All we are- a short documentary film

Teaser of short film 'All we are' (3:30min)

 

“No matter how the form may vary, the fact that an organism has conscious experience 

at all means, basically, that there is something to be that organism.”

Thomas Nagel

 

In this poetic short film we see single and complex forms of life evolve. It’s a tribute to how all species on earth shares the same origin. All is connected, moves together and reacts to each other. There is no individual; we are groups of groups that form groups. One cannot be seen without the acknowledgement and existence of the other. As a filmmaker and scientist we have so many questions about what it means to exist, how do we form a being and what becomes of us? All these questions will mean a lifelong quest and journey, but it all starts with the fact that we as humans are 99,5% the same, that everything on our planet has originated from the same singular cell. Which means there is no I, but only we and all we are is connected.

 

‘All we are’ is a collaborative project between filmmaker Marleine van der Werf (NL/CH) who researches subjective character of experience & Scientist Julia Van Etten (USA) who studies how microorganisms like algae can survive in extreme conditions for a NASA-funded project. This short film was developed within the context of the international symbiosis competition. It was made in one week at the imagine science filmfestival in New York. Where 5 filmmakers and 5 scientists were invited and paired without knowing each other before to create a film that merges their practices and research. 

 

Supported and funded by Imagine Science Filmfestival New York & Science Sandbox.