TNOC Festival 2024

NOTE: After the premiere of this program, you can watch the recorded version on-demand here: https://vimeo.com/event/4213950/3a3fd0cbaa

Welcome to part 1 of our 5 part virtual short film program! Today the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC presents a collection of short artist films that draw us into three radically different modes of ecological communication. Films in this program include:

Ice Ships Weep: Climate’s Ballad
by Robin Lasser / 15 minutes
In this moving three-part meditation of sound and visuals, melting ice ships slowly sink, their inky residue resembling burnt landscapes that are at once messages, questions, and reflections on our climate fabricated fire, ice, and water storms.

The Water Goddess and the Punk Tree Gods
by Patrick M. Lydon / 7 minutes
When a water goddess calls upon the local Tree gods with a request, they respond with a message to the people of the city in the form of a punk song, blending whimsy and cultural lore in a celebration urban-nature interconnectedness.

NPV
by Osamu Kokufu / 7 minutes
Dreams meet reality in this fascinating minimalist documentary adventure, as the late Japanese artist Osamu Kokufu blurs the line between reality and imagination through a wind-powered vehicle of his own invention, called the Natural Powered Vehicle (NPV).

HAKOTO Collaborations
Tim Collins and Reiko Goto / 6 minutes
A fusion of art and science, human and nature, through music. These two performances featuring HAKOTO, enable human musicians Stevie Wishart (hurdy gurdy) and Hyelim Kim (daegeum flute) to play improv performances together with two trees.

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Don't miss this extraordinary lineup of films that challenge conventional storytelling and inspire conversations on radical communication.

NOTE: After the premiere of this program, you can watch the recorded version on-demand here: https://vimeo.com/event/4213813/fcd2072e04 

Welcome to part 2 of our 5 part virtual short film program! Today, the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC takes us into a world of creative introspection and revelation. Join us as collective dreams, desires, and the hidden ecosystems of urban landscapes reveal new ways to see nature and our place within her.

I was Born Before You
by Laetitia Striffling and Laure Wauters / 3 minutes
Music clip with singer Lauriane Petit.

*il tempo della notte (the time of night)
by Emilio Fantin / 10 minutes
Explore the collective dreamscape of participants in dream workshop by Fantin, as they intertwine memories of earth, water, wind, and fire, revealing the profound bond between human consciousness and the elements.

The Hidden Life of a Pavement Crack
by Susanne Elizabeth Wieland / 10 minutes
Six months of observations help us uncover the hidden ecosystem thriving within a single London pavement crack, offering glimpses into the past and present cultural and ecological values and connections beneath our urban landscape.

Locus Amoenus 
by Orestis Athanasopoulos / 14 minutes
Amoenus is a latin adjective meaning "amene, pleasant, delightful, charming". Therefore, the literal translation of locus amoenus would be "pleasant place". This pleasant place consists of three basic elements: trees, grass and water. The garden is often located in a secluded area and functions as a landscape of the mind.

--
Don't miss this  lineup of films that challenge conventional storytelling and inspire conversations on radical awareness.

NOTE: After the premiere of this program, you can watch a recorded version on-demand here: https://vimeo.com/event/4213935/4b44ef63c9

Welcome to part 3 of our 5 part virtual short film program! Today the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC presents diverse perspectives and transformative stories, from ancient rituals connecting us with the earth to the overlooked resilience of indigenous grains, celebrating life's triumphs amidst urban landscapes, and forging paths towards peace and collective happiness in our communities.

Bandish in Raag Basant
by Daniyal Yousaf, with the support of professor Sadaf Habib / 6 minutes
Music video of the musician Muslim Shaggan from Lahore in Pakistan (Gwalior school of classical music). He presents a bandish in Rag Basant during an impromptu mehfil in Lahore University of Management Sciences's garden.

A poem for Oryza
by Tamara Walcott Singh / 5 minutes
A poetic art film brings us into an intimate relationship with Oryza Glaberrima, an overlooked indigenous west African rice variety, and its potential in fostering resilient rice strains amidst climate and food insecurity.

Life’s Dust
by Sandra-Viviana Murillo-Morales / 3 minutes
An intimate portrayal of personal resilience and rebirth, as a woman celebrates life's journey after overcoming a life-threatening illness, intertwining themes of healing, urban landscapes, and creative transformation.

Cities4Peace
by Mandar Apte / 4 minutes
Witness a real-life journey towards nonviolence in South Los Angeles, as LAPD officers, former gang members, and community members unite in an eight-week program to promote peace and build trust within the community.

