece of abstract animation inspired by the sound scene recorded by Eloïsa Matheu, a well-known promoter of the sounds of nature, in the tropical forest of Lobeke, in Cameroon.

Bouquet écologique 26, Rose Lowder, France, 2003, 1'

Images of crops and animals taken on an organic farm in Italy. The author's particular style of filming, frame by frame, creates a surprising effect of vibration.

A Man and His Dog Out for Air, Robert Breer, United States, 1957, 3'

This dance of subtle sounds and scribbles narrates the habitual, quiet walk of a man and his dog.

Dog Duet, William Wegman, United States, 1975, 2'

Why are these two dogs moving mysteriously in sync? Video artist William Wegman has often worked with his dog, Man Ray, accompanied in this piece by another canine friend.

Historia Naturae (Suita), Jan Švankmajer, Czechoslovakia, 1967, 9'

Using the stop-motion technique, this famous Czech animator portrays a curious fauna. Each of the eight chapters that make up this piece is dedicated to a specific species (fish, birds, reptiles, mammals...), assigning them pieces of music in different styles.

Persona, Gloria Vilches and Lorena Álvarez, Spain, 2019, 3'

Lorena Álvarez's song, which introduces this video clip filmed in the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, reflects on the randomness of species: why, within this random distribution, did the artist become a person instead of a bear or fig tree?

The participation of the films Animal Movie, Paradise Lost and Walk in the Forest are in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada.