UTOPIA
Here & There. Then & Now. Past & Future.
Where is Utopia? What is Utopia? And who does it belong to?
“Characters strung together to create cells.” Digital film still from UTOPIA (2020).
Only around two minutes in length, the UTOPIA takes inspiration from Elizabeth Price’s Kohl and Felt Tip, as well as Chris Marker’s 1961 La Jetée. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced much of the brainstorming process, and in many ways, the idea of utopia was spawned from a loss of the world that once was, the world where we could be together with one another and not fear the spread of disease. Language plays a huge part in this “togetherness,” and we all have various notions — some more than others — of what utopia should be, but it ultimately begs the question: what role does language play in creating utopia? Perhaps, in response, the film’s central Russian phrase “С прошлым надо уметь расставатся,” meaning “one must part with the past,” returns to the original pandemic motif. To generate utopia, we must separate past and future from the present, and recombine all into one entity. But to forget the past contradicts so many human thought processes, essentially compromising this ability to recombine perspective. As such, utopia remains (arguably) forever out of reach.
“A better utopia.” Digital film still from “UTOPIA” (2020)
In a more technical sense, maintaining a fast pace using only photographs (and a few short videos) was quite challenging. The beautiful stills originate from already utopia-esque Jackson Meadows, MN to other more well known metropolises like Beijing and Moscow to the ancient ruins of Tulum, Mexico. The visual design spans the globe much like its various featured languages. I am very grateful for Gregory Martin, a fellow Rice student, who collaborated with me on the project. A piano major, Gregory composed and performed the whole soundtrack, as well as offered his voice as the male narrator. I am also beyond grateful for all of the folks who kindly submitted handwriting samples in a variety of languages — this was integral to the project; you are forever the backbone of this film.
Watch UTOPIA in full below.