Mtl la + heureuse
by Rossana Bruzzone / 34 minutes
A heartwarming film searching for collective happiness in Montreal, as over 150 individuals share their stories and insights, exploring what truly makes a city happy and the power of community joy.

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Don't miss this lineup of films that challenge conventional thinking and inspire conversations on radical communication.

NOTE: After the premiere of this program, you can watch a recorded version on-demand here: https://vimeo.com/event/4213941/38fc82f666

Join us for Short Film Program 4 – Radical Solutions. Today the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC presents stories of innovation and resilience. From the unexpected presence of pheasants in urban Detroit to collaborative climate resilience planning in Berlin and the intelligent use of water in a Portuguese town, these films offer inspiring solutions to pressing challenges.

Two works from "thoughts for tomorrow and movements for today"
Digging Up Industrial Waste & Printing Objects Found
by iki nakagawa / 4 minutes
Part of an archiving project to witness, learn, honor and activate ideas and actions that shape respect and care between people and their living environments. Experience volunteers digging out industrial waste from under the sand at Coney Island Creek Park, and efforts to clean up and document environmental impacts in Lenapehoking / Brooklyn in 2023.

Pheasants of Detroit
by Diane Cheklich / 16 minutes
Typically known as a rural farmland species, the funky Ring-necked Pheasant is thriving in the city of Detroit, bringing joy and inspiration to its human neighbors.

The Intelligent Use of Water in Seixal, a Small Portuguese town
by Patricia Trindade Monteiro / 24 minutes
Exploring the innovative use of tidal forces in the Tagus estuary, this documentary sheds light on the historical wisdom and contemporary strategies employed in enhancing climate resilience in Quinta da Princesa.

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg : Pollinator Pathmaker / 7 minutes
by Johannes Förster & Jivan Frenster
Discover the participatory regenerative artwork by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, exploring the intersection of art, nature, and community collaboration in fostering ecological resilience. This film was commissioned by LAS Art Foundation and realized in collaboration with Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.

Habitar
by Colectivo Proyecto Habitar / 12 minutes
Exploring community-driven habitat access strategies amidst inequalities and evolving professional practices, this short film takes us into the process of transforming urban spaces for equitable access to habitat and the city.

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Don't miss this lineup of films that challenge conventional thinking and inspire conversations on Radical Solutions!

THE “URBAN ART LABORATORIES” ARE CONJUNCT ARTISTIC AND ECOLOGICAL ACTIONS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE WEEK-ENDS OF APRIL 20-21 AND APRIL 27-28, 2024.
Let’s root our shared reflections into practice in the place where we live!

The theme of this year’s gathering is: The Distance between Dreams and Reality is Action. With this intention, we invite you to get involved in relating with your local surroundings on the week-ends of our Virtual segments.

Actions might be small, like going for a walk or watering a plant, or more involved like joining your local community garden or organizing a gathering with neighbors. If you feel like sprinkling some art into it, like some poetry reading, music making, dancing, drawing … let it be so! The point is to all feel connected as we each so uniquely strengthen our bonds with the land and the people we live with.

We will collect images (photos or short films) from those moments and they will be shared during the in-person part of our Festival in Berlin and The Nature of Cities platform. You can send images at arts@thenatureofcities.com

Remember, all actions are welcome, subtle and loud ones!

To support this collective endeavor, 9 workshops will be happening in 9 different cities: Bogotà (Colombia), Daejeon (한국 Hanguk / Korea), Den Haag (Nederland), Izmir (Türkiye), Margate (UK), Panaji (भारत Bhaarat / India), Paris (France), New York City (Turtle Island / USA) and São Paulo (Brasil) during the two week-ends. If you live in these cities, you are invited to join! To register to one of these workshop you can send an email to arts@thenatureofcities.com

The “Urban Art Laboratories” shape shift from city to city, involving interactive performances, ephemeral installations, artistic workshops, public murals, collective walks, storytelling, ceremonies and subtle actions like contemplation or meditation. These actions are about connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways inviting participants to meet, clean places, up-cycle materials, identify local biodiversity, grow, harvest or conserve plants, and more. 

This project’s resonance lies in its power to remember the voices of the Earth in the places where we each live, and to cultivate a planetary plurality of cultures that honors it.

Please join us for these actions, and at the larger Nature of Cities Festival which they are a part of.

NOTE: After the premiere of this program, you can watch a recorded version on-demand here: https://vimeo.com/event/4214079/1ffa05b438

Join us for Short Film Program 5 – Radical Connections. Today the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC presents an array of captivating short films in where each narrative relates itself to the profound intersections of identity, belonging, and community amidst diverse landscapes and cultural ways of being.

