Films For Trees (work-in-progress)
Directors: Andre Silva & Shannon Silva
Films for Trees, a film installation collective, inspires interspecies communication, hosting private screenings for silent arboreal audience in locations around the U.S. We’ll be sharing image and sound experiments with trees on North Carolina’s Black River, South Carolina’s Edisto Beach, Georgia tree farms, Virginia orchards, private ranch land in the Texas Hill Country and shopping mall parking lots anywhere in America. For more details visit our Films for Trees website and follow us on Instagram.
Hyperobject (work-in-progress)
Director: Andre Silva
This experimental film explores the interconnectedness of the more-than-human world, human technology, and "hyperobjects"—vast, complex entities that surpass human comprehension, a concept by philosopher Timothy Morton. The film mimics an archeological dig, uncovering its themes through spontaneous recordings and media juxtapositions. Guided by prompts about ecological collapse, expanded environmentalism, and nature's patterns, "Hyperobject" is shot on contemporary US east coast beaches and ancient remnants in Central Texas, offering a symbolic view into deep time.
Burn (work-in-progress)
Director: Shannon Silva
An evocative experimental animation that explores the impact of extreme heat on individuals with chronic illness and disability. Set against the backdrop of a southern coastal town plagued by hurricanes and power outages, the film expands to include the adversities faced across the Americas, from fires in the US West/North to the historical plight of the Mayans. Utilizing animated watercolors, inks, and stop-motion gelatin, the film's visuals are intentionally affected by heat. Incorporating self-portrait video imagery, news headlines, and personal interviews, "Burn" offers a poignant reflection on resilience and the disproportionate effects of climate change on vulnerable communities.
To Live and Die in the Shadows: Meditations on Ferns, Survival, and Horizontal Gene Transfer (2021)
Director: Shannon Silva
180 million years ago, through a chance horizontal gene transfer, ferns acquired a much needed light sensor (neochrome) that allowed them to modify and survive in low light environments. We should all be so lucky.
6 minutes, 16mm film and digital
Tides (2020)
Director: Andre Silva
Filmed at Masonboro Island, an undeveloped barrier island in southeastern North Carolina, “Tides” contemplates the liminal space between the modern technological world and that more ecological dimension we label as “nature” or “the environment.”
8 minutes, digital
Black River (2016)
Director: Andre Silva
An observational documentary, shot on high-contrast black and white 16mm film, about a largely undeveloped river in southeastern North Carolina that is home to the oldest trees east of the Rocky Mountains. (watch film above).
4 minutes, 16mm film
