Abstract
The film explores the shared existence of humans and forests, raising questions without simple answers: what do we sense in a dark, shadowy forest – or a familiar, benevolent one? How can we share corporeal existence with trees? And is there any way to reach the nonhuman nature of a forest?
Although not a scientific film, Definition of Forest could be described as a short film inspired by research. In particular, the script has been influenced by environmental humanities and theories challenging human-centered ideas of agency. The forest is not a passive background but active matter, full of ongoing processes and tangled entanglements with the human world. Definition of Forest seeks how to present such a forest through audiovisual narration.
Rather than recording and representing reality, Definition of Forest emerges from the fragmentary, subjective experiences of being in a forest. We have no access to a forest outside our own perspective, nor to all that remains unknown or incomprehensible. Reality—both in the making of the film and in each viewing—unfolds as a continuous process of becoming.
The film is funded by the Kone Foundation.
Duration: 13min 37s
Film crew
Screenwriter, director: Kristiina Koskinen
Choreographer: Favela Vera Ortiz
Dancer: Elina Valtonen
Cinematographer: Heini Mäntylä
Sound designer: Heta-Maria Pyhäjärvi
Editor: Elizabeth Aaltonen
Although not a scientific film, Definition of Forest could be described as a short film inspired by research. In particular, the script has been influenced by environmental humanities and theories challenging human-centered ideas of agency. The forest is not a passive background but active matter, full of ongoing processes and tangled entanglements with the human world. Definition of Forest seeks how to present such a forest through audiovisual narration.
Rather than recording and representing reality, Definition of Forest emerges from the fragmentary, subjective experiences of being in a forest. We have no access to a forest outside our own perspective, nor to all that remains unknown or incomprehensible. Reality—both in the making of the film and in each viewing—unfolds as a continuous process of becoming.
The film is funded by the Kone Foundation.
Duration: 13min 37s
Film crew
Screenwriter, director: Kristiina Koskinen
Choreographer: Favela Vera Ortiz
Dancer: Elina Valtonen
Cinematographer: Heini Mäntylä
Sound designer: Heta-Maria Pyhäjärvi
Editor: Elizabeth Aaltonen
| Original language | Finnish |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Helsinki |
| Publisher | Kuva/Tila-galleria |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
| MoEC publication type | F2 Public partial realisation of a work of art |
| Event | Idiorrhythmic Imaginaries research exhibition - Kuva/Tila gallery, Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Finland Duration: 5 Dec 2025 → 21 Dec 2025 https://www.uniarts.fi/en/events/idiorrhythmic-imaginaries-research-exhibition/ |
Field of science
- Visual arts and design