La forêt noire
by Anna Jane McIntyre and Benoit Z. Leroux / 7 minutes
An introspective journey through the immersive traveling forest installation, delving into the experiences and memories of negotiation, belonging, and identity in a new land, as explored by the artist, Anna Jane McIntyre.

Solidarity in Nature: Reclaiming Connection to the Land through Hip-Hop 
produced by Creative Capitol LLC, directed by Planet Chambo and filmed by Isaiah Rodriguez / 2 minutes
Planet Chambo is an artist collective in Chicago. They connect artists to nature and showcase greenspaces through hip-hop and art. The short film showcases how their art has led them to build a community of artists and people ready to reclaim their connection to the land.

Growing A Green Heart
by Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo / 18 minutes
Join a community gathering-walk-workshop at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, where participants develop deep connections with the surrounding ecosystem through experiential exercises, awakening a personal bond with nature.

Still Suite
by Brad Muirhead / 22 minutes
A etherial blend of original music and dance at the Renfrew Ravine Moon Festiva offers a tribute to the last remaining segment of reclaimed natural salmon creek Vancouver. Performed by “Treesong” with handmade wooden instruments, the music celebrates the harmony between art, nature, and community.

The Fruit of the Oak
by Alejandro Jiménez / 3 minutes
A short film paying tribute to Frederic Back's film "The Man Who Planted Trees" (1987). In this fictional tale, Louis, once a young boy and now an adult, leads us through the memory of his childhood—a timeless moment, following in the footsteps of a legend. This narrative immerses us in a profound journey through the legacy of a forest, where echoes of the past resonate with the promise of the future.

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Don't miss this lineup of films that challenge conventional thinking and inspire conversations on Radical Connections!

THE “URBAN ART LABORATORIES” ARE CONJUNCT ARTISTIC AND ECOLOGICAL ACTIONS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE WEEK-ENDS OF APRIL 20-21 AND APRIL 27-28, 2024.
Let’s root our shared reflections into practice in the place where we live!

The theme of this year’s gathering is: The Distance between Dreams and Reality is Action. With this intention, we invite you to get involved in relating with your local surroundings on the week-ends of our Virtual segments.

Actions might be small, like going for a walk or watering a plant, or more involved like joining your local community garden or organizing a gathering with neighbors. If you feel like sprinkling some art into it, like some poetry reading, music making, dancing, drawing … let it be so! The point is to all feel connected as we each so uniquely strengthen our bonds with the land and the people we live with.

We will collect images (photos or short films) from those moments and they will be shared during the in-person part of our Festival in Berlin and The Nature of Cities platform.  You can send images at arts@thenatureofcities.com

Remember, all actions are welcome, subtle and loud ones!

To support this collective endeavor, 9 workshops will be happening in 9 different cities: Bogotà (Columbia), Daejeon (한국 Hanguk / Korea), Den Haag (Nederland), Izmir (Türkiye), Margate (UK), Panaji (भारत Bhaarat / India), Paris (France), New York City (Turtle Island / USA) and São Paulo (Brasil) during the two week-ends. If you live in these cities, you are invited to join!

The “Urban Art Laboratories” shape shift from city to city, involving interactive performances, ephemeral installations, artistic workshops, public murals, collective walks, storytelling, ceremonies and subtle actions like contemplation or meditation.

These actions are about connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways inviting participants to meet, clean places, up-cycle materials, identify local biodiversity, grow, harvest or conserve plants, and more. If you wish to register to one of these workshop you can send an email to arts@thenatureofcities.com

This project’s resonance lies in its power to remember the voices of the Earth in the places where we each live, and to cultivate a planetary plurality of cultures that honors it.

Please join us for these actions, and at the larger Nature of Cities Festival which they are a part of.

Coffee, tea, refreshments and conversation. 
+ Art Engagements:

SPECIAL GUEST
TINY HOUSE -- "GIVE ME 3 WORDS - TYPEWRITER POETRY" with Dan K. Sigurd 

For years now, the poet Dan K. Sigurd has been sitting in the Mauerpark in Berlin Prenzlauer-Berg on Sundays, where patrons and passers-by give him three words which he uses to compose spontaneous poems.
Now he’s setting up his typewriter at The Nature of Cities Festival! Give him your three words and he will write you a personalized poem containing these words.

