Archivia
Director: Ross Wilson
United Kingdom, 2022, 17 min
Shooting Format:Super 16, Black & White
Festival Year:2023
Category:Experimental
Genres:Sci-fi, Art House, Experimental
WINNER: Spirit Award
Cast:Jamie Robson
Crew:Writer: Ross A Wilson. Producer: Donna Enticknap.
Email:ross@hollowmountainfilms.com
Synopsis
A shaman-like figure wandering the deserted landscapes of a future Scotland unwittingly releases a dormant power in the earth that possesses him and forces him to radically alter the land. Combining archival footage from the National Library of Scotland with improvised performance, Archivia lets landscape drive narrative in an experimental film about industry's impact on memory and landscape.
Trailer
About the director
Ross is a writer and director based in the South of England, and founder of Hollow Mountain, a production company specialising in environment and landscape-focused films and supporting diverse and underrepresented artists experimenting with moving image. A self-taught filmmaker, Ross spent much of his life moving across the UK and found the rural landscape a source of continuity and influence in his projects. Ross’ short films have screened at a number of international festivals and on TV, and his first feature film Spin State won several festival awards and went on to secure international distribution. Ross is now in development of his second feature Green Wood, while also developing several experimental films in collaboration with artists from diverse backgrounds and art practices.
Filmmaker's note
I’m concerned about our estrangement from the land, the private ownership of so much of it at a time when our need to connect to nature has become ever more urgent. My intention, then, for Archivia was to journey into a landscape that is part of my heritage and memories as a child and let that landscape tell its own story. What I found was a story that spoke of how our desires and ideas about prosperity have led us climate breakdown and a precarious moment in human history.