Melanie Challenger

We made this short film under lockdown conditions throughout the pandemic of Covid-19. The film argues that policies are not enough to prevent a future outbreak. We need a paradigm shift in how we view nature and the rest of life on this planet. The film was made remotely via zoom, a fact made clear in the style of the film. Our speakers appear on screens, which we filmed from inside our homes. Each speaker offers a different perspective on the origins of the pandemic in the ways we see and value nature. If humans can’t escape their connection to the natural world, it’s time for a better one. The health of us and the planet depends on it.

An essayistic film about the very core of humanity: we are beings created to live with and on the Earth. Yet still, despite knowing better, we destroy the very foundations of our existence. The film accompanies protagonists from the fields of philosophy, agriculture and forestry, and architecture. Their work has the potential to initiate necessary processes of transformation. Their stories are placed in a broader context: the individual as part of the whole, connection and belonging.

Art historian James Fox tells the story of our ever-changing relationship with nature through the lens of some of the world’s most extraordinary artwork.