The street artist Dan K. Sigurd was born in 1990 in the city of Berlin, but he mainly grew up in Hamburg. In between numerous travels through Europe and the US, he studied film, politics and psychology at the Freie Universität as well as directing at the filmArche in Berlin. Cinematic adaptations of some of his short stories that he directed himself have won awards at a number of film festivals. He regularly performs his works at readings and has been writing poems for passers-by in the Mauerpark for more than a decade now. His first books GIVE ME 3 WORDS, 3 WORTE UNTERWEGS and GIB MIR 3 WORTE were published by the Periplaneta Verlag.

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

LUNCH in the Cloud and Flamingo Houses! Yeah!!
+ Art Engagements:

SPECIAL GUESTS
12:30 - 14:00 TINY HOUSE -- "GIVE ME 3 WORDS - TYPEWRITER POETRY" WITH DAN K. SIGURD
For years now, the poet Dan K. Sigurd has been sitting in the Mauerpark in Berlin Prenzlauer-Berg on Sundays, where patrons and passers-by give him three words which he uses to compose spontaneous poems. Now he’s setting up his typewriter at The Nature of Cities Festival! Give him your three words and he will write you a personalized poem containing these words.

13:00 - FLAMINGO HOUSE – "SPIRIT OF THE FESTIVAL LIVE ART" BY JUJU KURIHARA
Watch a large scale calligraphy performance, as the artist creates a work to open the festival. The artwork will later be hung in The Have (TON1).

13:20 - FLAMINGO HOUSE – "FESTIVAL ART TOUR #1" by TNOC ARTS CURATORS
Guided tour of Cloud House and Flamingo by the Festival’s art directors, including an artist talk

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

Welcome to part 1 of our 5 part short film program! Today the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC presents diverse perspectives and transformative stories, from ancient rituals connecting us with the earth to the overlooked resilience of indigenous grains, celebrating life's triumphs amidst urban landscapes, and forging paths towards peace and collective happiness in our communities.

ONE: Chelsworth, 2022
by Nazli Gurlek / 14 minutes
A mesmerizing exploration of ancient rituals connecting human bodies with the earth, as two women invoke healing ceremonies inspired by a Neolithic wall painting, embodying the interconnectedness of life and the wisdom of the ages.

A poem for Oryza
by Tamara Walcott Singh / 5 minutes
A poetic art film brings us into an intimate relationship with Oryza Glaberrima, an overlooked indigenous west African rice variety, and its potential in fostering resilient rice strains amidst climate and food insecurity.

Life’s Dust
by Sandra-Viviana Murillo-Morales / 3 minutes
An intimate portrayal of personal resilience and rebirth, as a woman celebrates life's journey after overcoming a life-threatening illness, intertwining themes of healing, urban landscapes, and creative transformation.

Cities4Peace
by Mandar Apte / 4 minutes
Witness a real-life journey towards nonviolence in South Los Angeles, as LAPD officers, former gang members, and community members unite in an eight-week program to promote peace and build trust within the community.


--

Don't miss this lineup of films that challenge conventional thinking and inspire conversations on radical communication.

Participants will listen to the interior acoustics of a tree, as they listen they will draw simple lines in reaction to what they hear. These drawings will be recorded on a long scroll. Each participant will add to the drawing of prior participants to create a collaborative visual sonic memory.

Coffee, tea, refreshments and conversation. 
+ Art Engagements :

SPECIAL GUEST
TINY HOUSE -- "GIVE ME 3 WORDS - TYPEWRITER POETRY" with Dan K. Sigurd 

For years now, the poet Dan K. Sigurd has been sitting in the Mauerpark in Berlin Prenzlauer-Berg on Sundays, where patrons and passers-by give him three words which he uses to compose spontaneous poems.
Now he’s setting up his typewriter at The Nature of Cities Festival! Give him your three words and he will write you a personalized poem containing these words.

The street artist Dan K. Sigurd was born in 1990 in the city of Berlin, but he mainly grew up in Hamburg. In between numerous travels through Europe and the US, he studied film, politics and psychology at the Freie Universität as well as directing at the filmArche in Berlin. Cinematic adaptations of some of his short stories that he directed himself have won awards at a number of film festivals. He regularly performs his works at readings and has been writing poems for passers-by in the Mauerpark for more than a decade now. His first books GIVE ME 3 WORDS, 3 WORTE UNTERWEGS and GIB MIR 3 WORTE were published by the Periplaneta Verlag.

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

This short 30min session will provide additional background information for our “Listening to Ballona” Interactive Educational Arts Exhibition in which participants get to recreate sounds recorded at the Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

Restoring these degraded wetlands would be crucial for building future coastal resilience in Southern California but different environmentalists still bitterly disagree on whether a large-scale, bulldozer-assisted reshaping of this blasted landscape is preferable over gentler restoration measures.

How does an installation artist problem solve, and how might that process relate to your own field of work? Join with one of our resident artists to discover the meaning and process behind "COMPOSITION V" her installation work for TNOC Festival. Yumiko Ono takes us through her otherworldly installation of scaffolding, timber, and handmade ceramic tiles. This session takes place in the Cloud House, within the artwork itself, and includes a talk, Q&A session, and time to relax and take in the work at your own pace.

Born in Kobe, Japan, the theme of Ono's work is utopia. She combines various concepts from the built and natural world to create a new fictive architecture, often using somewhat anti-architectural methods and materials such as drawings on tracing paper, slip cast porcelain and textiles. Ono earned her BA in Kyoto Seika University, and an MA in the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague and the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design. She also studied in Hungary and Israel.

For the first evening of our Film Festival we have the honor to present the film "FIVE SEASONS: THE GARDENS OF PIET OUDOLF" produced and directed by Thomas Piper/ Let's meet in TON 1 at Atelier Gardens. Thomas Piper will be with us, offering an introduction and responding to Q&A at the end of the movie.

Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf,is an award-winning film by Thomas Piper, a poetic immersion in the life and work of the most influential landscape designer working today. Responsible for New York’s High Line and other iconic urban environments, Oudolf is in unprecedented demand for his revolutionary ideas of what gardens and public spaces can be, and the emotional impact they can have. Touching on pressing social, cultural and ecological issues, Five Seasonschanges the way we think about, and ultimately see, beauty itself.

Like Oudolf himself, Piper’s Five Seasonsspeaks to a broad audience: garden, plant and nature lovers, but the film has also screened to rapt crowds at art museums, design schools, urban planning forums and environmental conferences. Five Seasonscelebrates the creative process, inspires new generations of designers, and provides a timeless context to re-frame some of the most urgent questions we face.

Running Time: 75 minutes
Language : English and Dutch (VO) + English subtitles
https://fiveseasonsmovie.com/

Refreshments and coffee!
+ Art Engagements

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

Welcome to part 2 of our 5 part short film program! Today, the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC takes us into a world of creative introspection and revelation. Join us as collective dreams, desires, and the hidden ecosystems of urban landscapes reveal new ways to see nature and our place within her.

I was Born Before You
by Laetitia Striffling and Laure Wauters / 3 minutes
Music clip with singer Lauriane Petit.

*il tempo della notte (the time of night)
by Emilio Fantin / 10 minutes
Explore the collective dreamscape of participants in dream workshop by Fantin, as they intertwine memories of earth, water, wind, and fire, revealing the profound bond between human consciousness and the elements.

The Hidden Life of a Pavement Crack
by Susanne Elizabeth Wieland / 10 minutes
Six months of observations help us uncover the hidden ecosystem thriving within a single London pavement crack, offering glimpses into the past and present cultural and ecological values and connections beneath our urban landscape.

Locus Amoenus 
by Orestis Athanasopoulos / 14 minutes
Amoenus is a latin adjective meaning "amene, pleasant, delightful, charming". Therefore, the literal translation of locus amoenus would be "pleasant place". This pleasant place consists of three basic elements: trees, grass and water. The garden is often located in a secluded area and functions as a landscape of the mind.

--
Don't miss this  lineup of films that challenge conventional storytelling and inspire conversations on radical awareness.

LUNCH!  Oh yeah. We're ready.
Food Catered by Roots Radicals
+ Art Engagements :

2:30 - FLAMINGO HOUSE – "NATURE HIP-HOP BEAT STATION" BY CESAR ALMEIDA / PLANET CHAMBO
Live session with Chicago-based nature DJ.

13:20 - FLAMINGO HOUSE – "FESTIVAL ART TOUR #2" BY THE FESTIVAL CURATORS
Guided tour of works in TON 1 and Plane Tree House by the Festival’s art directors, including an artist talk.

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

Welcome to part 3 of our 5 part short film program! Today the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC presents a collection of short artist films that draw us into three radically different modes of ecological communication. This screening program includes an artist discussion with Robin Lasser (Oakland, California), Patrick M. Lydon (Daejeon, Korea), and Chisai Fujita (Kyoto, Japan) about the films, along with audience Q&A, and the opportunity to write postcards to nature with Robin.

The three films presented today are:

Ice Ships Weep: Climate’s Ballad
by Robin Lasser / 15 minutes
In this moving three-part meditation of sound and visuals, melting ice ships slowly sink, their inky residue resembling burnt landscapes that are at once messages, questions, and reflections on our climate fabricated fire, ice, and water storms.

The Water Goddess and the Punk Tree Gods
by Patrick M. Lydon / 7 minutes
When a water goddess calls upon the local Tree gods with a request, they respond with a message to the people of the city in the form of a punk song, blending whimsy and cultural lore in a celebration urban-nature interconnectedness.

NPV
by Osamu Kokufu / 7 minutes
Dreams meet reality in this fascinating minimalist documentary adventure, as the late Japanese artist Osamu Kokufu blurs the line between reality and imagination through a wind-powered vehicle of his own invention, called the Natural Powered Vehicle (NPV).
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Don't miss this extraordinary lineup of films that challenge conventional storytelling and inspire conversations on radical communication.

Have a rest and coffee with snacks.
+ Arts Engagements

15:30 - TINY HOUSE – "MEET THE FILM DIRECTOR" 
Informal conversation with the film director Thomas Piper from New York, showing two of his films "Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf" and "WE START WITH THE THINGS WE FIND: a LOT-EK movie" in the evenings at the Festival.

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

Join us for Short Film Program 4 – Radical Solutions. Today the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC presents stories of innovation and resilience. From the unexpected presence of pheasants in urban Detroit to collaborative climate resilience planning in Berlin and the intelligent use of water in a Portuguese town, these films offer inspiring solutions to pressing challenges.

Two works from "thoughts for tomorrow and movements for today"
Digging Up Industrial Waste & Printing Objects Found
by iki nakagawa / total 4 minutes

"thoughts for tomorrow and movements for today", is an archiving project to witness, learn, honor and activate ideas and actions that shape respect and care between people and their living environments.
The first video features NYC Park’s volunteers digging out industrial waste from under the sand. The second video features the workshop participants cleaning the creek, placing objects found and their bodies used during the cleanup onto a large fabric to be exposed to the sun. Both of the stewardship actions took place at the Coney Island Creek Park, Lenapehoking / Brooklyn in April and August of 2023, organized by NYC Parks and Coney Island Beautification Project. The cyanotype workshop was conceived, organized and facilitated by Nora Almeida, Willa Goettling and iki nakagawa.

Pheasants of Detroit
by Diane Cheklich / 16 minutes
Typically known as a rural farmland species, the funky Ring-necked Pheasant is thriving in the city of Detroit, bringing joy and inspiration to its human neighbors.

Let's plan for climate resilience: a Berlin case study in Mierendorff-Insel
by Jamie Chan / 7 minutes
Explore the collaborative efforts of a Berlin community, public administration, and experts as they develop a plan to bolster climate resilience at the neighborhood level, offering insights and inspiration for communities worldwide facing similar challenges.

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg : Pollinator Pathmaker Short Documentary / 7 minutes
Directed by Johannes Förster & Jivan Frenster, commissioned by LAS Art Foundation and realized in collaboration with Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
The project encompasses a series of living sculptures made of plants, and a participatory campaign. Each sculpture is designed using a custom-build algorithm, which computes garden schemes that support the maximum number of pollinator species possible. The LAS Edition features more than 7,000 plants of 80 different varieties, planted over a 722-square-metre plot. This impactful initiative in interspecies art responds to the alarming decline in pollinating insects. By making art for pollinators, Ginsberg emphasises the urgency of moving beyond anthropocentric approaches and aesthetics in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises.

The Intelligent Use of Water in Seixal, a Small Portuguese town
by Patricia Trindade Monteiro / 24 minutes
Exploring the innovative use of tidal forces in the Tagus estuary, this documentary sheds light on the historical wisdom and contemporary strategies employed in enhancing climate resilience in Quinta da Princesa.


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Don't miss this lineup of films that challenge conventional thinking and inspire conversations on Radical Solutions!

Meet with Kiosk of Solidarity and Construct Lab people!
An early evening gathering to learn more about each of these inspiring Berlin-based social design collectives.

The Kiosk of Solidarity is an urban practice format that intervenes in these contested social fields of Berlin. 11 Berlin initiatives and projects that live/create solidarity practice will use the Kiosk from June to the end of August 2023 at different locations in Berlin for a few days each. In a variety of formats, they will bring together neighbors, fellow campaigners and other interested parties and temporarily bring their practice of solidarity into the public urban space. Students of the TU Berlin (Architecture, Urban Design and Gender Studies) support the initiatives in the realization of the kiosk in the urban space.

Constructlab is a transdisciplinary design-build network that brings together architectural concepts and construction. While breaking with traditional divisions of labor, the organization engages a team of multi-talented designer-builders – as well as sociologists, urban planners, graphic designers, curators, educators and web developers – who carry the creative process from the drawing board to the field. Their shared vision of a collaborative way of working combines the creative with the practical, the thinking with the doing.

For the second evening of our Film Festival we have the honor to present the film "WE START WITH THE THINGS WE FIND: a LOT-EK movie" produced and directed by Thomas Piper. Let's meet in TON 1 of Atelier Gardens. Thomas Piper will be with us, offering an introduction and responding to Q&A at the end of the movie.

If we pay enough attention to the ordinary, we see the extraordinary. The shipping
container is an accidental icon of our modern age: the eight-foot-by-forty-foot corrugated
steel box that brings the world to our doorstep. It brings all our hearts’ desires’, available
for purchase. And it brings us complicity in the global supply chains, and all the economic,
ecological, technological, and political systems that forge those chains, as those great
container ships link maker and user, buyer and seller, China and America together across
the vast distances of the lawless sea. The design studio LOT-EK is a visionary practice at
the intersection of art and architecture, that specializes in upcycling, which is the art and
science of repurposing, remaking, rethinking, reimagining. Of using old things in new ways.
The shipping container is the thing that has captured their imagination for over a
quarter-century: they have remade containers into homes, schools, galleries, libraries, and
more. With hundreds of millions of obsolete and unused containers around the world, this
is a new and necessary architecture of the future, that repairs and regenerates the
unnatural environment that we have inherited from the past. WE START WITH THE
THINGS WE FIND is a feature-length documentary of this vision, and of the soulful lifelong
partnership of the people, designers Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, behind it.

83 minutes // VO English + English subtitles // 2023
https://westartwiththethingswefind.com

Refreshments and snacks!
Food Catered by Roots Radicals
+ Arts Engagements:

10:30 - FLAMINGO HOUSE – "ORACULAR PEACE" BY EMILIO FANTIN
Peace options through vision, an inner improvisation workshop. Inner images flow freely from our soul, without being limited or modified by our rationality. They help to highlight the archetypes that will prompt us to come together in a mysterious, nongeographical space, in the name of peace.

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

Join us for Short Film Program 5 – Radical Connections. Today the Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures at TNOC presents an array of captivating short films in where each narrative relates itself to the profound intersections of identity, belonging, and community amidst diverse landscapes and cultural ways of being.

La forêt noire
by Anna Jane McIntyre and Benoit Z. Leroux / 7 minutes
An introspective journey through the immersive traveling forest installation, delving into the experiences and memories of negotiation, belonging, and identity in a new land, as explored by the artist, Anna Jane McIntyre.

Solidarity in Nature: Reclaiming Connection to the Land through Hip-Hop 
produced by Creative Capitol LLC, directed by Planet Chambo and filmed by Isaiah Rodriguez / 2 minutes
Planet Chambo is an artist collective in Chicago. They connect artists to nature and showcase greenspaces through hip-hop and art. The short film showcases how their art has led them to build a community of artists and people ready to reclaim their connection to the land.

Growing A Green Heart
by Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo / 18 minutes
Join Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo's community gathering-walk-workshop at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, where participants develop deep connections with the surrounding ecosystem through experiential exercises, awakening a personal bond with nature.

Still Suite
by Brad Muirhead / 22 minutes
A etherial blend of original music and dance at the Renfrew Ravine Moon Festiva offers a tribute to the last remaining segment of reclaimed natural salmon creek Vancouver. Performed by “Treesong” with handmade wooden instruments, the music celebrates the harmony between art, nature, and community.

The Fruit of the Oak
by Alejandro Jiménez / 3 minutes
A short film paying tribute to Frederic Back's film "The Man Who Planted Trees" (1987). In this fictional tale, Louis, once a young boy and now an adult, leads us through the memory of his childhood—a timeless moment, following in the footsteps of a legend. This narrative immerses us in a profound journey through the legacy of a forest, where echoes of the past resonate with the promise of the future.
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Don't miss this lineup of films that challenge conventional thinking and inspire conversations on Radical Connections!

Let's eat. Now.
+ Arts engagements:

13:20 - FLAMINGO HOUSE – "FESTIVAL ART TOUR #3" BY FRIEC
Guided tour of works in Biodiversity Plaza, with the Festival art directors.

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

In times of climate change and loss of biodiversity, we need to acknowledge that many natural resources are about to be extinct. So are certain foods. If the current rate of human destruction of the biosphere continues, a lot of food species, like cocoa, nut trees, peanuts and coffee will disappear forever. For many, those impacts may seem a world away from daily life, but the truth is that climate change and our actions affect all of us. And it’s headed straight to your plate.

Through the eyes of cacao you will experience this narrative. Cacao is a food and sound installation that takes you on the journey to reconnect with nature. You will discover the sweet sounds of biodiversity while tasting the bitter flavors of extinction that we are facing nowadays. Your body and senses are engaged to impart a transformative experience to inspire expanded states of awareness and connection.

This installation is an immersive multisensory experience that brings food and sound together in a holistic and unexpected way. Food experience designer Inés Lauber and composer Alexei Galar are pairing sound and taste – with the inspiration of gastrophysics’ research – to rethink and recreate food rituals and our connection to nature.

Inés Lauber is a conceptual food designer. She is raising awareness on the subjects of sustainability, seasonabilty, locality and maintaining biodiversity through storytelling and conceptual design. She creates concepts for the food culture of tomorrow.
https://www.ineslauber.com

Alexei Galar is a composer and sound designer from Mexico City, with experience in creating sound for film, theater and audio dramas. His expertise lies in creating immersive audio experiences that support narratives.
https://www.alexeigalar.com/

Refreshments and snacks!
+ Arts engagements:

15:30 - TON1 – "NATURE + HIP-HOP BEAT STATION" BY CESAR ALMEIDA / PLANET CHAMBO
Live session with Chicago-based nature DJ

15:30 &17:30 - THE RADICAL – "CACAO - THE SOUND OF EXTINCTION" BY INÉS LAUBER AND ALEXEI GALAR
An immersive multisensory experience that brings food and sound together in a holistic and unexpected way. THIS PERFORMANCE IS FULL.

ONGOING DURING BREAKS

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "URBANFOREST I" BY FUTURE IN NATURE
Interactive sound installation, encouraging the audience to create new city soundscapes.

FLAMINGO HOUSE – "LISTENING TO BALLONA" BY DANIEL ROTHMAN, DEIKE PETERS, ANDREA HEILRATH
A soundscape of the Ballona Eco-Reserve of Los Angeles, created by pedaling a stationary bicycle.

KIOSK – "POSITIVE PROTEST POSTER PAINTING (PPPP)" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Have a positive message to bring to the festival? Make it into a poster using natural ocher soil pigments.

TINY HOUSE – "UNDERGROUND SOUND PROJECT" BY NIKKI LINDT
Live listening to the interior acoustics of a tree, and drawing a collaborative visual sonic memory.

TINY HOUSE – "PLANTING FOR BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION" BY ANNE HILLER AND JAMIE CHAN
Growing regional and climate-adapted plants onsite.

NATURE PLAY – "DROP IN BUILDING + PLAY SESSIONS" BY BEN HELPHAND, DAWN HERRERA HELPHAND
Take part in the creation of a mini nature play site on the Festival grounds using natural materials.

RADICAL THEATER (LUNCH) – "URBAN ART LABORATORIES FILMS" BY FRIEC & TNOC
Filmed actions, connecting people with places in poetic yet pragmatic ways in Bogotà, Daejeon, Den Haag, Izmir, Margate, New York City, PaNAJI, Paris, and São Paulo.

In times of climate change and loss of biodiversity, we need to acknowledge that many natural resources are about to be extinct. So are certain foods. If the current rate of human destruction of the biosphere continues, a lot of food species, like cocoa, nut trees, peanuts and coffee will disappear forever. For many, those impacts may seem a world away from daily life, but the truth is that climate change and our actions affect all of us. And it’s headed straight to your plate.

Through the eyes of cacao you will experience this narrative. Cacao is a food and sound installation that takes you on the journey to reconnect with nature. You will discover the sweet sounds of biodiversity while tasting the bitter flavors of extinction that we are facing nowadays. Your body and senses are engaged to impart a transformative experience to inspire expanded states of awareness and connection.

This installation is an immersive multisensory experience that brings food and sound together in a holistic and unexpected way. Food experience designer Inés Lauber and composer Alexei Galar are pairing sound and taste – with the inspiration of gastrophysics’ research – to rethink and recreate food rituals and our connection to nature.

Inés Lauber is a conceptual food designer. She is raising awareness on the subjects of sustainability, seasonabilty, locality and maintaining biodiversity through storytelling and conceptual design. She creates concepts for the food culture of tomorrow.
https://www.ineslauber.com

Alexei Galar is a composer and sound designer from Mexico City, with experience in creating sound for film, theater and audio dramas. His expertise lies in creating immersive audio experiences that support narratives.
https://www.alexeigalar.com/